Early River Valley Civilizations

1. Early River Valley Civilizations 3500 B.C.-450 B.C.

2. What is the fertile crescent? • Between Persian Gulf and Mediterranean sea in Southwest Asia • Region is curved shaped and the land is rich • Provided some of the best farming in Southwest Asia. • Became known as Mesopotamia

3. Mesopotamia Means “land between the rivers” The Tigris and Euphrates frame Mesopotamia Flow to the Persian Gulf

4. What environmental challenges existed in the area? • Unpredictable flooding • Long periods of little to no rain • No natural barriers for protection • Limited natural resources • Building materials were scarce

5. How were these problems solved? • Dug irrigation ditches that carried river water to their fields and allowed them to produce a surplus of crops. • Built city walls with mud bricks for defense • Traded with peoples of mountain an deserts to receive raw materials. • KEY: ORGANIZATION, COOPERATION AND LEADERSHIP

6. Sumerian City-States • Functioned like an independent country • Center of all Sumerian cities was walled temple with a ziggurat (city hall) in the middle • Priests had most control over the cities, because citizens wanted the blessings of the Gods • City-states grew, because crop production facilitated trade • Advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping and improved technology set Sumer apart from other city-states.

8. Sumerian Religion • Polytheistic: Believed in many different Gods • Gods did many of the same things that humans did-fell in love, had children, argued • Gods were also immortal • Humans were servants to the Gods • Built alters to the Gods and made sacrifices

9. Life in Sumerian Society • Social classes existed • Women had many rights that did not exist in other civilizations • Technology greatly increased • Invented wheel, sail, plow • Used bronze • Developed measuring system • Created their own system of writing

10. What was Mesopotamia’s first empire? • Led by Sargon from Akkad • Conquests helped spread culture of Sumer • Brought together people from across the Mediterranean Coast • Lasted only about 200 years • Declined because of internal fighting, invasions and famine

11. What was the most lasting empire? • The Babylonian Empire • Reached its peak during the reign of Hammurabi • Developed his own code of laws • Helped unify diverse groups • Affected everything within the community • Tells about beliefs of Mesopotamians • Different punishments for rich and poor • Lasted for two centuries • Fell to neighboring Kassites

12. What were the geographical features of Egypt? • Africa • Most settlements were along the Nile River, the longest River in the World • When the Nile flooded, it left rich, fertile silt which was beneficial to farming • Egyptians built irrigation ditches, from which to water crops year-round • The desert was advantageous because it kept invaders from Egypt

13. Early Egyptian Villages • Farming villages • Each had its own rituals, gods and chieftain • Under the rule of two separate kingdoms, Lower and Upper Egypt • Two kingdoms were eventually united

14. When was Egypt unified? • Around 3000 BC • Ruled by one Kingdom • Kings were representative of the Gods and were called Pharaohs • Government was a theocracy • Believed that King ruled, even after death • Pyramids were constructed to serve as “palaces” for dead kings • Reflected the strength of Egyptian civilization and technology

15. Egyptian Culture and Life • Religion: Polytheistic • Mummification, items used in afterlife. • Class Structure: King, upper class, middle class, lower class, slaves • Not locked into social class • Women had same rights as men • Writing: Hieroglyphics-Picture stood for an idea • Also invented papyrus, a form of paper • Science and Technology: Calendar(kept track of seasons), written numbers, geometry, medicine

16. How did the “Old & Middle Kingdoms” end? Power of Pharaohs declined Group from Palestine, called the Hyksos moved into Egypt and began their rule.

17. What was the geography of the Indian Subcontinent? • World’s tallest mountains to the north • Largest desert to the east • Helped protect from invasion • Two significant rivers: Ganges and Indus • Carried water for irrigation and silt for rich agriculture • Southern part thrusts south into the Indian Ocean • Monsoons dominated climate

18. How did civilization emerge on the Indus? • Not really sure, because historical evidence is lacking • Inhabitants did construct planned cities, with strong levees to keep out flooding • Cities were laid out on a precise grid system, inside fortifications • Had sophisticated plumbing and sewage systems • Harappa was one of the more famous cities.

19. Harappan Culture • Language: Written language, but impossible to decipher-over 400 symbols • Religion: Theocracy-Gods and Goddesses • Trade: Thriving trade due to location along the Indus river

20. Indus Valley Culture Ends • Fate of cities remained a mystery until 1970 • Satellite images revealed that tectonic plates had shifted, possibly causing earthquakes and floods • Many cities were destroyed • Over-farming may have led to the destruction of other cities.

21. What was the geography of early China? • Natural barriers (oceans, seas, mountains, deserts) isolated China from other parts of the world & limited trade • Two major river systems (Yellow River & Chang Jiang) flow through China • Only about 10% of China’s land was suitable for farming

22. Chinese Civilization Emerges • 2000 BC early Chinese settlements grew into cities • During the first dynasty, flood control and irrigation projects helped tame rivers so that settlements could grow. • Shang Dynasty came to power in 1700 BC. • First to have written records • Built elaborate palaces, walled cities and tombs • Anyang was most important cities

23. Chinese Culture • Family: Central to society, respect for parents, greater rights for males, arranged marriages • Social Classes: Sharply divided between nobles and peasants • Religion: Believed spirits of ancestors could bring good or evil • Writing: No links between written and spoken language, but did help unify the Chinese

24. Zhou and the Dynastic Cycle • 1027 BC Zhou overthrew Shang and created their own dynasty • Said that their authority to do this came from a “Mandate from Heaven” • Established feudalism, a political system in which nobles could use the land of the king, in return for loyalty and military service • During the dynasty, roads and canals were built, money was introduced and improved trade • Towards the end of the Zhou reign chaos and defiance was commonplace in China