Download Ancient River Valley Civilizations

Tuesday August 16, 2016
Outcome: SWBAT examine characteristic and
accomplishments of the 4 Ancient River Valley
Civilization.
Homework: Read 3.2;
Agenda:
Take Cornell Notes
1. Map Quiz
2. Journal Entry
Due Today: Civilization
3. Correct Quiz
Collage
4. PPT
5. Questions (APE style paragraph)
Journal Entry #2
What do you already know?
What do you want to know?
What do you have questions about?
Ancient River Valley
Civilizations
During this lecture, fill out the chart
provided using bullet points
MESOPOTAMIA
CHINA
EGYPT
INDUS VALLEY
Ancient Mesopotamia
(Civilization first emerges c. 3300 BCE)
Chapter 2.1
Mesopotamia
• “The Land Between
Rivers”
– Tigris & Euphrates
• Mesopotamia exists
within a larger region
of fertile land called
the “Fertile
Crescent”
Geography of the Fertile Crescent
• ADVANTAGES:
– Flooding of rivers left silt → allowed farmers to
harvest large quantities of crops
• CHALLENGES:
– Unpredictable flooding
– Small and defenseless area—open plains
• was the least isolated with the fewest natural
barriers
– Limited natural resources
• Lacked stone, wood, and metal
• Used dried mud for bricks
Solutions to Geographic Challenges
• Built irrigation ditches
• TRADE with other people
Turn and Talk: How does this prove that Sumer
was a civilization?
Sumerian Culture--3000 BC
• 1st to settle in Mesopotamia
• Established city-states & formed dynasties
• Center of city was a ziggurat (temple)
– Sumerian religion was polytheistic & gods were
anthropomorphic (man-like)
Sumerian Civilization--Social
•Society was patriarchal
•Priests and Kings at top
•Wealthy merchants and landowners
•Artisans, field workers and
workshop owners (majority)
•Slaves (primarily captured warriors)
Sumerian Achievements
• Wheel
• Plow
• First system of
writingcuneiform
• Number system in
base “60”
• First written law
Code (Babylonian:
Hammurabi’s Code)
Ancient Egypt
(Civilization first emerges c. 3000 BCE)
Chapter 2.4
Geography of Egypt
The Nile River:
● Longest river in
the world
● 4,000 miles
● Flows north into
the Mediterranean
Sea
Delta:
A very fertile, flat land made of silt
that empties into a larger body of
water.
Annual Flooding of the Nile
TURN and Talk: What advantage did the ancient
Egyptians have that the Mesopotamians didn’t?
Geography of Egypt
ADVANTAGES:
• “The Gift of the Nile”
– Regular flooding → good farming → stable food supply
– Easy travel increased trade
• Sahara Desert – natural barrier
CHALLENGES:
• Over flooding could ruin crops
• Sahara Desert – Reduced interaction with other
people
Life in Ancient Egypt
•Highly stratified
society
–Women held some
rights (buy/sell/inherit
property, dissolve
marriages, etc.)
•Pharaoh takes on
political & religious
roles (Theocracy)
–Owns all land in
kingdom
Made up 90% of
population
Ancient Egyptian Religion
• Very formal and
ritualized
– Priests protected your
KA, or soul spirit
• Polytheistic
– Amon-Re, sun god
– Anubis (god of the
dead) weighed a dead
person’s heart against
a feather
Language
• Hieroglyphics
• Papyrus (thick paper)
The Rosetta Stone
Created: 196 B.C. Discovered: 1799 A.D.
by French soldiers near the Nile Delta
village of Rosetta
● Translated by French scholar,
Champollion
● For years after the decline of
Egyptian civilization, no one could
read Hieroglyphics. Historians knew
their was a form of writing, but no
one knew how to translate it.
What is it?
● A black stone inscribed with a
message in three languages:
Hieroglyphics, demotic, & Greek
Egyptian Achievements:
• Architecture:
– Pyramids, the Great Sphinx, obelisks, tombs/statues
• Science/Medicine:
– Knowledge of anatomy
• Mathematics:
– Arithmetic and geometry (pyramids)
– Astronomy—studied the stars
• Farming:
– Irrigation canals
• Writing System:
– Hieroglyphics written on papyrus
Indus River Valley
(Civilization first emerges c. 2500 BCE)
Chapter 3.1
Geography of South Asia
• Subcontinent
• Mountains: Hindu Kush,
Himalayas
• Two rivers:
–Indus (west) & Ganges
(east)
–Agricultural & spiritual
significance
•Example: Bathing in the
Ganges River river will
purify one from bad
karma
Deccan Plateau
Two Major Rivers:
West: Indus
River
(Pakistan)
East:
Ganges
River
Geography of South Asia
• ADVANTAGES:
• Natural barriers
– Mountains, ocean
• Indus River provided a link to
the sea → TRADE
• CHALLENGES:
• Unpredictable flooding
• Monsoons(seasonal winds)
Indus Civilization
• City Planning
– Emphasis on unity
– Precise grid-like system
– Sewage and plumbing
– Citadels (fortress)
– Significance?
• Demonstrates
remarkable level of
detail & sophistication
• Suggests the presence
of a strong central govt.
Indus Civilization
Culture & Trade
• Stable, prosperous, peaceful
• Religious artifacts reveal link to
Hinduism
• Writing system-- but historians
are not yet able to read it
• like in Egypt and Mesopotamia,
rulers based their power on
divine assistance. Religious and
political power were closely
linked.
Mysterious End
• Thrived from 2500 BC – 2000 BC
• What happened to them?
– Repeated flooding?
– Overdeveloped the land?
– Catastrophic end?
– Attack from enemies?
•We know so little about the Indus Civilization because
its written language has yet to be translated.
Ancient China
(Civilization first emerges c. 1700 BCE)
Chapter 3.4
Geography of China
• Natural barriers
– Isolated by Pacific
Ocean, deserts,
mountains, & plateaus
– Was the most isolated
of the river valley
civilizations
• Two major rivers:
– Huang He (Yellow)
– Yangtze
Geography of China
• ADVANTAGES:
– Rivers deposited silt
• VERY fertile soil
• Millet, wheat, RICE
• CHALLENGES:
– Floods could be very destructive
– Isolation = settlers supply own
goods instead of trade
– Natural barriers could not
completely protect China
Ancient Chinese Achievements
● Bronze goods
● Written language
○ Characters stand for IDEAS, not
sounds
○ Significance? Unifies huge land
mass, all could read the same
language even if they couldn’t
speak it
○ Production of pottery & SILK
Review Questions
• Answer the three questions in APE style paragraph
A= Argument aka Claim (1 sentence)
P= Proof aka Historical Evidence (1-2 sentences)
E= Explanation (3+ sentences)
• Use an in-text citation as your proof
• Label your Argument, Proof, and Explanation by
marking APE in your paragraph
• When finished, turn into white bin & begin working
on homework