1. Advanced Cities in Major River Valley

2. Map: Tigrus & Euphrates and Nile
SUMER

3. Map: Indus

4. Map: Yellow

5. Geography
T&E: Very fertlie land located between 2 rivers, no natural barriers, open for trading and invasions
Nile: Deserts acted as natural barriers that forced Eygptians to stay close to the Nile and shut out invaders, remained peaceful for most of its early years
Indus: Mountains created natural barrier and helped protect the Indus Valley from invasions
Yellow: Natural barriers isolated China: Pacific Ocean, Himalaya Mountains, Gobi Desert, Plateau of Tibet

6. Irrigation Farming
Rivers flooded at least once a year, left a thick bed of mud called silt
Used irrigation to produce a surplus
Surpluses allowed for growth of villages and specialized jobs

7. Farming in China Used both: Irrigation & Terrace
Terrace Farming-farmers create “steps” in mountains that allow for small, flat fields workable for agriculture

8. City-States and power
city-state-a city and its surrounding lands functioning as an independent political unit (like a country functions today)
farming villages, each one had its own rituals, gods, and cheifs
Features: surrounded by a high wall, ziggurat (temple) in the center
Power: Priests ruled at first, during war time power was given to military commanders who eventually became rulers

9. City-State in the Indus River Valley

10. Trade
Cultural diffusion-process of a new idea or a product spreading from one culture to another
T&E, Egypt, Indus: Developed trade with each other, as technology grew (ships and wheel), trade over greater distances
China: Viewed people who lived outside of China as barbarians, thought their civilization was the center of the civilized world

11. Early Trade Routes

12. Written Language
T&E: Cuniform-used wet clay to draw a system of lines and marks, Epic of Gilgamesh-earliest work of literature, told myths and legends of Mesopotamia
Nile: Hieroglyphics-flexible writing system, papyrus-early form of paper made from reeds, developed written numbers, calendar
Indus: Developed but we have not been able to translate
Yellow: Each character stands for an idea (not a sound), memorize over 1,000 characters, + unifies the area because EVERYONE writes the same

13. Religion Polytheism-Believed in many different gods
Various forces in nature were controlled by gods (ex. Floodings and droughts)
Egyptians worshipped the Nile, also believed their rulers were gods

14. Achievements T&E: Wheel, sail, Plow, 1st to use bronze Indus:
Laid out their cities on a precise grid system, Buildings were made from oven baked bricks
Very sophisticated plumbing and sewage systems
China:
Invented the chariot, Skilled workers (artisans) made silk and bronze items

15. Egypt: Pyramids
Pyramids were final the resting place for pharohs, believed to rule after death so their tombs were more important than their palaces
Remarkable engineering achievements, they hadn’t begun using the wheel
Represent the strength of Egyptian civilization

16. Early Rulers
T&E: Hammurabi was the ruler of Babylon WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Nile: To Eygptians the kings were gods, Pharaohs stood at the center of Egypt’s religion, government and army
Indus: Not enough is known about the civ.
Yellow: Mandate of Heaven-royal authority came from heaven, a just ruler have divine approval, became a central idea to Chinese govt.
Dynastic cycle-patterns of rise, decline and replacement of dynasties