Lecture, three hours; discussion, two hours. Examination of earliest civilizations of Asia, North Africa, and Europe--Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel, India, China, Greece, and Rome--from development of settled agricultural communities until about AD 500, with focus on rise of cities, organization of society, nature of kingship, writing and growth of bureaucracy, varieties of religious expression, and linkage between culture and society. P/NP or letter grading.