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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