Ancient Civilizations - 1
October 23, 2012
Why were the river valley civilizations so similar even though they were in different parts of the world? Approximately 5000 years ago, the first complex civilizations began to come about along a number of river valleys throughout the southern half of Asia and northern Africa. River valleys were very suitable places for a civilization to live and for societies to evolve in, because the rivers created the fertile land for farming. Also the people could use the water for drinking, bathing, trade, and other things that require water. The river valley civilizations were very similar even though they developed in different parts of the land because they all had certain resources available, such as their rivers. The fact that the river valley civilizations were near rivers affected them in the way that it encouraged agriculture and domestication of animals. During the Neolithic revolution humans began to stop being nomads and therefore settled down. They also began farming, and domesticating animals. The nearby rivers available in these river valley civilizations made these things possible. For the Egyptians, “the Nile River played a great role in the development of Ancient Egyptian civilization. It’s regular flooding gave the Egyptians extremely fertile soil, which produced great agricultural wealth.” (Hero, 13) Also, the Maya which is another river valley civilization had a very successful agricultural system because “the soil was fertile and the climate was helpful.” (Hero, 133) From this we can see that since the rivers created similar conditions: fertile soil and good climate, the river valley civilizations had similar agricultural systems, even though they existed in different parts of the world. Another way that the River Valley Civilizations are similar is the way that they all had job specialization and society of classes. Both of which were ultimately created because of the rivers surrounding the civilization. This is true, because the
Why were the river valley civilizations so similar even though they were in different parts of the world? Approximately 5000 years ago, the first complex civilizations began to come about along a number of river valleys throughout the southern half of Asia and northern Africa. River valleys were very suitable places for a civilization to live and for societies to evolve in, because the rivers created the fertile land for farming. Also the people could use the water for drinking, bathing, trade, and other things that require water. The river valley civilizations were very similar even though they developed in different parts of the land because they all had certain resources available, such as their rivers. The fact that the river valley civilizations were near rivers affected them in the way that it encouraged agriculture and domestication of animals. During the Neolithic revolution humans began to stop being nomads and therefore settled down. They also began farming, and domesticating animals. The nearby rivers available in these river valley civilizations made these things possible. For the Egyptians, “the Nile River played a great role in the development of Ancient Egyptian civilization. It’s regular flooding gave the Egyptians extremely fertile soil, which produced great agricultural wealth.” (Hero, 13) Also, the Maya which is another river valley civilization had a very successful agricultural system because “the soil was fertile and the climate was helpful.” (Hero, 133) From this we can see that since the rivers created similar conditions: fertile soil and good climate, the river valley civilizations had similar agricultural systems, even though they existed in different parts of the world. Another way that the River Valley Civilizations are similar is the way that they all had job specialization and society of classes. Both of which were ultimately created because of the rivers surrounding the civilization. This is true, because the
Cited: Hero, George A., and Jerry Weiner. "Ancient America and the Caribbean." Global History. By Mark Willner. Vol. One. Hauppauge: Barron 's Educational Series, 2006. 130-50. Print. "Trade." Trade. The British Meuseum, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. . Welch, Cory. "Ancient Civilizations - Babylonians." Ancient Civilizations - Babylonians. Davidson County Schools Technology Center, 2006. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. .