Advancement in Ancient Civilizations

German linguist and cultural scientist Harald Haarmann is vice-president of the Institute of Archaeomythology and director of its European branch. He has written more than 50 books in various languages, including numerous studies on cultures and languages. He lives in Finland.

• Table of ContentsList of MapsList of FiguresIntroduction: The Organic Whole of Human Existence and the Quality of Life1. The Life Cycle of Cultures: Trajectories of Interaction Between Human Beings and Their EnvironmentArbitrators of socio-cultural change: The challenge of changing environmental conditions for adaptive skills 5Climate-induced changes in human ecology: The origins of the Black Sea 10Environmental ecology and how human beings adapt to local conditions of existence 16The role of older cultural patterns in the formation process of advanced cultures 182. Timeline: The Ancient Civilizations in Light of a Differential Model of Cultural AdvancementThe Mesopotamian bias and the Greek myth of the German romantics in the early 19th century 23The significance of the incubation stage for the emergence of advanced cultures 263. Early Achievements: Elementary Innovations as the Driving Force of Progress in Technological DomainsPrototypes of the plough 39Pyrotechnology for the production of ceramic ware and prototypes of the potter’s wheel 40Furnaces and metal-working 41The ancient traditions of shipbuilding and seafaring 444. The Wheel, the Wagon and the Chariot: Dynamics of Technological Transfer in AntiquityThe significance of the wheel 49The impact of steppe people on transport technology and the origins of Indo-European terminology 49The input of ancient European technology in the context of collaboration with Indo-European pastoralists 51The advent of wheel and wagon in Mesopotamia 52The chariot: Technological breakthrough in the Eurasian steppes 52The absence of the wheel as a practical device in pre–Columbian civilization: A mysterious case of a “missing link” 555. The Economic Foundations: Trade Routes, Centers and NetworksTrade routes, centers and networks in the commonwealth of Old Europe 61The movement of trade goods, technological know-how and ideas between Old Europe and Mesopotamia 66The early network of Middle Eastern trade routes: Sumerian cities interconnected with Dilmun and the Indus Civilization 67Gift exchange to build trust among trading partners and enhance harmony in social relations 68Early trading networks in pre–Columbian Mesoamerica: The proliferation of Olmec goods and ideas 706. Settlement Planning: From Villages to Urban AgglomerationsThe model of urbanization evolving from egalitarian villages 72The model of urbanization in a milieu of stratified society 777. Architecture: Houses, Workshops and TemplesHouses and forms of accommodation in agrarian communities 83Sacral architecture 86Famous temple monuments of antiquity vis-à-vis cultural memory: Between oblivion and iconicity 908. Social Networking: Models of Community Life, the Fabric of the Common GoodThe œcumene model of ancient civilization—The archaeological record 101The rise of the state model of civilization, associated with social hierarchy and stratified society 105Socioeconomic models of ancient civilizations in a comparative view 1079. Religion and Worldview: Anthropomorphic and Zoomorphic Images of the Divine, Sanctuaries and Holy PrecinctsArchaic forms of spirituality 110From spirit to female divinity 114Divinities relating to plant cultivation 119The personification of individual divine agents and the origins of monumental statuary 123The emergence of divinities in the context of pre–Columbian civilization 124Figurines as a lingua franca of ritual life 12410. Human Activity Between Life and Afterlife: The Intergenerational Chain in Light of Cultural MemoryThe world of public entertainment: Did the ancient Greeks invent theater? 126Fashion and dress-codes: Between social constraints and individual choice 130The place of the dead in cultural memory 136Connecting with the ancestors in the world of shamanism 13811. Specialized Systems for Communication: Writing NumbersThe beginnings of numerical and calendrical notation 144Writing numbers in pre–Columbian Mesoamerica and South America 146Writing numbers in pre–Columbian South America 147The interrelation of numerical notation and writing: The special case of the Sumerians 14912. Specialized Systems for Communication: The Visual Recording of Ideas and Writing LanguageWriting technology and its significance for the construction of civilization 153Writing systems in the ancient civilizations 158Writing systems of the Old World 159Writing systems of the New World (pre–Columbian): The Olmec script (ca. 1500–600 bce) 173Writing technology as a vehicle of progress 17613. Intellectual Domains: What Was the Driving Force for Science and How Did Philosophy Originate?Pre-Socratic philosophers as the first to reflect on cosmology and the natural world 178Picking up the threads: The rope model of repetitive continuity of ideas 184Philosophy as a tool for rationalizing mythic truths and for organizing community life 18514. Art and Aesthetics: Artistic Genres in Their Cultural ContextThe cultural meaning of sculptures in the Old European, Native American and Mesopotamian context 190Classical Greek philosophy and art: Plato’s concept of aesthetics 192Ancient civilizations as inspirational sources of modern art 198Epilogue: Cultural MemoryBibliographyIndex