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9/6/2016
World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras ­ Time Periods ­ The Emergence of Civilizations
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TOPIC CENTER: THE EMERGENCE OF CIVILIZATIONS
The development of agriculture during the Neolithic Age
(New Stone Age) went hand-in-hand with the shift from a
nomadic lifestyle to settled life in small villages and
eventually early cities. Some of the world's ⤀褅rst farming
villages appeared in the Near Eastern region known as the
Fertile Crescent. As larger groups of people began living
together in such settlements, they cooperated in raising,
harvesting, and storing food. Over time, people also
created improved tools and other goods, extended their
trade networks, invented writing systems, and developed
methods of governing increasingly complex societies.
These innovations made it possible for the ⤀褅rst civilizations
to arise in various places, including Mesopotamia, Egypt,
India, and China.
River Valley Civilizations
Early civilizations emerged where favorable geographical
conditions combined with other factors such as reliable
access to water and fertile soil for agriculture. River valleys
provided these conditions, making them ideal places for
early farming communities to ⤀褅ourish and evolve into civilizations. The major river valley civilizations were
located in Mesopotamia (along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers), Egypt (in the Nile River valley), India and
Pakistan (in the Indus River valley), and China (in the Yellow River valley).
River valleys o⤀ㄆered not only water for crops, people, and domesticated animals, but also grazing land for
herds and water routes for trade and travel. In Egypt, for example, the Nile predictably ⤀褅ooded and fertilized
the farmland each year, making Egyptian life remarkably stable. The Nile also allowed Egyptians to travel and
move goods between Egypt's northern and southern regions.
Metal Tools and Writing
As life became more stable, people had time to re⤀褅ne various skills, including the making of tools for
harvesting and grinding grain, building houses, and weaving cloth. People had long used stone, bone, and
wood tools, but these had to be formed by chipping or carving and they easily wore down. New possibilities
opened up with the discovery that tools and weapons could be made of metal, beginning with copper about
6500 BCE. Metal had advantages over other materials: it was easily shaped, it was strong, and it held a sharp
edge. Copper was soon replaced by a harder metal, bronze (a mixture of copper and tin), an e⤀ㄆective
material for weapons as well as for vessels such as those made in China during the Shang dynasty. In turn,
bronze was replaced by an even harder metal: iron.
The use of metal tools helped increase food production and also changed the nature of warfare, because
improvements were continually made to weapons. Metal tools also drove trade because metal resources
were in demand even in places where they were not locally available.
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9/6/2016
World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras ­ Time Periods ­ The Emergence of Civilizations
As settled life became more organized, the need arose for a way to keep track of resources, trade
interactions, and other information. Early civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China each created
writing systems to meet this need. Cuneiform, developed in Mesopotamia, is made up of wedge-shaped
signs pressed into clay tablets. The Egyptians used hieroglyphic symbols that represented sounds or
concepts. In the Indus River valley, the Harappan people used seal stamps to mark objects with symbols. The
earliest script in China was inscribed on oracle bones used to understand the will of the gods.
Early writing systems were used mainly for record-keeping, but the Epic of Gilgamesh (written in cuneiform)
is an example of a literary work from ancient Mesopotamia. Over time, writing systems became more
complicated, and in such places as Mesopotamia and Egypt, scribes specialized in the skills of writing and
reading.
Results of City Life
Early cities developed features that were essential to the beginning of civilizations. Raising and storing food
surpluses allowed larger populations to be supported, and artisans' specialization in such trades as
metalworking, pottery-making, and weaving created a variety of goods that were vital to growing societies. In
addition to divisions of labor, social class distinctions also appeared between rulers, warriors, priests, and
commoners. City rulers used their control of resources to carry out projects such as building irrigation works
or storing large amounts of grain for the community. Law codes and the beginnings of organized religion
also appeared in early cities.
The e⤀ㄆects of settled agricultural life and early cities were long-lasting and profound. Cities set the stage for
the appearance of diverse civilizations around the world by providing the stable food supplies, concentrated
populations, social organization, and specialized skills needed for more complex societies to develop and
expand.
Jennifer Hutchinson
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Image Credits
Citadel ruins at Mohenjo-Daro: J A Giordano/Corbis SABA
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MLA Citation
Hutchinson, Jennifer. "The Emergence of Civilizations." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, ABC-CLIO,
2016, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1. Accessed 6 Sept. 2016.
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Entry ID: 1993745
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