RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS

UNIT 1 Lesson 2

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Tigris-Euphrates2Tuesday, August 6, 13

Mesopotamia

Civilization ‘from scratch’

Sumerians [most influential]

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Sumerians

First known writing system [cuneiform]

Astronomical sciences

Intense religious beliefs

tightly organized city-states

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Sumerians

Improved agricultural prosperity

Fertilizers

Silver for commercial exchange

Polytheist - many gods & divine forces in natural objects

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SumeriansTightly organized city-states ruled by kings w/ divine authority

Government regulated religion & provided a court system for justice

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Sumerians-->Akkadians-->Babylonians

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Hammurabi

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Egypt9Tuesday, August 6, 13

Egypt

Nile river [3000 BC]

Trade & Influence from Mesopotamia

Durable centralized institutions

Mathematics & Architecture

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Egypt

2700 onward - Pharaohs directed building of pyramids [tombs]

Monumental architecture requiring slave labour

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Indus Valley12Tuesday, August 6, 13

Indian Civilization

Along Indus River by 2500 BC

Several large cities [e.g. Harappa]

Trade w/ Mesopotamia

Distinctive alphabet and art

Invasion by Indo-Europeans resulted in almost complete destruction of culture

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China14Tuesday, August 6, 13

China

Developed along the Yellow [Huanghe] River

Considerable isolation

Organized state regulating irrigation

Advanced technology & elaborate intellectual life by 2000 BC

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ChinaMore continuity b/w Chinese River Valley Civilization and later Chinese civilizations than in other regions

Shang Dynasty begins around 1500 BC

Impressive tombs and palaces

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Heritage of the River Valley Civilizations

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River Valley Civilizations

the wheel, alphabets, mathematics & divisions of time

art & architectural influences

Writing systems

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The belief that there are fundamental differences between the “civilized” and the “barbarians” is an old and widespread one, used by the Chinese, American Indians, ancient Greeks, and modern western Europeans, to name just a few. The latter attempted to define a series of stages in human development that ranged from utterly primitive to “advanced,” with the advanced culture belonging to the western Europeans. By the 19th century, racial qualities were quantified as qualifiers for position along the hierarchy of “civilization.” In the 20th century much of that intellectual baggage was eventually discarded. At present, the most accepted way to approach a definition of civilization is to see it as one of several ways humans identify social organization

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The scope and legacy of the first civilizations are unique to geography and other factors

Mesopotamia was flat with few natural barriers to recurrent invasions. Thus the Middle East had an active role as an agent for wider connections with other cultures

Egypt, though not isolated, was more self-contained with the Libyan desert, Nile River, and Red Sea serving as barriers. Therefore, Egypt played less of a role as intermediary among different regions

China also had less far-reaching contacts than Mesopotamia. But it did make major connections with Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

Harappan [Indus Valley] society did trade widely with Mesopotamia; but its rapid decline limited its impact on surrounding cultures.

Early Civilizations & The World

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Sources

All images via wikimedia commons unless other wise indicated

Information via Hall & Lintvedt, World Civilizations Instructor’s Resource Manual.

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