Era 3 was a period of great change and innovation. In many places, the development of farming contributed to new types of communities and long-distance networks of exchange. But we don't entirely understand how (or even where and when) these changes happened. We can begin to explore these transformations through two pieces of evidence: a case study of Tapajos in the Amazon rainforest, and data on the emergence of cities around the world.

This video introduces you to several important transformations in humans and our societies that began during this era. These include the creation of villages, cities, states, empires, and portable congregational religions, as well as expanding networks of exchange. These are the changes you will evaluate to understand how new complex societies developed and their impact on humans both inside and outside of these societies.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. This video begins by looking at the world in 6000 BCE and 700 CE. What does it argue had changed in between these years?
2. Why is the Amazon a surprising place to start an era that focuses on cities, states, and long-distance trade networks? According to the video, what was happening in Tapajos after 350 BCE?
3. Watch the animation showing the development of cities around the world. This map may not be complete—we may still find more evidence of other cities – but in general, what kind of pattern does it show about where cities emerged first, and then later?
4. According to the video, why did the rise of cities lead to the rise of the state?
5. According to the video, what was the pattern by which networks of trade grew in this period? How did this help lead to changes in religion?
6. What were some of the disadvantages of living in a city and a state at this time?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. The population and age of Tapajos—and whether it should be considered a city—is still disputed. What kind of evidence could be used to figure these things out?
2. Do you think the developments of this era should be considered progress? Why or why not?

We cover a lot of ground in this unit. Both geographically and chronologically. In 6000 BCE, there were no cities, states, or long-distance trade. By the end of this unit, in 700 CE, complex societies, large cities, major empires, and regional trade routes had emerged across the world. Names that you might recognize, like Persia, Rome, and Athens start to appear. The purpose of this activity is to introduce you to some of the many states and other communities that you will encounter in this unit and to begin thinking about why these complex societies developed and how they impacted human communities. The focus of this activity is on the task of identifying and predicting with maps. As the opening map activity for this era, this is intended to help orient you in time and space as you begin to explore this unit.

You begin this activity by identifying several ancient communities that you’ll encounter in this unit. You will locate these communities on a blank map and then make some guesses and predictions about complex societies.

Step 1

With your teacher, brainstorm some factors that might have led to the development of complex societies. How did the development of these societies change life for humans living in them? What are some factors that you think might have influenced the rise of complex societies in some places but not in others during this era? Your teacher may add some factors you haven’t thought about.

Step 2

In small groups, you should select one “ancient communities” and one “cities” column from the table and label the four units in each of your chosen columns on the blank map (eight labels total). When this is complete, each group should share their answers until all 40 features are labeled on your map.

Step 3

Now examine the 300 BCE Political Map and the Ancient Empires and Agriculture Thematic Map. Choose two communities you just identified and make a guess about why complex societies developed in those places. Finally, draw some predictions on your map, tracing the routes where you think major trade routes will emerge in this unit.

Even after many people became farmers, cities and states weren’t the norm for most of human history—we lived in villages and towns. For a long time, people continued to live in small communities. We don’t have many written records of this era, but archaeological data tells us a lot about village life and shows us that villages and towns traded with each other in vibrant local networks of exchange. The data also shows us how villages and towns grew and changed over time.

This article describes how local trade networks expanded during this era. It will help you trace how social hierarchies, specialization of labor, food production and trade, and population changed over time—partly as a result of expanding village networks. Each of these transformations is one step in understanding how new complex societies developed and their impact on humans both inside and outside these societies.

Think about the following prompt as you read the article: To what extent does this article provide evidence to help you understand changes in social organization and interaction in this era. Write this prompt at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this prompt again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What was life like in early farming villages?
2. How was life in early farming villages different from life in hunter-gatherer communities?
3. What do we know about women’s lives in early farming villages? How did this change as early farming villages grew?
4. What are some examples of trade between villages? How do historians know about this trade?
5. How did increased food supplies and trade lead to changes in social organization?
6. In what ways did village networks affect the population of villages, towns, and cities?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article provide evidence to help you understand changes in social organization and interaction in this era.
2. Because there’s a lack of written records from early villages, historians and anthropologists mostly rely on archeological data as evidence. What do you think are some of the limitations of archeological evidence? Are there any pieces of evidence presented in this article that you could interpret differently than the author did?

We often get so caught up in questions about agriculture’s origins and consequences that we forget about everyone who didn’t farm. Farming wasn’t adopted everywhere, and it was adopted to different extents among different communities. Pastoralist, nomadic, and foraging communities had very different ways of making food. Yet, they interacted with farming societies and even domesticated their own plants and animals. Their different system of food production led to pretty different community structures, which are often poorly understood.

This article will help you think through the similarities and differences between life in cities and agrarian societies and life in pastoral, nomadic communities. It will also help provide evidence for you to consider whether the traditional narrative about the transition to farming and complex societies is accurate, or if it needs to be changed.

Think about the following question as you read the article: What evidence in this article do you find most compelling for challenging the traditional narrative about farming and complex societies and why? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. In what ways was farming “uneven”?
2. What is the relationship between living a sedentary life and cultivating or domesticating food?
3. What was central to nomadic pastoralists’ way of life? Why?
4. How did different kinds of food production affect community structures?
5. What networks of exchange were pastoralists, nomads, and foragers a part of? How did these networks affect the communities of people involved in trade?
6. What are some advantages that nomadic communities had over settled societies and states?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. What evidence in this article do you find most compelling for challenging the traditional narrative about farming and complex societies and why?
2. Looking at the primary source excerpts in this article, what claims do you think are credible? What are the limitations of these sources, and how does the author, audience, or purpose of the source influence your evaluation of this source?

Long-distance trade used to be very slow, difficult, and dangerous. Yet complex regional networks connected societies in many parts of Afro-Eurasia and in the Americas. These trade networks changed the societies with which they came into contact and paved the way for the global trade networks we have today.

This article will help you analyze how regional trade networks expanded during this era. It will also help you think about long-distance trade through the themes of economic systems and cultural developments and interactions.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How does the evidence presented in this article help you understand changes to economic systems and cultural interactions that took place in this era? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What was the largest and most active regional trade network in this era? Why was it so active?
2. What are some items that were traded across the Afro-Eurasian trade network?
3. Why was long-distance trade more difficult in Mesoamerica than in Afro-Eurasia?
4. What do obsidian and jade have to do with hierarchy in Olmec society?
5. How did states affect regional trade? Provide two examples of state interaction with regional trade.

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following question:

1. How does the evidence presented in this article help you understand changes to economic systems and cultural interactions that took place in this era?

While iron may seem commonplace today, iron-smelting technologies actually completely revolutionized the world. People made iron in many different ways for multiple reasons, and the technology had a huge impact wherever it went. It gave some states a ton of power, changed war and agricultural practices, and helped populations boom. Iron users created new social hierarchies, and the production of iron even transformed the environment in drastic ways.

In this article, you will investigate the causal relationship between the production and use of iron and humans’ effect on the environment and the creation of social classes.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How does the evidence presented in this article help you understand the themes of technology and innovation, social interactions and organization, and humans and the environment? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Why do historians divide early human history using terms like Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age? Does this periodization work all over the world?
2. What made iron both difficult and easy to make?
3. Why was the timing significant, when it comes to the invention of iron-smelting technology? How did some societies benefit from this timing?
4. Which society used iron-smelting technologies extensively first? Where did this technology travel afterward? Did any other societies develop iron-smelting independently?
5. Aside from making weapons, how else was iron primarily used?
6. What does iron have to do with population growth?
7. What environmental impact did iron-smelting technologies have?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. How does the evidence presented in this article help you understand the themes of technology and innovation, social interactions and organization, and humans and the environment?
2. Iron-smelting technologies had a huge impact on social order. Were iron technologies the primary cause for some of these changes? If not, what other factors played a role? Find evidence in support of your claim, from this article and other assets from this era.

The Silk Road—which in fact was not one road at all—moved goods, people, ideas, and microbes across vast distances. Although most merchants and travelers didn’t journey across the whole stretch of trade routes, these trade routes, both overland and on the sea, connected people across Eurasia. Silk Road trade completely changed how people made and distributed goods, energized settlements along the trade routes, and spread belief systems like Buddhism.

This video will help you analyze the expansion of trade networks during this era. You can also use material from this video to explain and interpret the spread of shared belief systems and how these beliefs shaped the formation of societies, specifically Buddhism.

Think about the following question as you watch the video: How does this video help you to understand how the Silk Road routes impacted humans and the environment, economic systems, and cultural developments and interactions? You will be asked to respond to this question again at the end of the video.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. What was the Silk Road?
2. Why were the nomadic people of Central Asia important for the Silk Road?
3. How did the Silk Road affect towns and cities along trade routes? Give an example.
4. Silk was a luxury good. How did it affect ordinary people?
5. Buddhism was one idea that traveled along the Silk Road trade routes. What are key elements of Mahayana Buddhism?
6. What was one negative effect of the Silk Road?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. How does this video help you to understand how the Silk Road routes impacted humans and the environment, economic systems, and cultural developments and interactions?
2. Many goods—like silk—were moved across huge distances, like from China to Rome. Were there some goods that were more likely to be traded locally, or across smaller trade networks? Why do you think these goods were traded differently? Use evidence from this video and from other material in this era to support your hypothesis.

In some areas, the shift to farming led to two new structures—cities and states. Not all agrarian societies developed these structures, and certainly not all states or cities were organized in the same way. By studying them, however, we can determine certain patterns in how such societies were organized and governed. These patterns can help us to make sense of the past.

This article introduces two key developments in this period—the city and the state. It provides definitions, describes what they generally looked like, and can help you understand how they formed. This is all evidence to help you understand how new complex societies developed and their impact on humans both inside and outside these societies.

Think about the following prompt as you read the article: To what extent does this article provide evidence to help you understand the similarities and differences among early agrarian societies. Write this prompt at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this prompt again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What is the author’s definition of a village? What is the author’s definition of a city? Do you agree that this is a good definition of a city?
2. What is the author’s definition of a state? Do you agree that this is a useful definition of a state?
3. Where and when did agrarian societies emerge first? Where did they emerge independently?
4. According to the author, what processes led people to form states?
5. Where, according to the author, were there regions without “early societies”? What do you think of this argument?
6. What, according to the author, were some common characteristics of agrarian societies?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article provide evidence to help you understand the similarities and differences among early agrarian societies.
2. The author points out that large states are often called “societies” or “civilizations”, but this course doesn’t use the term “civilizations” very often. Why do you think that might be, and what do you think of that decision?
3. Think back to the video Farming and the State. How might the two experts in that video have agreed or disagreed with the author of this piece in terms of the relationship between agrarian society and the rise of states?

The development of the city marked a real shift in the lives of people who lived there, and inspired art and music about the new kind of life they were living. Cities emerged in many parts of the world in this era, even though most people did not live in cities. Cities had organization and hierarchy, although not always to the same degree or in the same way. Cities also featured a division of labor and specialization. Finally, cities connected in networks of exchange, both with each other, and to the rural areas around them.

This article is an introduction to two key developments in this period—the city and the state. Some of the evidence in this article seems to contradict some other articles you may read. That is by design and will allow you to see how history is complicated.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How does the evidence in this article complicate the narrative that cities and states have common characteristics? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. The author begins with a piece from the Epic of Gilgamesh, which he compares to music from Jay-Z and Alicia Keyes. Why does he compare these two artistic works?
2. Where does this author state that cities first appeared, and where did they appear afterward in this period?
3. The author argues that an essential part of urbanization was hierarchy. Does the evidence he presents support this argument?
4. The author also argues that cities allowed for job specialization, but that people in cities were still dependent on rural farms and villages. Why was that true?
5. The author suggests that cities created a kind of network that was an “urban archipelago”. An archipelago is a group of islands. What do you think he means by this metaphor?
6. How were the networks that cities built not like an archipelago?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. How does the evidence in this article complicate the narrative that cities and states have common characteristics?
2. We generally think of cities as having hierarchies, but the author suggests that there are some cities where we cannot see evidence of hierarchies. Do you think that means there were no hierarchies? What is another explanation?
3. How does this author’s argument and evidence compare and contrast to the evidence in “Introduction to Agrarian Societies”?

During the Classic Period of Mesoamerican history (c. 100–900 CE), the city of Teotihuacan was the dominant power in the region. They traded and warred with the Maya city-states to the south. During this period, cities and populations expanded and trade flourished in this region. How can we explain the rise of these societies, so far from river valleys like those found near early Afro-Eurasian cities? This article explores some possible explanations for the rise and fall of Teotihuacan.

This article will introduce you to some complex societies that arose in Mesoamerica and provide a point of comparison to the early societies of Afro-Eurasia. The article introduces you to some of the unique aspects of Mesoamerican societies during the Classic Period. It provides several possible explanations for the rise and fall of the city of Teotihuacan. This evidence will help you evaluate narratives about the development of complex societies.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How does this article provide evidence to help you evaluate the similarities and differences between societies in Afro-Eurasia and the Americas? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. According to the author, what are some ways that Mesoamerica differed from Afro-Eurasian regions where many of the first complex societies developed?
2. How did the Maya overcome the environmental challenges they faced?
3. How did a drought destabilize the authority of the Maya rulers?
4. What are the three pyramids the author mentions in Teotihuacan? What does he suggest people used them for?
5. What explanations does the author provide for why Teotihuacan grew so large and important?
6. Why do we know so little about life in Teotihuacan?
7. What are some possible explanations for Teotihuacan’s collapse?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. How does this article provide evidence to help you evaluate the similarities and differences between societies in Afro-Eurasia and the Americas?
2. This article begins by making the point that not all complex societies need navigable rivers and fertile river valleys in order to develop. But the two examples the author uses (Classic Maya and Teotihuacan) both collapsed, possibly due to drought. How can you use this information to challenge the narratives in this article?
3. Think about the area you live in. Is it an environment that could have encouraged the development of ancient complex societies? What environmental or other factors in your hometown would have helped or prevented the development of cities like Teotihuacan?

States are a complex kind of human institution. People built states at various times in different places, but not every historian agrees about the details or the reasons why. In this video, two historians talk about what states are, where they emerged, and the reasons for their development.

This video will guide you to think more deeply about the state as a major historical transformation in this era. You will also learn how different historians approach these questions from multiple perspectives.

Think about the following question as you watch the video: How does the evidence in this video complicate the narrative that cities and states have common characteristics? You will be asked to respond to this question again at the end of the video.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. According to Merry Wiesner-Hanks, where and when did states first emerge?
2. According to Urmi Willoughby and Merry Wiesner-Hanks, what are some features of a state?
3. According to Wiesner-Hanks, what kind of states were the first states in Sumer?
4. What evidence does Willoughby use to justify the argument that Cahokia and Moundville were states?
5. Does Willoughby think states were forced on people, or does she think people worked together to build states?
6. What do the two scholars think of the idea that states need collective imagination?

Evaluating and Corroborating

1. How does the evidence in this video complicate the narrative that cities and states have common characteristics?
2. States are a focus of this unit, and the emergence of states was one of the most important changes that made human communities more complex. In one sentence, what is a state? And (also in one sentence), how does your definition compare with the contributors in the video?
3. You’ve read a lot about the first farming societies. Do you think farming created the state?