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  1. Prehistory and Early Cultures
    1. Definitions of culture and civilization
    2. The time frame
      1. Origins of human life and culture
          2. a) Old Stone Age and New Stone Age
            (1) Artistic developments
            (2) Other achievements
          b) The Neolithic period
            (1) Artistic developments
            (2) Other achievements
      2. Rise of civilizations
          3. a) Age of Metals and technological advancement

  2. The Rise of Civilization: Mesopotamia
    1. The Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian kingdoms
      1. Historical overview of the three kingdoms
      2. Economic, social, and political developments
    2. The Cradle of Civilization
      1. Writing
      2. Religion
      3. Literature
          4. a) Epics, tales, and legends
          b) The Epic of Gilgamesh
          c) The Exaltation of Inanna
      4. Law
          5. a) The Code of Hammurabi
          b) Judicial system
      5. Art and architecture
          6. a) Carvings
          b) The ziggurat

  3. The Civilization of the Nile River Valley: Egypt
    1. Prehistory to 3000 BCE
      1. Characteristics
      2. Upper and Lower Egypt
      3. Neolithic developments
    2. Continuity and change over three thousand years, 3100–525 BCE
      1. Survey of Egypt's dynasties
      2. Common threads in politics, economics, and society
    3. A quest for eternal cultural values
      1. Religion
          2. a) The theocratic state
          b) The pharaoh's defining role
          c) The abortive Amarna revolution
          d) The promise of immortality
      2. Writing and literature
          3. a) Hieroglyphics
          b) Literary genres of the Old Kingdom, the First Intermediate Period, and the Middle Kingdom
          c) The rich heritage of the New Kingdom
            (1) Hymn to Aten
            (2) Love lyrics, model letters, wisdom literature, and fairy tales
      3. Architecture
          4. a) The pyramid
            (1) The earliest version
            (2) The true pyramid
          b) The funerary temple
          c) Menageries and gardens
      4. Sculpture, painting, and minor arts
          5. a) Purpose of art in Egyptian culture
          b) Colossal sculpture: the Sphinx
          c) Sculptures in the round
          d) Portrait sculptures
          e) The break in tradition: Amarna
          f) The artistic canon
          g) Tomb sculpture

  4. Heirs to the Mesopotamian and Egyptian Empires
    1. The Hittites
    2. The Assyrians
    3. The Medes and the Persians
      1. Persian art
      2. The religion of Zoroaster

  5. The Legacy of Near Eastern Civilization






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