Chapter 2: Ancient River Valley Civilizations

4 Regions! City-States in Mesopotamia Egypt & Nile River Indus Valley China

Common Characteristics ?? Water!! – Deserts of river cultures short on resources – River Valley Civilizations Opportunity to adapt environment Suitable for domesticated plants/animals Relatively stable (a bit hot) climate

GEOGRAPHY influenced the development of river valley civilizations.

Mesopotamia The Fertile Crescent

Mesopotamia – Fertile Crescent Sumer – The Earliest of the River Valley Civilizations Sumerian Civilization grew up along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is now Kuwait.

Sumerians: City-States City-State: a city and it’s surrounding land becomes an independent political unit Priests were rulers, then came WAR Cultural diffusion: spreading of a new idea or product from one culture to another

Sumerian Culture Polytheism: belief in many gods Class structures INVENTIONS!

Sumerians invented: Wheel, sail, plow Bronze! Brick technology Arches, ramps and pyramids (ziggurat) First writing system, called….

Ziggurat – Holy Mountain Click on the pictures for more information on ziggurats.

Babylon Empire: a political unit where peoples or countries are controlled by a single ruler Babylon – 2000BCE First know written law code “Rule of Law” Hammurabi’s Code BCE

Code of Hammurabi #175: If a man has struck the cheek of a man who is superior to him, he shall be beaten 60 times with an oxtail whip in the assembly. #205: If a man has struck the cheek of a member of the aristocracy, they shall cut off his ear.

Early River Valley Civilizations Flooding of Tigris and Euphrates unpredictable No natural barriers Limited natural resources for making tools or buildings Environment Mesopotamia Egypt Indus River Valley China

EGYPT “The Gift of the Nile” Nile River Sahara Desert HieroglyphicsPyramidsGeometry Advances in medicine and surgery

Egypt

Favorable Geography Benefits of Nile – Rich soil – Water – Transportation Natural Boundaries

Egyptian History Early gov’ts to control Nile Eventually combined: – Lower Egypt (north) – Upper Egypt (south) Old Kingdom – 3,100-2,200 BC – Pyramids built as tombs

Egyptian History New Kingdom – 1, BC – The Empire – Ramses II – Tutankhamen

Egyptian Life & Culture Pharaoh: god-kings, rulers of the Old Kingdom Privileged aristocracy – Pharaoh & his family – Nobles – Priests Unprivileged masses – Peasants – Slaves – FLEXIBLE CLASS STRUCTURE!

Egyptian Life Economic activities – Depended chiefly on agriculture – Glassblowing – Imported timber and copper Religious beliefs – Polytheistic – Mummification

Egyptian Contributions Math – Surveyed land Art – Huge stone statues – Carved/painted various scenes Architecture & engineering – Pyramids and temples – Dams and irrigation canals

Egyptian Contributions Hieroglyphs on papyrus – “sacred writing” or pictures to Represent ideas and sounds Science – Solar-year calendar (365 days) – Prepared mummies – Recognized/Treated diseases

Early River Valley Civilizations Flooding of Tigris and Euphrates unpredictable No natural barriers Limited natural resources for making tools or buildings Environment Mesopotamia Egypt Indus River Valley China Flooding of the Nile predictable Nile an easy transportation link between Egypt’s villages Deserts were natural barriers

Indus Valley

Geography of South Asia Indus & Ganges Rivers Monsoons: seasonal winds Wet & dry seasons

Indus River Valley 2500 BC – 1500 BC Harappan culture Trade Well planned cities Grid pattern Modern plumbing Built on mud brick platforms Protected against seasonal floods Larger cities Houses built of baked brick Smaller towns Houses built of sun-dried mud brick

What we DON’T know: Language?? Huh? Religion?? Where did they go?

Aryan Migration

Early River Valley Civilizations Flooding of Tigris and Euphrates unpredictable No natural barriers Limited natural resources for making tools or buildings Environment Mesopotamia Egypt Indus River Valley China Flooding of the Nile predictable Nile an easy transportation link between Egypt’s villages Deserts were natural barriers Indus flooding unpredictable Monsoon winds Mountains, deserts were natural barriers

China River Dynasties

Geography of China Isolation 2 major river systems Loess: yellowish silt deposited by Huang He River 1887 CE flood killed approx 1 million people

Shang China 1600 BCE – 1027 BCE Written records Palaces with protection! Class structures!

Origins of Chinese Culture Written language vs. Spoken language FAMILY Family & Ancestors Class Structure

Zhou China 1122 BC – 256 BC Bronze, jade, silver, gold Mandate of Heaven Power to rule came from heaven Power could be lost and passed on to Another family Dynastic Cycle

Feudalism in China Coined money leads to: -Roads -Canals -TRADE Now they have IRON! -Weapons -Farm tools

Feudalism in China Feudalism: nobles are granted use of lands that legally belong to the king King owes the nobles protection FIGHTING!

Early River Valley Civilizations Flooding of Tigris and Euphrates unpredictable No natural barriers Limited natural resources for making tools or buildings Environment Mesopotamia Egypt Indus River Valley China Flooding of the Nile predictable Nile an easy transportation link between Egypt’s villages Deserts were natural barriers Indus flooding unpredictable Monsoon winds Mountains, deserts were natural barriers Huang He flooding unpredictable Mountains, deserts natural barriers Geographically isolated from other ancient civilizations