Download File

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 of
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 to 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
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 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 city-states, 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