Download River Valley Civilizations

RIVER VALLEY
CIVILIZATIONS
3500
to 500 BC
The “Cradles of Civilization”
WHERE DID THE EARLIEST
CIVILIZATIONS DEVELOP?
River
valleys - They had rich soil for
agriculture because periodic flooding left silt
which made the soil rich in nutrients
They were protected by
geographic barriers (mountains,
deserts, seas, jungles, etc.)
WHERE WERE THE EARLIEST
CIVILIZATIONS LOCATED AND
WHEN DID THEY EXIST?
E
M
I
C
RIVER VALLEY
CIVILIZATIONS
(3500 BC to 500 BC)
Mesopotamia in Southwest Asia
 Egypt in Northeast Africa

India in South Asia
 China in East Asia
 From west to east “EMIC”

What were some
characteristics of the
Ancient River Valley
civilizations?
MESOPOTAMIA: SUMER
GEOGRAPHY
Mesopotamia
•Mesopotamia was a region located in
the part of the Fertile Crescent that lies
between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
MESOPOTAMIA
Present-day
Iraq (Middle
East).
Protected on three sides by mountains, deserts
and the Persian Gulf (but vulnerable to
invaders from the north)
Sumerian Government
Sumer
It
was the first known civilization
arose in southern Mesopotamia
SUMER
 Sumer
was made up of 12 independent citystates each ruled by its own king.
 City-state:
A city and the surrounding land
CUNEIFORM:
the first written
language
(wedge writing)

IRRIGATION:
brought water from the rivers to the
fields during the dry summer months
BRONZE
Smelted
from copper
and tin
OTHER SUMERIAN
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Plow
Ziggurats
Wheeled
vehicles
Number
system
based on 60
BABYLONIAN EMPIRE
The
first empire to arise in Mesopotamia
Empire:
several peoples, nations, or
previously independent states under the
control of one ruler.
CODE OF HAMMURABI
First
set of
published laws
Based on the
principle of an
“eye for an
eye”
Laws differed
based on class
EGYPT
GEOGRAPHY
Nile
Delta and
Nile River Valley
(Northeast
Africa)
NILE DELTA
The
delta was
located in Lower
Egypt (northern
Egypt - lower in
elevation)
Delta: broad,
marshy, triangular
area of land formed
by deposits of silt at
the mouth of a river.

Protected by deserts and seas
View from space shuttle
EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT
 Pharoahs
were rulers
thought to be gods.
They had absolute power
(complete control) over
the Egyptian Empire.
 They
were thought to be
responsible for making
the sun rise, the Nile
flood, and crops grow.
Egypt,
had a rigid class system
and slavery was accepted.
EGYPTIAN RELIGION
Like other River
Valley peoples,
Egyptians were
polytheistic
(believed in
many gods).
EGYPTIAN WRITING
Hieroglyphics: Pictures stood for sounds
as well as ideas
INDIA: INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
GEOGRAPHY
Located
on the Indus
River in present-day
Pakistan (Indian
subcontinent).
NATURAL BARRIERS
 The
Himalayan and the Hindu Kush Mountains as
well as the Indian Ocean protected the Indian
subcontinent from invasion.
INDUS VALLEY
GOVERNMENT
Made up of independent city-states including
Harappa, and Mohenjo-Daro (and 2500 other sites)
INDUS VALLEY
ACHIEVEMENTS
Plumbing
The great bath at Mohenjo-Daro
COTTON CLOTH
first to cultivate cotton and weave its
fibers into cloth (textiles)
WRITING
has
not been deciphered
CHINA
GEOGRAPHY
Huang
He River
•Also called the Yellow River and the
River of Sorrows (yellow silt caused
flooding)
Protected
by the Gobi desert,
Himalayan Mountains, Pacific
Ocean, dense jungles
CHINESE GOVERNMENT
China was ruled by a succession of ruling
families called dynasties (Early dynasties:
Shang and Zhou)
Chinese rulers
were
considered
divine (godlike).
They served under a Mandate of
Heaven (approval of the gods) only as
long as their rule was just
DYNASTIC CYCLE:
Explains the rise and fall of families of
rulers
ANCESTOR WORSHIP
 The
Chinese believed that the spirits of family
ancestors could bring good fortune or disaster
 They
paid respect to family ancestors and made
sacrifices in their honor
EARLY CHINESE
ACHIEVEMENTS
Silk cloth (made from the cocoons of
silkworms).
WRITING:
Characters stood for ideas, not sounds.
The
earliest evidence of Chinese writing is
found on oracle bones.
IRRIGATION:
Water
wheels
were used to
bring river
water to the
fields
Bronze vessel used for sacrificial food
Bronze
S.P.R.I.T.E.
 Social:
This category covers anything that directly affects
people. When a population and/or a large group of
people are affected by an event, it is most likely a social
factor.
 Political:
This category covers anything that is related to
the actions of the government or impacts the
government. The actions of rulers, leaders, or governments
with each other or against each other would be included
in this category. These actions can range from protecting
or expanding borders, restructuring of the government
system, revolutions, and acts of war.
 Religious:
This category is self explanatory. Anything that is
a result of religious theology or anything that has
impacted religion or was impacted by religion belongs in
this category.
S.P.R.I.T.E.
• Intellectual: This category covers anything related to a
society’s culture: ideas, education, and art. New ways of
thinking that aren’t related to religion would be included
here as well.
• Technology: Any advancement in science, medicine, or
weaponry that changes the way a society lives or an army
fights would go in this category. Anytime a country
progresses as a result of new inventions means that
technology is the result.
• Economic: This category covers any information related to
the spending or accumulation of money. Any form of
taxes, loans, purchases or any other actions related to the
exchanging of money or items of value would be included
here.