Civilizations

Civilizations… After the Neolithic Revolution, the Urban Revolution resulted in settlements that were socially and economically diverse People began to specialize in various roles and trades All early civilizations had differences, but had common characteristics that defined them as civilizations:

Characteristics of Civilizations 1. Agricultural Intensification 2. Centralized Government 3. Class Structure 4. Development of Science and Writing 5. Merchants and Trade 6. Specialization in Occupations 7. State Religion  

Development of Civilizations Between 4500 and 1000 B.C.E. civilizations develop independently in many parts of the world 1st civilizations developed in distinct locations Oldest civilization: Mesopotamia Closely followed by Ancient Egypt around the Nile River 3rd civilization flourished in India around the Indus River Valley, overlapped with early Greeks: Mediterranean island of Crete. Chinese civilization emerged from the Yellow River Mayan civilization developed in Central America

Mesopotamia Considered the “Cradle of Civilization” Emerged around the Tigris/Euphrates River Valley Meso = “middle” potamos = “river”  Land Between Two Rivers Ruled by 4 groups of peoples: Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Chaldeans *Complete the map of Mesopotamia and questions about their development p. 30-40

Mesopotamia: The Cradle of Civilization Use the multiple maps from pages 30-40 to complete the Mesopotamia map Map: Label the map of Mesopotamia with the following: Tigris river, Euphrates river, Arabian Desert, Zagros Mountains, Mediterranean sea, Persian Gulf, Nile River, Babylon, Ur, Nineveh, Akkad, Egypt *Shade in the area of the Fertile Crescent *Outline area of land ruled by the 4 (four) different peoples. Include a legend and the dates of their rule. Answer the following questions about Mesopotamia from the text: Identify and record the years each group ruled Mesopotamia What were two major achievements of both the Sumerians and Babylonians (refer to the chart on pg 34-35)? 2. What factors contributed to the military strength of the Assyrians? b) Why did the Assyrian empire collapse? Which reason do you consider the most significant?   3. Suggest why Mesopotamia was invaded by so many different groups through its history b) How do you think these invasions affected the development of Mesopotamian civilization? 4. What is a theocracy? b) How did the approach to government differ between the Sumerians and Assyrians?