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Ancient River Valley Civilization Similarities
(These cover ancient Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, ancient China, and ancient India)
Settled by a river
They settled by a river for many reasons: p. 120-121
1 The rivers flooded and left deposits of silt that made the land fertile
2 The fields that bordered the rivers were flat for easy crop planting
3 The rivers provided water farmers needed for irrigation
4 River travel allowed the trade of goods and ideas (cultural diffusion)
Irrigation leads to food surplus and…
 Irrigation helped farmers be more productive and provide a food surplus.
 Not everybody had to be a farmer and some people became free to do other
jobs.
 This is called a division of labor and now society could accomplish more.
People were also free to pursue crafts, art, and writing. P.118
Religion is key
Religion played a role in nearly every aspect of life.
 Religious leaders were often at the top of the social hierarchy p. 125, 284
 In the kingdom of Sumer in Mesopotamia they believed success in life
depended on pleasing the gods. P.125
 In ancient Egypt they spent most of their life preparing for the afterlife.
 In ancient China, emperor Shi Huangdi was buried in a tomb with over 6,000
terra cotta (clay) soldiers to protect him in the afterlife.
 The Zhou dynasty believed heaven chose China’s ruler and gave power. This
was called the Mandate of Heaven.
 In ancient India, the highest level of their caste system (social class) is the
priest. P.479
Social Order
 As farming villages turned into cities, they needed structure and rules. The
division of society by rank or class was called social hierarchy. P.125
 Religious leaders were often at the top of the social hierarchy. P. 125, 284,
479.
 Egypt believed that a well ordered society would keep their kingdom strong.
P.284
* Please use underlined words for vocabulary. You will need to use the provided
pages along with the index to get the best definitions.
Achievements of the Ancient River Civilizations
Some are legacies (Achievements that lasted…)
Mesopotamia located on Euphrates and Tigris Rivers: 127-137
Sumer
 Cuneiform: World’s first writing system p. 127-128
 Wheel: First to build wheeled vehicles, such as carts. P.129 (legacy)
 Plow: pulled by oxen to prepare soil and increased farm production. P.129
(legacy)
 Clock: based on 60 just like ours today p. 129 (legacy)
 Math: calculated areas of triangles and rectangles p. 129
 Ziggurat: a stepped pyramid temple in the center of each city p.130
Babylon
 Hammurabi’s Code: a set of 282 laws written for all to see and dealt with
almost every part of daily life. Some ideas still found in laws today. P.133
(legacy)
Hittites
 Chariot: first to use wheeled horse-drawn carts that allowed soldiers to
move quickly around the battlefield p. 134
Phoenicians (Lebanon today)
 Alphabet: Phoenicians developed first alphabet. The alphabet we use today
is based on it. P. 137 (legacy)
*There are so many other achievements on pages 127-137 with these kingdoms and
even others! Check out the Assyrians and the Chaldeans for bonus.
Egypt located on the Nile River: 288-290; 298-301
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Pyramids: The pyramids were built as tombs for Egypt’s pharaohs and
showed their importance. Check out pages 288-290 to beef up this fact.
(legacy)
Hieroglyphics: Egyptian writing system used picture symbols to represent
sounds. Over 600 symbols and could be written in any direction. P. 298-299
Papyrus: a long lasting, paperlike material made from reeds. Because
papyrus didn’t decay in Egypt’s dry climate, many works survived like The
Book of the Dead. P. 298-299
Rosetta Stone: Discovered in 1799 by a French soldier and gave historians
the key they needed to read ancient Egyptian writing. Used the same
message in 3 languages to allow translation of hieroglyphics. P. 299
Sphinx: imaginary creatures with the bodies of lions and the head of other
animals or humans used to decorate many temples. P. 300
Obelisk: a tall, four-sided pillar that is pointed on top like the Washington
Monument. P.300
Ancient India located on the Indus River P.495-499
Metalworking P.498
 Indian Iron was very hard and pure and made it a valuable trade item.
 Metallurgy: ancient Indians were some of the first to master working with
metals. They created high-quality tools and weapons.
 Alloys: The knew the processes for mixing two or more metals.
Math and Science
 Hindu-Arabic Numerals: The very numbers we use today are called HinduArabic Numerals. The Indians were also the first people to create the zero. P.
498(Legacy)
 Inoculation: They used this to protect against disease. Inoculation is the
practice of injecting a person with a small dose of the virus to help build a
defense to a disease. Think of the flu shot. P.499 (Legacy)
 Astronomy: The Indians studied the stars and planets. They knew 7 of our
planets and that the sun was a star and the planets revolved around it! They
also knew the earth was a sphere that spun on its axis.
Ancient China located on the Huang He or Yellow River P. 509, 514-515, 522
 Compass: The magnetic compass allowed sailors and merchants to travel far
distances. P. 522 (Legacy)
 Paper: it gave the Chinese a cheap and wasy way of keeping records and
made printing possible. China was the first to print paper on money. P.522
(Legacy)
 Gunpowder: used to make fireworks and signals. The Chinese did not
generally use as a weapon. P. 522 (Legacy)
 Great Wall: This was built by the Qin emperor to be a barrier to protect China
to the north. P. 509
 Terra-cotta soldiers: Over 6,000 clay life sized soldiers placed in a tomb to
protect emperor Shi Huangdi in the afterlife. P.509
 Acupuncture: The Han dynasty used this practice of inserting fine needles
through the skin at specific points to cure disease or relieve pain. P.515
(Legacy)
* Please use underlined words for vocabulary. You will need to use the provided
pages along with the index to get the best definitions.