1. Warm-Up
List the four river valley civilizations and the rivers by which they are located.

2. List the traits of a civilization. (Hint: you should have 8)
Warm-Up
List the traits of a civilization. (Hint: you should have 8)

3. The First River Valley Civilizations

4. What makes a civilization a civilization?
Cities serve as administrative centers.
Political systems based on control of a defined territory (with borders).
Job specialization
Status systems (mainly based on wealth).
Monumental buildings.
A system for keeping records.
Long-distance trade.
Major advances in science and art.

5. The First Four Civilizations
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Indus River valley
China

6. Mesopotamia
Location: fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (modern-day Iraq).
Geography and climate make it hard to grow crops, but agriculture was possible:
Barley
Date palms
Animal domestication
Trade routes provide other resources.

7. Mesopotamia
Civilization started as a collection of independent city-states.
Temples and palaces served as political centers for kings and government.
Stratified society: Three classes-
Landowners and priests
Dependent farmers and artisans
Slaves

8. Mesopotamia Important political figures: Sargon of Akkad Hammurabi
Technological innovations:
Cuneiform writing
Irrigation systems
Bronze metallurgy
Military techniques
Sargon most powerful leader for Akkadian Empire; Code of Hammurabi – 282 laws; eye for an eye; punishments depend on social class of offender; cuneiform – used a stylus like we use today; military techniques included chariots and cavalry (Hittites)

10. Egypt Location: along the lower Nile River (northeast Africa).
Isolated and protected by deserts on all sides.
Nile River provides resources for agriculture (flooding).
Transportation also easy – current =/= winds

11. Egypt Small city-states until unified under a king in 3100 BCE.
Pharaohs are regarded as political and religious leaders (gods on earth).
Pyramids and monuments
Local governments carried out pharaohs orders.
Rural communities.

12. Egypt Social classes: High ranking officials
Local leaders, business owners, larger farm owners
Peasants
Slaves
Religion based on natural figures and regular cycles.

13. Indus River Valley
Location: Centered around river valleys in modern Pakistan and India.
Fertile plains were good for agriculture but suffered from severe and unpredictable floods.

14. Indus River Valley Flourished from 2600 to 1900 BCE.
Downfall a mystery.
Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
Possibly controlled by a large central government.
Technological innovations:
Irrigation systems
Metallurgy
Pottery
Social order – caste system

15. China
Xia and Shang BC
Centered around the Yellow and Huang He river valleys.
Grew barley (N) and rice (S)
Religion was animism
Trade-centered economy
Scientific – created wheel, calendar, pottery, bronze tools

16. China Zhou Dynasty Wu Wang ousted Shang
900 year rule using Mandate of Heaven
Feudal society – nobles gained power over time
Ended 256 BC
Qin followed them

17. Conclusions
Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus River valley and China civilizations were all built around large rivers that provided opportunities to develop agricultural systems.
Egypt, China and Mesopotamia developed governments centered around an all-powerful king (and the Indus River valley may have been similar).
In all four civilizations, the populations were made up of varying ethnicities, but they were all united under a common cultural identity.