Early River Valley Civilizations

1. Chapter 2 Early River Valley Civilizations

2. City-States in Mesopotamia • Geography in the Fertile Crescent • Fertile Crescent – an arc of rich farmland in Southwest Asia • Mesopotamia – “land between the rivers” • Environmental Challenges • Unpredicted flooding • No natural protection • Limited natural resources • Solving Problems through Organization • Irrigation ditches • Construction of city walls • Traded crops and tools for stone, wood, and metal

3. City-States in Mesopotamia • Sumerians Create City-States • City-state – a city and its surrounding lands functioning as an independent political unit • Priests and Rulers Share Control • Dynasty – a series of rulers from a single family • The Spread of Cities • Cultural diffusion – process in which a new idea or a product spreads from one culture to another

4. City-States in Mesopotamia • Sumerian Culture • A Religion of Many Gods • Polytheism • Life in Sumerian Society • Social classes • Kings, landholders, and priests • Wealthy merchants • “ordinary Sumerian people” • slaves • Sumerian Science and Technology • Arithmetic and Geometry • Architectural innovations • Cuneiform

5. City-States in Mesopotamia • The First Empire Builders • Sargon of Akkad • Conquered Sumer around 2350 B.C. • Empire – a political unit in which a number of peoples or countries are controlled by a single ruler • Babylonian Empire • Amorites took over around 2000 B.C. • Established their capital at Babylon • Hammurabi’s Code • 282 specific laws dealing with everything that affected the community

6. Pyramids on the Nile • The Geography of Egypt • The Gift of the Nile • Yearly floods bring water and rich soil to allow settlements to grow • Environmental Challenges • Regular and predictable flooding • Vast forbidding deserts on either side of the Nile • Upper and Lower Egypt • Delta – a marshy region formed by deposits of silt at the mouth of a river

7. Pyramids on the Nile • Egypt Unites into a Kingdom • Narmer – unified Upper and Lower Egypt • Established the capital at Memphis • Pharaohs Rule as Gods • Pharaoh – Egyptian god-kings • Theocracy – government in which rule is based on religious authority • Builders of the Pyramids • Pyramids – resting place after death

8. Pyramids on the Nile • Egyptian Culture • Religion and Life • Polytheistic • Egyptian afterlife • Mummification – a process of embalming and drying corpses to prevent them from decaying

9. Pyramids on the Nile • Life in Egyptian Society • Egyptian Writing • Hieroglyphics – “sacred writing” • Papyrus • Egyptian Science • Developed the solar year – 365 days • Invaders Control Egypt • Hyksos gain control of Egypt from 1630 – 1523 B.C.

10. Planned Cities on the Indus

11. Planned Cities on the Indus • The Geography of the Indian Subcontinent • Subcontinent – a large landmass that forms a distinct part of a continent • Rivers, Mountains, and Plains • World’s tallest mountains • Indus and Ganges Rivers • Monsoons • Seasonal winds • Bring moisture • Environmental Challenges • Yearly unpredictable floods • Changing rivers • Unpredictable monsoons

12. Planned Cities on the Indus • Civilization Emerges on the Indus • Earliest Arrivals • Planned Cities • Strong levees • Grid system plans • Sophisticated plumbing and sewage • Harappan Planning

13. Planned Cities on the Indus • Harappan Culture • Language • No bilingual inscriptions • Culture • Prosperous society • Use of animal images • Role of Religion • Theocracy but no found temple • Trade • Thriving trade • River transportation • Indus Valley Culture Ends • Earthquakes and shifting geology

14. River Dynasties in China

15. River Dynasties in China • The Geography of China • River Systems • Huang He (Yellow River), Chang Jiang (Yangtze) • Loess – a fertile deposit of windblown soil • Environmental Challenges • Disastrous floods • Isolation • Natural boundaries did not protect from invaders • China’s Heartland • The North China Plain

16. River Dynasties in China • Civilization Emerges in Shang Times • The First Dynasties • The Xia Dynasty – Yu • The Shang Dynasty • Early Cities • Anyang – built mainly of wood • Massive earthen walls

17. River Dynasties in China • The Development of Chinese Culture • Family • Central to Chinese society – respect for one’s parents • Social classes • Divided between peasants and nobles • Religious Beliefs • Spirits of family ancestors had power to bring good fortune or disaster • Oracle Bones – animal bones and tortoise shells on which priests scratched questions for the gods • Development of Writing • All people of China could learn the same written symbols • Thousands of characters

18. River Dynasties in China • Zhou and the Dynastic Cycle • Mandate of Heaven • Divine approval • Dynastic cycle – rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties • Control Through Feudalism • A political system in which nobles, or lords, are granted the use of lands that legally belong to the king • Improvements in Technology and Trade • Roads and canals • Coined money • Blast furnaces for iron • A Period of Warring States • Nomads conquered the Zhou rulers in 771, B.C.