Compare/Contrast Ancient Civilizations

Climate/Geography Egypt River--Nile River Longest in the World Hot Desert Small amount rain Mesopotamia Plains/Plateaus Rivers Tigris & Euphrates * ( Rich Farmland) Desert Hot Small amount rain

Culture Egypt Farming Community Extensive Tomb Paintings Social Class System Pharaohs Mesopotamia Small City States Market Place Social Class System

Religious Beliefs Egypt Polytheistic( Many Gods ) Pharaoh- God and King Mummification Elaborate Tombs Mesopotamia Polytheistic (Many Gods) Ruled by priest -kings Burial under homes http://members.cox.net/ancient-sites/egypt/ Pyramid_and_Sphinx.JPG

Writing Egypt Hieroglyphics Picture Writings 800 signs Cut into rock or stone-on papyrus paper Mesopotamia Cuneiform Wedge-shape marks on clay tablets

Economy Egypt Based on Farming Flooding of the Nile Expanded Trade Mesopotamia Based on Farming Wheat Barley Used plow first time

Government Egypt Pharaoh – great house Theocracy - religious leader and king Scribes – recorded government business Mesopotamia Theocracy - religious leader and king Absolute power Hammurabi's code

Achievements Egypt Great pyramid of Khufu Engineering and building skills Papyrus paper Rosetta stone – decoded hieroglyphics Cultural borrowing – technologies including horse drawn chariots Embalming Mesopotamia 12 month calendar based on phases of the moon Code of Laws – Hammurabi’s Code Babylonians – math system based on 60 Phoenicians – Alphabet – Hebrew, Greek and Latin alphabets of today

Fun Facts Egypt Cairo capital on Nile Pyramids Sphinx Rosetta Stone Mesopotamia First discovered civilization First to develop a calendar Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey