第3章初期文明と都市社会Early Civilizations and Urban Societies

Early civilizations, most of which arose along large rivers, were marked by an agriculturally sustained population that remained settled in one area and could number in the tens of thousands. The stability of the population allowed for the development of a discernible culture, which consists of all the different ways a distinct group of people interact with one another and their environment and pass these ways down from generation to generation over time. This is not to say that earlier groups of people lacked social identities. But there were important differences between them and the early civilizations that followed.

初期文明の多くは大河沿いに生まれた。農業によって養われる人口が一つの地域に定住し、その数が数万人に達することもあった点が特徴である。人口が安定すると、それと分かる独自の文化が発達できた。文化とは、ある集団の人々が互いに、また周囲の環境と関わり、その関わり方を世代から世代へ伝える、さまざまな仕方の総体である。これは、それ以前の人々に社会的なアイデンティティーがなかったという意味ではない。しかし、彼らと、その後に現れた初期文明の人々の間には、重要な違いがあった。

The development of early civilizations occurred between 10,000 and 8,000 BCE in just a few specific areas of the world that historians have labeled the “cradles of civilization.” In these locations—today’s Mexico, Peru, China, India/Pakistan, Iraq, and Egypt—the introduction of farming allowed larger populations to settle in one place, and the ability to produce and distribute surpluses of food enabled some people to specialize in such tasks as manufacturing handicrafts, tending to the spiritual world, and governing. The peoples of these cultures experienced radical changes in their lifestyles as well as in the ways their communities interacted with each other and their environments.

初期文明の発達は、紀元前1万～8000年、歴史家が「文明の揺籃」と呼ぶ世界の限られた地域で起こった。現在のメキシコ、ペルー、中国、インド・パキスタン、イラク、エジプトに当たる地域である。ここでは農耕の導入によって、より多くの人々が一か所に定住できた。食料の余剰を生産して分配する能力は、手工芸品の製作、精神世界への奉仕、統治といった仕事に、一部の人々が専門的に携わることを可能にした。これらの文化の人々は、暮らし方だけでなく、共同体同士や周囲の環境との関わり方も大きく変えた。

Even after the Neolithic Revolution, many people continued to lead a nomadic or seminomadic existence, hunting and gathering or herding domesticated animals. People produced or gathered only enough materials to meet the immediate food, shelter, and clothing needs of their family unit. Even in societies that adopted farming as a way of life, people grew only enough for their own survival. Moreover, the family unit was self-sufficient and relied on its own resources and abilities to meet its needs. No great differences in wealth existed between families, and each person provided necessary support for the group. Group leaders relied primarily on consensus for decision-making. Order and peace were maintained by negotiations between community elders such as warriors and religious leaders. Stability also became dependent on peaceful relationships with neighboring societies, often built on trade.

新石器革命の後も、多くの人々は遊動または半遊動の暮らしを続け、狩猟採集や家畜の牧畜を行っていた。生産や採集で得たのは、家族の差し当たりの食料、住居、衣服の必要を満たす分だけだった。農耕を生活の基礎にした社会でさえ、自分たちが生きるのに必要な量だけを育てていた。また、家族は自給自足し、自らの資源と能力で必要を満たした。家族間に大きな貧富の差はなく、一人ひとりが集団に必要な支えを提供した。指導者は、意思決定で主に合意に頼った。戦士や宗教的指導者など、共同体の長老たちの交渉によって秩序と平和が保たれた。安定は近隣社会との平和な関係にも依存し、その関係は交易を土台とすることが多かった。

Early civilizations, by contrast, arose where large numbers of people lived in a relatively small, concentrated area and worked to produce a surplus of food and other materials, which they distributed through a system of exchange. For farming communities, this food surplus meant family size grew to six or seven children and caused the global human population to skyrocket. Population growth rooted in agricultural production led to larger cities, in which the food produced by farmers in outlying rural areas was distributed among the population of the urban center, where food was not produced. This system of specialization was a key feature of early civilizations and what distinguished them from previous societies. Individuals performed specific tasks such as farming, writing, or performing religious rituals. People came to rely on the exchange of goods and services to obtain necessary supplies. For example, artisans specializing in craft production relied on farmers to cultivate the food they needed to thrive. In turn, farmers depended upon artisans to produce tools and clothing for them. A weaver acquired wool from a shepherd and produced cloth that might then be given to a physician in exchange for medicine or a priest as payment for conducting a religious ritual.

これに対し初期文明は、多数の人々が比較的狭い地域に集中し、余剰の食料や物資を生産して、交換の仕組みを通じて分配する場所に生まれた。農耕共同体では、食料の余剰によって子どもが6～7人いる家族が増え、世界の人口が急増した。農業生産に根ざした人口増加は、より大きな都市を生んだ。周辺の農村で農民が作る食料が、自らは食料を生産しない都市中心部の住民へ配られた。この専門化の仕組みは、初期文明の主要な特徴であり、それ以前の社会との違いをなした。個人は農耕、書記の仕事、宗教儀礼など、特定の役割を担った。必要な物資を手に入れるため、人々は財やサービスの交換に頼るようになった。たとえば手工業を専門とする職人は、生きていくための食料を農民に育ててもらい、農民は道具や衣服を職人に作ってもらった。織工は牧羊者から羊毛を得て布を作り、それを薬の代わりに医師へ渡したり、儀礼を行う報酬として神官へ渡したりできた。

The system of exchange, however, created hierarchies within society. Those who could accumulate more goods became wealthy, and they passed that wealth from one generation to the next. This wealth led, in turn, to the accumulation of political and religious power, while those who continued to labor in production remained lower on the social scale. This social stratification, another characteristic of early civilizations, means that families and individuals could vary greatly in their wealth and status. Those who share the same level of wealth and status make up a distinct class or strata, and these strata or classes are ordered from highest to lowest based on their social standing.

しかし、この交換の仕組みは、社会の内部に序列も生んだ。より多くの物資を蓄えられる人々は富裕になり、富を次の世代へ引き継いだ。その富は、さらに政治的・宗教的権力の蓄積につながった。生産労働を続ける人々は、社会の低い地位にとどまった。この社会の階層化も、初期文明の特徴である。家族や個人の間で、富と地位に大きな差が生じうることを意味する。同じ水準の富と地位を持つ人々が一つの階級や階層を構成し、各階層は社会的な立場に応じて、上から下へと並べられる。

The nature of government also changed as populations grew. In smaller groups, decisions about war and migration were made in concert because no individual or family was likely to survive without the others. Also, in small communities, order and peace were often enforced at the family level. If someone acted badly, the customs of the society were brought to bear on them to correct the offending behavior. For example, the San of South Africa held a ritual dance to contact their elders for advice on how to correct a difficult situation. The act of coming together was often enough for the community to heal. In larger civilizations, officials such as priests and kings possessed the authority to command the obedience of subjects, who relied on the powerful to protect them. In return for physical protection and the promise of prosperity, farmers and artisans provided food and goods and, eventually, paid taxes. This exchange served to reinforce both the developing social hierarchy and the specialization of labor.

人口が増えると、統治のあり方も変わった。小集団では、ほかの成員なしに個人や家族が生き延びる見込みは乏しく、戦争や移住の決定は協力して行われた。小さな共同体では、秩序と平和は家族の段階で守られることも多かった。誰かが悪い行動をすれば、社会の慣習をその人に適用して、問題行動を正した。たとえば南アフリカのサンの人々は、難しい状況への対処について長老の助言を求めるため、儀礼の踊りを行った。集まること自体で、共同体が立ち直れる場合も多かった。より大きな文明社会では、神官や王などが臣民に服従を命じる権威を持ち、臣民は権力者に保護を求めた。農民や職人は、身の安全と繁栄の約束の見返りに、食料や物品を提供し、やがて税も納めた。この交換は、発達中の社会的序列と労働の専門化を、いずれも強めた。

As civilizations developed around the world in this way, they shared the features noted. Their existence did not mean the end of older ways of living, however. Nomadic and seminomadic peoples not only remained an integral part of the ancient world, they also provided crucial resources and a vehicle for the exchange of knowledge and culture. They were particularly important as a means of connecting one large city to another.

世界各地の文明は、このように発達する過程で、ここまで述べた特徴を共有した。しかし、文明の存在は、古い暮らし方の終わりを意味しなかった。遊動・半遊動の人々は、古代世界の不可欠な一部であり続け、重要な資源を供給するとともに、知識や文化を交換する媒介にもなった。とりわけ、大都市同士を結び付ける役割が重要だった。