Human Settlements -- The History of Urbanization
I. Ancient Societies
A. Egalitarian
B. Southwest Asia
(6000 B.C.)
1. Domestication and Agriculture
2. Large Settlements
3. Stratified Society--surplus of time leads to specialization
and division of labor
C. Cities and States--settlements
in one place dictate the need for political systems/government
D. Ancient cities
1. 3 Administrative Levels
2. Dominant Urban Center
E. The city is a
recent invention--only 8,000 years old
--formative ear: 7,000-5,000 B.C.
F. Location of Cities
1. Proximity to Farmland
2. Availability of surface and groundwater
3. Good location for defense purposes
4. Proximity to trade routes
G. Functions of Early
Cities
1. Political Centers
2. Religious Centers
3. Economic Centers
4. Cultural Centers
5. Often one city among a group of cities is the political or
religious center of the group
H. Size of Early
Centers
1. 10,000-15,000 people
2. Determined by the capacity of the social and economic system
3. Village forms
II. Ancient Cities--Diffusion to Greece
A. From Mesopotamia
to Greece
B. 3000 B.C.--Greece
is highly urbanized
1. 500 cities and towns
2. 250,000 inhabitants (largest city--Athens)
C. Global Impacts
of Greek cities (?)
D. City Characteristics:
1. Acropolis
2. Agora
E. Underbelly:
poor sanitation and slave labor--did not have a good infrastructure
III. Ancient Roman Cities
A. Progenitors of
what we have in the West
B. Overlaid on the
Etruscan system
C. Extensive settlement
system
D. City Characteristics:
1. Good infrastructure and transportation
2. Rectangular grid system
3. When Agora is transported to Rome, it becomes a market center
4. Different towns had different functions--i.e. Military towns
5. Forum, Stadium, High Culture and Architecture
6. Underbelly: Slave labor
IV. Ancient Cities: Other Rising Cities
A. Xian, China
B. Saharan Trading
Cities
C. Mayan Urbanization
D. Aztec Capitol
of Teotihuacan > 100,000 people
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