Download Early River Civilizations

Early River Civilizations
Nile River Valley Civilization
• The Nile River is the
longest river in the
world. It stretches 4,
187 miles to the
Mediterranean Sea.
• The source of the Nile
is sometimes
considered to be Lake
Victoria, but the lake
itself has feeder
rivers of considerable
size.
The Nile Delta
• The Nile Delta,
created by deposits of
sediment at the mouth
of the river, was
important to the
people of Egypt.
• The Nile River flooded
every year bringing
silt, finely ground soil,
to fertilize this area.
Farming Along the Nile
• The farmland was
divided into large
estates: however
the peasants did
most of the farming.
• They used crude
hoes and wooden
plows.
Crops
• Wheat and barley were
the main grain crops.
• Flax was also grown and
then spun and woven
into linen.
• Farmers also grew
cotton to weave into
cloth.
Buildings
• The Nile Valley contains minerals such as
granite, sandstone, and limestone which were
used for trade and building of religious
facilities pyramids, the pharaoh’s tombs.
Climate
• The climate was sunny and frost-free
which made it ideal for farming.
• The North wind made it easy for
ships to travel upstream to southern
Africa with the wind or downstream
to the Mediterranean Sea with the
current.
Egyptian Government
• The government was
controlled by Pharaohs
who had absolute
power. They kept a
strict control over the
government and
people.
• Egypt created a strong
army and gained land
along the eastern end
of the Mediterranean
Sea.
Hieroglyphics
• They had a developed
writing system called
hieroglyphics.
• Hieroglyphics used more
ant 600 signs, pictures, or
symbols to represent
words and sounds.
• They used papyrus that
grew in the delta to make
paper.
• Egyptians used ink made
from soot, water, and plant
juice.
Education
• The Education focused
on scribes or clerks.
• Scribes learned to
read and write so that
they could work for
the government.
• Schools were usually
attached to temples
• Most people in Egypt
believed in many gods,
polytheism.
Sumerian River Valley
Civilization (Mesopotamia)
• Mesopotamia is also called the Fertile
Crescent because of the regions
curved shape and richness of the
land.
Geography
• The land was located between the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
• The Fertile Crescent was surrounded
by the Taurus Mountains (Turkey) to
the northwest, the Zagros Mountains
(Iran) to the east and the Syrian
Desert to the south.
The Rivers
• Like the Nile, the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers flood each year,
providing silt to fertilize the soil.
• The source for both rivers is the
Taurus Mountains.
• They both flow into the Persian Gulf
in what is today Iraq and Kuwait.
Cuneiform
• Sumerian writers
used a wedgeshaped tool called a
stylus.
• This writing is
called cuneiform.
• There were 600
signs.
Buildings
• The Sumerians built
large temples called
ziggurats.
• They were made of
baked bricks placed in
layers.
• Ziggurats could be up
to 150 feet high and
the top served as a
shrine to a Sumerian
god.
Sumerian Arch
• They also invented the arch, a curved
structure over and opening.
• It is the strongest form of building.
• By combining several arches the
Sumerians built rounded roofs in the
shape of domes.
Trade
• Sumerians farmed
and traded goods
around the world.
• They grew dates,
grains, flax, and
vegetables.
Cities
• The Sumerians
forms city-states,
city and
surrounding land
controlled by the
same government.
• A city-state
functions like a
separate country
today.
Babylon
• In about 1792 B.C.
Hammurabi conquered
most of the Tigris and
Euphrates River Valley
became a ruler of
Babylon.
• He combined a
collection of 282 laws.
• These laws contain
some ideas that are
still in our laws today.