Ancient Civiliazations of the Near East and Europe

A2. The European progression from Mesolithic culture to Neolithic culture arose late in comparison to the rest of the world. In other parts of the world Neolithic cultures sprang up as early as 9000 B.C. However, in Europe, the progression did not occur until around 4500 B.C. An assortment of cultures arose during the late Neolithic in Europe resulting from a variety of factors.

The end of the hunter-gatherer way of life accelerated the progression to an agrarian lifestyle. As a result of this progression populations began to grow denser around fledgling farming communities creating a greater need for agriculture advancement. The growing dependence on agriculture fostered agricultural innovation. Innovations such as plowing and irrigation aided the progression to agrarian society. Agricultural techniques were adopted in accordance to the environment in which the techniques were required. In Northern Europe innovations such as the clearing of forests in order to produce land for the rearing of domesticated animals was adopted. In the East, tribes of the steppe acquired slash and burn techniques in order to produce fertile land for crops. The consolidation of dependence on agricultural centers facilitated the emergence of unique cultures throughout the different geo-environmental regions of Europe.

The characteristics of Neolithic culture in Europe were dependent upon the unique aspects of each region. Geography, environment, and resources play a large role in the development of different cultures. In the North, in heavily forested areas architecture is primarily made of timber. Whereas in other regions, such as the Mediterranean, stone might be more commonly used. Another example seen during the late Neolithic in Europe is the emergence of metallurgy, a common characteristic of Neolithic society, in areas with mineral resources. Cultural characteristics are derived from the way of life that results from the application of the harnessing of the resources of an area. Geo-environmental regions also help explain the delayed European progression to Neolithic culture. Europe presents a vastly diverse landscape and with the exception of the Balkan region, where all the characteristics of Neolithic society appear to be introduced all at once, it simply took a considerable amount of time for ideas to be widely dispersed and adopted. Eventually specialization in the harnessing and application of resources would lead to trade networks resulting in more interaction between different cultures. More interactions between groups of people encourage the spread of knowledge and innovation. The accumulation of knowledge plus the spread of innovations are pivotal factors of the European advancement to Neolithic culture.

B2. The religion of ancient Sumer and the religion of pre-dynastic Egypt are strikingly similar. Both the religion of ancient Sumer and the religion of ancient Egypt believed in an afterlife, practiced polytheism, practiced anthropomorphism, and with time also came to worship their rulers as divine. The manner in which these religions were installed amongst the people led to an indistinguishable intertwining of everyday life and religion.

The earliest recognized aspect of both religions is anthropomorphism, or the attribution of uniquely human characteristics upon animals or objects. In Sumer anthropomorphism is applied to all aspects of life. There is a god of: the city, the sun, the moon, the stars, water, and the earth. The people of Sumer believed they must appease these gods through sacrifice and tribute or would suffer consequences in return. It is similar in ancient Egypt. Initially the symbols of animals were used to identify cities. Eventually the symbols turned into gods of the city and were attributed with the control over a number of different aspects of life. As with the Sumerian gods, Egyptian gods controlled also controlled the earth, sky, and sun. These religions would evolve over time.

Eventually these religions would begin to concentrate around specific gods, usually the god of the city. This led to a consolidation of tribute and spawned organizations known as temple corporations. The concentration on specific gods led to a surplus of tribute which temple corporations took full advantage of. Temple corporations funded the building of monuments and temples which reinforced the importance of the god whom the monument was dedicated to. The implications of such an undertaking would be to the advantage of the area in which the undertaking took place. Temples bring in revenue. Surplus profit of tribute to the temple was put to use financing other public works. Such implications continued to reinforce the importance of the religions of ancient Egypt and Sumer.

Another similarity among the trends of