Writing and Self Expression
First civilization to invent writing
Sumer (Cuneiform)
River valley with predictable flooding
Egypt (Nile)
River valley where women had the most legal rights
Egypt
Type of government in all river valleys
Theocracy
Most stable river valley
Egypt
Egyptian writing system that used pictograms
Hieroglyphics
Problem Sumer faced with water
Unpredictable flooding & scarce rain
Document proving Egyptian women could inherit/manage property
Will of Nankhaut
Sumer’s god of the earth
Enlil
Sumer’s challenge due to geography
No natural boundaries; vulnerable to attack
Chinese method of predicting the future using writing
Oracle bones
Indus solution for monsoons and dry seasons
Reservoirs & flush toilets
Quote from China about women being inferior
“A clever man builds a city, a clever woman lives low”
Egyptian god who weighs souls
Osiris
Sumer trade inventions
Wheel & sail
Indus civilization writing we cannot translate yet
Seals
Chinese solution to river flooding
Irrigation systems & canals
India’s laws reflecting women’s status
Law of Manu: women honored but must obey men (Treat like Gods)
Chinese ruler chosen by gods
Mandate of Heaven / Shang-Ti
Egypt’s invention to track floods
Calendar
Purpose of self-expression in river valleys
Communicate with gods, preserve culture, record history
Why controlling water was essential in all river valleys
Steady supply for crops, survival, trade
Observation of women’s wealth/power across river valleys
Upper-class women in Egypt had the most rights; most others had limited rights
Purpose of religious self-expression in art
Communicate with gods, guide afterlife beliefs, preserve culture
Indus innovation for cleanliness
Flush toilets & plumbing system