Ancient civilizations: history, culture, and societal development

¶ … perceived superiority of modern Western civilization is unfounded. There is little evidence to suggest that our cultures are any more advanced than the ancient cultures of the Fertile Crescent, Greece, or Rome. The argument for a linear progression or an evolution of civilization can be countered by evidence to the contrary in areas as diverse as science, politics, philosophy, art, and architecture. Although definite improvements have been made in women's rights, forced labor, and governmental systems, for instance, the accomplishments of ancient cultures rival our own. They may not have possessed microchips or jet engines in ancient Athens, but they did create the structures upon which we base our society today. We are still reaping the rewards that ancient civilizations sowed millennia ago. In fact, Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Babylon, Egypt, Assyria, Israel, Greece, and Rome comprise the beginnings of Western civilization.

Ancient civilizations possessed a remarkable understanding of nature and the cosmos, developing technologies that we still rely on today. The ancient Sumerians invented the wheel, for instance, and chariots became used in warfare and general transportation in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamians also contributed the sailboat to its manufacturing repertoire, and seafaring greatly improved trade. Most ancient cultures in the Middle East developed highly sophisticated systems of irrigation and plumbing, systems that seem impressive even today. Thus whole cities could channel water and waste, no matter how arid the climate. Ancient Persia witnessed the building of extensive road systems as well as one of the first postal services. The Mesopotamians created calendars and other time measuring systems, and we still depend on the Babylonian duodecimal clock system, based on the number 12. Principles of advanced mathematics were grasped thousands of years ago by the Babylonians.

Warfare improved with these advancing technologies and abilities. So, too, did architecture reach monumental heights. Since ancient times, people have erected massive stone structures with incredibly intricate floor plans and engineering design principles, such as the Egyptian pyramids and Babylonian ziggurats. The ancient Greeks and Romans perfected architecture with their marble temples and coliseums. These buildings not only pleased the eye; they served specific functions and were designed using math and science. Concrete, an invaluable construction tool, was invented in ancient Rome.

Writing and literature developed with the Mesopotamian cuneiform characters and the production of the first epics, like the epic of Gilgamesh. Language soon became a major source of recorded history, and eventually scribes wrote on paper instead of stone tablets. Still, recorded systems of alphabets like the Egyptian hieroglyphs form one of the hugest achievements in human history. Soon whole libraries were built; one in Assyria even housed stone tablets. Ancient Greece and Rome, of course, produced some of the most long-lasting bodies of literature like those of Homer and Virgil.