Evolution And History

Cities and Cultural Change 263

today (Figure 11.4). See this chapter’s Globalscape for the

story of the recovery of one artifact that was stolen from

the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad.

The indigenous civilizations of the Americas also used

metals. In South America, copper, silver, and gold were

used primarily for ceremonial and ornamental objects.

The Aztec and Maya used the same soft metals for cer-

emonial and ornamental objects while continuing to rely

on stone for their everyday tools. To those who assume

that metal is inherently superior, this seems puzzling.

However, the ready availability of obsidian (a glass formed

by volcanic activity), its extreme sharpness (many times

sharper than the finest steel), and the ease with which it

could be worked made it perfectly suited to their needs.

Moreover, unlike bronze—and especially iron—copper,

silver, and gold are soft metals and have limited practical

use. Obsidian tools provide some of the sharpest cutting

edges ever made (recall the Anthropology Applied feature

“Stone Tools for Modern Surgeons” in Chapter 8).

Early civilizations developed extensive trade systems to

procure the raw materials needed for their technologies. In

many parts of the world, boats provided greater access to

trade centers, transporting large loads of imports and ex-

ports between cities at lower cost than if they had been car-

ried overland. A one-way trip from the ancient Egyptian

cities along the Nile River to the Mediterranean port city

of Byblos in Phoenicia (not far from the present city of Bei-

rut, Lebanon) took far less time by rowboat compared to

the overland route. With a sailboat, it took even less time.

Egyptian kings, or pharaohs, sent expeditions south to

Nubia (northern Sudan) for gold; east to the Sinai Penin-

sula for copper; to Arabia for spices and perfumes; to Asia

for lapis lazuli (a blue semiprecious stone) and other jew-

els; north to Lebanon for cedar, wine, and funerary oils;

and southwest to Central Africa for ivory, ebony, ostrich

feathers, leopard skins, cattle, as well as for the people

they enslaved. Evidence of trading from Great Zimba-

bwe in southern Africa indicates that by the 11th century

these trading networks had extended throughout the Old

World. Increased contact with foreign peoples through

trade brought new information to trading economies, fur-

thering the spread of innovations and bodies of knowledge

such as geometry and astronomy.

Central Government

The emergence of a governing elite also characterized early

civilizations. Because of their size and complexity, new cit-

ies required a strong central authority. The governing elite

archaeologists often refer to as the Bronze Age, a period

marked by the production of tools and ornaments made

of this metal alloy. Metals were in great demand for the

manufacture of farmers’ and artisans’ tools, as well as for

weapons. Copper and tin (the raw materials from which

bronze is made) were smelted, or separated from their

ores, then purified, and cast to make plows, swords, axes,

and shields. Later, such tools were made from smelted

iron. In violent disputes over borders or territory, stone

knives, spears, and slings could not stand up against metal

spears, arrowheads, swords, helmets, or other armor.

Bronze also allowed for a proliferation of ornamen-

tal objects that are found in museums around the world

Bronze Age In the Old World, the period marked by the

production of tools and ornaments of bronze; began about

5,000 years ago in China and Southwest Asia and about

500 years earlier in Southeast Asia.

While there is archaeological evidence suggestive of tea drinking

by Homo erectus in China, according to legend, the mythical em-

peror Shen Nung (c. 3000 BCE) was the first to drink a cup after tea

leaves fell into his pot of boiling water. What is certain is that this

crop contributed to the development of early civilizations and trade

networks across Asia. Today, tea is farmed by a combination of these

ancient methods along with all the tools of modern science. Here,

a delightful tea lady in the Gao Shan, high mountains of Nantou,

Taiwan, hand picks leaves from plants cloned from original oolong

plants in Fujian, China. Fresh oolong leaves are plucked during the

spring and are processed by a variety of methods (from machine

to foot rolling) to semi-oxidize the tea leaves. Taiwanese oolongs

are best grown in altitudes of 1,500 to 2,800 meters (5,000–

9,000 feet) where the air is thin and the sun is close, giving the

teas a very vegetal, creamy tropical flavor.

Courtesy Andrew Snavely of Dobra Teas