6-1.3

1. 6-1.3 Compare the river valley civilizations of the Tigris and Euphrates (Mesopotamia), the Nile (Egypt), the Indus (India), and the Huang He (China), including the evolution of written language, government, trade system, architecture, and forms of social order.

2. HUMAN INGENUITY Why and how do we create? What are the consequences?

3. Why did humans settle in river valleys? • The river valleys gave them a steady supply of the following: • Water for drinking, bathing, and irrigation. • Rich, fertile soil for growing crops. • Transportation. • Fish

4. Where in the world are the river valley civilizations located?

5. Tigris-Euphrates is called Mesopotamia in modern-day Iraq.

6. Nile River is located in Egypt.

7. Indus is in modern-day India and Pakistan.

8. Huang He is located in China.

9. River Valley Civilizations

10. What effect did writing have on the development of civilization?

11. IMPACT OF WRITING • Writing allowed kings to write down laws send messages over long distances. • This allowed the kings to rule over large areas and rule over many people.

12. What kinds of written languages did early civilizations create?

13. Tigris-Euphrates: Cuneiform

14. Nile: Hieroglyphics

15. Indus: Sanskrit

16. Huang He: Chinese pictographs and ideographs

17. How did early civilizations govern themselves?

18. The Tigris-Euphrates developed several city-states run by kings.

19. The Tigris-Euphrates civilization of Sumer was the first to write down its laws (Hammurabi’s Code).

20. The Nile formed an empire run by a pharaoh.

21. The Indus developed well-planned cities led by priest-kings called Rajas.

22. What forms of art and architecture were created by river valley civilizations?

23. Tigris-Euphrates: Temples called Ziggurats, the Epic of Gilgamesh (world’s first book)

24. Nile: Pyramids and Temples

25. Indus: Statues and sewer system

26. Huang He: The Great Wall of China, terra cotta soldiers

27. What impact did the natural environment play in the development of civilization?

28. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flooded which allowed for farming in desert regions.

29. The Egyptians were isolated from other civilizations by deserts on each side of the Nile.

30. The monsoon winds bring long periods of rain alternating with long periods of drought to the Indus Valley

31. The mountains and deserts around the Huang He isolate China from the rest of the world.

32. How did early civilizations divide into social classes?

33. SOCIAL CLASSES • People were placed into classes based on their jobs. • Government officials and priests were typically in the upper class. • The rest of the freemen made up the middle and lower classes. • Slaves were bound to lower class.

34. How did early civilizations trade with each other?

35. TRADE CENTERS • When the river valleys traded with each other, they often met in a place somewhere between the two civilizations. • Trade centers were located along major bodies of water.

36. What was the impact of trade on early civilizations?

37. 1. Each civilization was able to get goods that they did not have at home.

38. 2. Trade caused cultural diffusion to occur. • Cultural diffusion – spreading of ideas from one culture to another.

39. Textbook Time • Copy the chart that compares Mesopotamia to Egypt on page 44.