1. THE FOUR ANCIENT RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS
These are the four locations in the world where true civilization truly began

2. THERE WERE 4 LOCATIONS Chronologically, civilization began
Mesopotamia (over 6000 years ago)
Harappa (over 5000 years ago)
Egypt (about 5000 years ago)
China (about 4000 years ago)
These are all a long long time ago and thus are considered ANCIENT

3. RIVERS
TIGRIS and EUPHRATES INDUS
NILE HUANG HE

4. VALLEYS Valleys are LOWLANDS surrounded by hills or mountains.
What advantages would settling in a VALLEY with a RIVER RUNNING THROUGH IT have over settling in a different geographical setting?

5. CIVILIZATION!!! What is a civilization?
What is required for a society to be considered a ‘Civilization’?

6. The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION
The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION!!! (For a society to be a civilization, these 9 elements are necessary)

7. The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION
The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION!!! (For a society to be a civilization, these 9 elements are necessary)
Agriculture: (It all starts with this one) = ___________________
… herding too
Why does agriculture HAVE to come first? Because there MUST be a FOOD ___________________ to free some people up to do jobs OTHER THAN getting food… jobs like building and governing and selling and being a priest or a teacher. Farming and Herding provided societies with that surplus of food!

8. The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION
The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION!!! (For a society to be a civilization, these 9 elements are necessary)
Organized Government: = ‘political structure’ to make and enforce laws, collect taxes, and create ‘Public Works’

9. The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION
The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION!!! (For a society to be a civilization, these 9 elements are necessary)
Complex Religion: =‘not just beliefs, but a belief SYSTEM’
(this belief system is often linked with organized government)

10. The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION
The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION!!! (For a society to be a civilization, these 9 elements are necessary)
Job Specialization: Different people have different jobs.
Not everybody’s ‘job’ is ‘getting food’ anymore. Different folks have different jobs.

11. The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION
The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION!!! (For a society to be a civilization, these 9 elements are necessary)
Social Classes/ (or in some modern civilizations, “Social Structure”):
This is a SYSTEMATIC division of status within a society
(this is usually connected with job specialization)
This is a SYSTEMATIC division of status within a society, where
people of different jobs, over many generations, begin to have
_______________________________________ than other people.
Once you were born into a level, it was nearly impossible to change
We Americans sometimes struggle to understand this one, because WE BELIEVE IN AND PRACTICE _____________________ _________________________!!! We can change our wealth and status!!!

12. The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION
The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION!!! (For a society to be a civilization, these 9 elements are necessary)
6. Arts and Architecture:
Arts: An expression of ______________________ thinking,
and
Architecture (and Engineering): ____________________buildings and structural systems.
You could include ‘Technology’ here too!

13. The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION
The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION!!! (For a society to be a civilization, these 9 elements are necessary)
7. Public Works:
Government building and maintenance programs… roads / water systems / irrigation systems / sewers, etc.
(you all used PUBLIC WORKS this morning on
your way to school!!!)

14. The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION
The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION!!! (For a society to be a civilization, these 9 elements are necessary)
8. Written Language:
Written language allowed for creation of laws, keeping trade records, communicating over distances, and eventually, for literature.

15. The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION
The NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION!!! (For a society to be a civilization, these 9 elements are necessary)
9. Cities (and towns) (This is a good time to introduce the word ‘urban’, which means ‘city- like’)

16. In Mesopotamia, Harappa, Egypt, and China, the ‘NINE ELEMENTS of CIVILIZATION ALL Developed!!!

17. MESOPOTAMIA What you have to know…
Located between the TIGRIS and EUPHRATES Rivers
They farmed, built cities, developed advanced irrigation systems
Agriculture was possible due in part to ‘predictable flooding’
Part of the ‘Fertile Crescent’
MOSTLY in present day IRAQ, plus a bit of Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran
In Asia
Region is part of SOUTHWEST ASIA
For MOST of it’s ancient history, Mesopotamia was a region with SEPARATE City-States
The written language of Mesopotamia is called CUNEIFORM. Mesopotamians wrote on CLAY TABLETS
In one of the city-states (Babylon), the world’s first written law (Hammurabi’s Code) was created
Introduced advanced metallurgy

18. EGYPT What you have to know… Located along the Nile River
They farmed, built cities, developed basic irrigation systems
Agriculture was possible due in part to ‘predictable flooding’
Sometimes thought to be at the EDGE of the ‘Fertile Crescent’
In present day EGYPT
In Africa
For MOST of it’s ancient history, Egypt was ruled by PHARAOHS (Kings) and rule over Egypt was passed on generation to generation
For most of it’s history, the cities of Egypt were ruled over by a central or national government
We call the written language of the Egyptians HIEROGLYPHICS. Egyptians wrote on scrolls made from PAPYRUS plants
Built the Great Pyramids

19. Harappa What you have to know… Located along the INDUS River
They farmed, built cities, developed advanced irrigation systems
Agriculture was possible due in part to ‘predictable flooding’
NOT part of the ‘Fertile Crescent’
Region is part of ‘SOUTH ASIAN SUBCONTINENT’
MOSTLY in present day PAKISTAN, and part of India
In Asia
For MOST of it’s ancient history, HARAPPA was a region with SEPARATE City-States
Harappans developed a written language, but modern linguists cannot decipher the language.
In the LARGEST Harappan city, Mohenjo Daro, a great bathing facility was built, today nicknamed ‘The Great Bath’
UNLIKE the other three river valley civilizations, Harappan civilization ‘disappeared’ (around 1700 C.E.)
South Asia’s primary belief systems, Hinduism and Buddhism, began AFTER the Harappan period.
The Vedas, which are the basis of Hinduism, were created by later Aryans, in this region

20. Shang China What you have to know…
Located on the Huang He and Yangtze Rivers
They farmed, built cities, developed advanced irrigation systems
Agriculture was possible due in part to ‘predictable flooding’
Region is part of ‘EAST ASIA’
In Asia
For MOST of it’s ancient history, China was ruled by EMPERORS (Kings) and rule over China was passed on generation to generation
‘Shang’ refers to the ‘Shang’ family line, or dynasty, that ruled China in ancient times
China’s Huang He river carries fertile yellowish silt called loess that led to the naming of the Huang He as the ‘Yellow River’ which flows into the ‘Yellow Sea’
Ancient Chinese used ORACLE BONES to predict the future and to diagnose illnesses.
China’s primary belief systems, Confucianism and Daoism, developed shortly after the Shang period.