DBQ Source Summaries: Early Complex Societies
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 3.5ACTIVITYDBQ SOURCE SUMMARIES: EARLY COMPLEX SOCIETIESUnless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “DBQ Source Summaries:Early Complex Societies”, OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1Note to Teachers:Below are summaries of the sources in DBQ Sources:Early Complex Societies. Theseare meant to provide you a quick understanding of the document types and content so you can decide which sources you want your students to use. You may choose to provide these summaries to your students as additional scaffolding.Source SummaryDocument 1 (Image)Source: Standard of Ur, found in a royal tomb in southern Mesopotamia, c. 2600–2300 BCE. The top image is the “Peace” side while the bottom image is the “War” side. Public domain.These images show times of “peace” and of “war” in Mesopotamia c. 2600-2300 BCE. War was an ongoing part of life in Mesopotamia at that time.Document 2 (Text)Source:“The Code of Hammurabi.” Translated by L.W. King. Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library, 2008. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp.Mesopotamian King Hammurabi developed one of the oldest legal codes in the world. This document showcases five of the codes under which people in the Old Babylonian Empire lived.Document 3 (Text)Source: Lichtheim, Miriam. Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, Volume II: The New Kingdom. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976.In this anonymous Egyptian text (written between 1350 and 1200 BCE), scribes are encouraged to practice their trade and reminded of the reasons it is a good (if not preferred) profession. Scribes were highly respected members of society at this time.Document 4 (Text)Source: The Sacred Books of China, The Texts of Confucianism. Translated by James Legge. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1885.This source is taken from the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE), and describes advice given from a government minister to a young King just beginning his tenure. The minister advocates for treating one’s kingdom as family, and the importance of showing love and respect in order to receive it as a ruler.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 3.5ACTIVITYDBQ SOURCE SUMMARIES: EARLY COMPLEX SOCIETIES2Source SummaryDocument 5 (Text)Source: Legge, James, ed. The Chinese Classics: Vol. 1: Confucian Analects, the Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean. London: Trubner & Co., 1861.Confucious promoted the idea of doing unto others as you would have done to you. In this collection of his teachings, he reiterates the idea that if goodness is promoted and rewarded, then the people will in turn be good.This document will involve a little thought in terms of how good leadership affects both within and outside a particular society.Document 6 (Text)Source: Scott, James C. The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia. New Haven, CT: Yale University, 2009.James Scott, a professor of Political Science and Anthropology at Yale University, discusses the reality of subjugation under leaders in early civilization. He dispels the notion that peaceful and good Kings helped grow civilization by arguing that many people suffered under these leaders through, among other things, slavery and various forms of servitude. In addition, he points out that many people tried to escape living under “the state”. Document 7(Image)Source:Fortress and pyramids at Teotihuacan, Mesoamerican city, Mexico, c. 100 BCE to 250 CE. © Getty Images.This image shows a fortress and pyramids at Teotihuacan, a Mesoamerican City in Mexico that existed from c. 100 BCE to 250 BCE.