Download Ancient Sumer Info Sheet

Ancient Sumer Info Sheet
Within the Fertile Crescent lies a region that the ancient
Greeks later named Mesopotamia, which means ‘between
the rivers’. This is the area of land between the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers, which flow from the highlands if modern
day Turkey through Iraq and into the Persian Gulf. Around
3300 BCE, the world’s first civilization developed in
southeastern Mesopotamia, in a region called Sumer.
Control of the Tigris and Euphrates was key to developments
in Mesopotamia. The rivers frequently rose in terrifying floods
that washed away topsoil and destroyed mud-brick villages.
To survive and protect their farmland, villagers along the
riverbanks had to work together. Even during the dry
season, the rivers had to be controlled in order to channel
the waters into the fields. Temple priests or royal officials
organized villagers to work together on projects such as
building dikes to hold back floodwaters and irrigation
ditches to carry water to their fields.
The Sumerians had few natural resources, but they made
the most of what they did have. They lacked building
material such as timber or stone, so they built with clay and
water. They used clay to make bricks, which were the
building blocks for some of the world’s first cities. Trade
brought riches to Sumerian cities. Traders sailed along the
rivers to carry goods to distant regions. Archaeologists have
found goods from as far away as Egypt and India in the
rubble of Sumerian cities.
Information from: Ellis & Esler, Prentice Hall: World History, pg. 30-31
Ancient Egypt Info Sheet
Without the Nile, Egypt would be just the barren desert that
surrounds the river. While, the desert protected Egypt from
invasion, it also limited where people could settle. Farming
dotted the narrow band of land watered by the Nile. This
strip of land was generally no more than 10 miles wide.
Farmers took advantage of the fertile soil of the Nile Valley
to grow wheat and flax.
Every spring, the rains in the region send water racing down
streams that feed the Nile. In ancient times, Egyptians
eagerly awaited the annual flood. It soaked the land with
life-giving water and deposited a layer of rich silt. People
had to cooperate to control the Nile’s floods. They built
dikes, reservoirs, and irrigation ditches to channel the rising
river and store water for the dry season.
Ancient Egypt had two distinct regions, Upper Egypt in the
south and Lower Egypt in the north. Upper Egypt stretched
from the Nile’s first cataract, or waterfall, to within 100 miles
of the Mediterranean Sea. A delta is a triangular area of
marshland formed by deposits of silt at the mouth of some
rivers. Around 3100 BCE, Menes united the two regions. He
founded Egypt’s first capital at Memphis, a site near where
the Nile empties into its delta. The Nile was a highway linking
the north and the south. They could send officials or armies
to towns along the river. The Nile thus helped make Egypt
one of the world’s first unified states. The river also served as
a trade route. Egyptians merchants traveled up and down
the river in sailboats and barges, exchanging products of
Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean region.
Information from: Ellis & Esler, Prentice Hall: World History, pg. 44-45
Ancient India Info Sheet
Towering snow covered mountain ranges mark the northern
border of the Indian subcontinent, including the Hindu Kush and
the Himalayas. These mountains limited the contact ancient
Indians had with other lands, leaving India’s distinct culture to
develop on its own. However, the mountains were not a
complete barrier. Steep passages through the Hindu Kush
served as gateways t migrating and invading peoples for
thousands of years.
The Indian subcontinent is divided into three major zones: the
fertile Gangetic Plain in the north, the dry Deccan plateau, and
the coastal plains on either side of the Deccan. The Gangetic
Plain lies just south of the Himalayas. This fertile region is watered
by mighty rivers: the Indus, the Ganges, and the Brahmaputra.
These rivers and their tributaries carry melting snow from the
from the mountains to the plains, making agriculture possible.
The Decca is a plateau, or raised area of level land, that juts
into the Indian Ocean. It lacks the melting snows which causes
parts of the region to be arid and agriculturally unproductive.
The coastal plains are separated from the Deccan by low-lying
mountain ranges. People used seas in this region for fishing and
as highways for trade.
A defining feature of life in India is the monsoons, or seasonal
winds that regularly blow from a certain direction for part of the
year. In October, the winter monsoon blows, bringing hot, dry air
that withers crops. In mid-June, the summer monsoon blow, that
pick up moisture from the Indian Ocean and drench the land
with downpours. Each year the people welcome the rains for
desperately needed water for crops. If the rains are late, famine
and starvation may happen. However, if the rains are too
heavy, rushing rivers will unleash deadly floods.
Information from: Ellis & Esler, Prentice Hall: World History, pg. 68-69
Ancient China Info Sheet
Long distances and physical barriers separated China from other
regions. This isolation contributed to the Chinese belief that China
was the center of the earth and the sole source of civilization. To the
west and southwest were brutal deserts and high mountain ranges,
which blocked the easy movement of people. To the southeast,
thick rainforests divided China from Southeast Asia. To the north
awaited a forbidding desert and to the east lay the vast Pacific
Ocean. Despite the barriers, the Chinese did have contact with the
outside world. They traded with neighboring people and Chinese
goods eventually reached the Middle East. More often, the Chinese
encountered nomadic invaders, who were usually absorbed into the
advanced Chinese civilization.
As the Chinese expanded their empire, it came to include many
regions. The heartland lay along the east coast and the valleys of
the Huang River and the Chang River. In ancient times, these fertile
farming lands supported the largest population. The rivers provided
water for irrigation and served as transportation routes. Beyond the
heartland are the outlying regions of Xinjiang and Mongolia. These
regions have harsh climates and rugged terrain. They were
occupied usually by nomads or subsistence farmers. China also
exerted influence over the Himalayan region of Tibet.
Chinese history began along the Huang River, where Neolithic
people learned to farm. They needed to control the flow of the river
through large water projects, which probably led to the rise of a
strong central government. The Huang River got its name from the
loess, or fine windblown yellow soil, that it carries eastward from
Siberia and Mongolia. The river used to have the nickname of “the
River of Sorrows.” This was because as loess settles to the river
bottom, it raises the water level. Chinese peasants labored
constantly to build and repair dikes to prevent the river form
overflowing. If the dikes broke, floods would happen that could
destroy crops and brought mass starvation.
Information from: Ellis & Esler, Prentice Hall: World History, pg. 92-93
Ancient Greece Info Sheet
Greece is part of the Balkan peninsula. Mountains divide the
peninsula into isolated valleys. Beyond the rugged coast,
hundreds of rocky islands spread toward the horizon. The
Greeks who farmed the valleys or settled on the scattered
islands did not create a large empire such as that of the
Egyptians or Persians. Instead, they built many small citystates, called a polis, cut off from one another by mountains
or water. Each included a city and its surrounding
countryside. Greeks fiercely defended the independence of
their small city-states, and the endless rivalry frequently led
to war.
While mountains divided the Greeks, the seas provided a
vital link to the world outside. With its hundreds of bays, the
Greek coastline offered safe harbors for ships. The Greeks
became skilled soldiers and carried cargoes of olive oil,
wine, and marble to areas throughout the eastern
Mediterranean. They returned with grains, which were vital
because of unproductive farming on the peninsula, as well
as with metals. They also returned with ideas, such as the
Phoenician alphabet. The adapted Greek alphabet
became the basis for later Western alphabets.
By 750 BCE, rapid population growth forced many Greeks to
leave their overcrowded valleys. With fertile land limited, the
Greeks expanded overseas. Gradually, a scattering of
Greek colonies took root around the Mediterranean from
Spain to Egypt. Wherever they traveled, Greek settlers and
traders carried their ideas and culture.
Information from: Ellis & Esler, Prentice Hall: World History, pg. 118-119