Early River Valley Civilizations

Mesopotamia

• Location: Area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers known as the Fertile Crescent which is a curved, fertile piece of land in Southwest Asia– flooded at least once/year leaving behind a

nutrient rich, thick layer of mud known as silt, which enabled farmers to grow large surpluses of food.

• Sumerians faced many challenges:– Flooding of rivers

unpredictable– No natural barriers for

protection from outsiders

– Natural Resources were limited

• Sumerians had to create solutions:– Irrigation ditches were

dug– Built city walls with

mud bricks

– Traded with peoples of the mountains and desert for items they lacked

Formation of Government• Dealing with challenges required

organization, cooperation, and leadership– Choosing leaders and establishing laws led to

the beginning of organized government• City-states – included the city and surrounding

land and functioned as an independent country does today

– At first, ruled by priests, but as warfare became more common, military leaders began to assume control and became known as monarchs

» Monarchs would pass power on to sons – this rule by one family over time was called a dynasty

Cultural Diffusion

• As trade expanded, Sumerians came into contact with more and more people which led to the exchange of new ideas and products

Sumerian Culture

• Polytheism – belief in manymany gods– Sumerians believed in nearly 3000 gods

• Gods each controlled some aspect of life• Gods lived like humans, but immortal and all

powerful– To avoid angering the gods people built temples and

offered sacrifices– Souls of the dead went to the “land of no return” (a

dismal, gloomy place between the earth’s crust and the ancient sea)

Social Classes• Highest Class

– Priests and Kings– Wealthy Merchants– Ordinary Citizens (farmers, artisans, etc)

• Lowest Class– Slaves

• Women had rights:– Could pursue most occupations– Could hold property– Could join lower ranks of priesthood

• Could not attend schools• Could not become scribes

Advances in Science

• Invented the wheel, sail, and plow• First to use bronze• Developed

– 1st system of writing– 1st known map– Numbering system based on 60– New architecture

• Arches, columns, ramps, pyramid shape of Ziggurat

Empire Building Begins

• Sumer city-state weak due to constant fighting amongst themselves

• Sargon of Akkad conquers the city-state in 2350B.C.– Controlled both southern and northern

Mesopotamia with Babylon as its capital city• Empire – brings together several peoples, regions,

or previously independent nations under the control of one ruler

Babylonian Empire

• Peaked under the reign of Hammurabi in 2000B.C. with the capital at Babylon– Hammurabi’s Code – single, uniform code of

laws for the entire empire• 282 specific laws engraved in stone, copied and

placed throughout the empire• Principle of retaliation used to punish crimes

– “Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth”

Civilization in Egypt

Egypt• Location: Egyptian settlements arose along the

Nile River in northeastern Africa– Egyptians settled in the first 750 miles of the 4100

mile long Nile River• Upper Egypt was the area between the first cataract

(churning rapids of the river) and the delta (area where the river fans out as it nears the sea – it is broad, marshy, triangular area of land formed by deposits of silt)

• Delta area known as Lower Egypt

– Predictable yearly flooding brought the water and rich soil that allowed settlements to grow

• Irrigation systems used to water crops• However, while flooding time was predictable, amount of

flooding was not – too little water and people starve, too much and villages could be destroyed

Formation of Government

• The lower and upper kingdoms were first combined by King Menes– Egyptian kings were seen as gods and called

Pharaohs• Theocracy – type of government where the ruler is a divine

figure and is the center of religion, government, and military– Kings ruled even after death

• Old Kingdom Period begins with Egypts 3rd Dynasty (2660-2180B.C.)– Builders of the pyramids which were immense, stone

structures where kings were buried

Cultural Diffusion

• Desert provided a natural barrier – very little contact was made with “outsiders”– By 3200B.C. traders made contact with

Mesopotamia and areas south of Egypt• Very little cultural diffusion took place and Egyptian

culture developed on its own

Culture

• Polytheistic – Ra, the sun god – Horus, the god of light and 2000 others– Believed in an afterlife and that they would be

judged for their deeds done in life• People of all classes planned for their death so

they could safely reach the Other World where Osiris, the god of death, would weigh the heart of the deceased

– Mummification – embalming and drying a corpse to prevent it from decaying

Social Classes

• Top– King, Queen, royal family

• Upper Class– Other members of the upper class included wealthy

land owners, priests, gov’t officials & army commanders

• Middle Class– Merchants and artisans

• Lower Class– Peasant farmers & unskilled labor

Writing

• Hieroglyphics - early form of writing in which pictures were used to represent ideas– Later, pictures represented words

• First written in clay – but, later, Egyptians used papyrus which were tall stalks that were split into thin strips, moistened and pressed together and dried to form a paper-like sheet

– Rosetta Stone – used to first decipher heiroglyphics

Advances in Science

• Developed a system of numbers (addition and subtraction)

• Geometry used to aid engineers and architects in building pyramids and palaces

• Used the first stone columns• Developed a calendar to time yearly floods

– Established a 365 day year divided into 12 months of 30 days each

• Egyptian medicine very advanced

Indus River Valley Civilization

Indus Valley Civilization

• Location: The Indus River Valley is located in India (Southern Asia)– India is separated from the rest of Asia by the

following mountain ranges• Hindu Kush Mts.• Karakoram Mts.• Himalayan Mts.

– Because of this India is considered a Sub-continent– The Indus and Ganges Rivers supply water to a 1500

mile area in North India known as the Indus Ganges Plain

• The climate is controlled by monsoons or winds that shift in different directions at different times of the year– These strong winds bring heavy rain to India during

certain times of the year• Known as Monsoon Season

• The Indus River:– floods yearly and leaves a deposit of rich soil for

agriculture– Flooding is unpredictable– After heavy rains, river will sometimes change course

Civilization

• Very little is known about the civilization because1. It is very difficult to decipher their writings

2. Many ancient sites have been unexplored

What we do know:• The cities were laid out in a grid pattern• The area in the city that contained major

buildings was called the Citadel• Buildings were constructed from oven-baked

bricks• Cities had plumbing and sewer systems• Cities had few weapons, suggesting they had

few conflicts• Merchants used stamps and seals to I.D. their

goods• Sumerian objects have been found at Indus

ruins suggesting a trade network existed between Mesopotamia and the Indus

Religion

• People of the Indus River Valley were polytheistic– One of the major gods was Shiva

• People worshipped cattle

Decline of Civilization

• Around 1500BC, the civilization ended– The reason for the decline is unclear but the

following are some possible reasons:• The rivers course changed• Soil no longer fit for growing food• Natural disaster killed most of the people• Attack from an enemy

River Dynasties in China

• Geography of China– Natural barriers isolated China from all other

civilizations• East – Pacific Ocean• West – Taklimakan Desert• North – Gobi Desert• South – Himalaya Mountains

– Two major River systems flow from the mountains to the Pacific Ocean

• Huang He River in the North• Yangtze River in Central China

China

• Huang He River– Name means “Yellow River” because of the

color of the silt present in the river– The rivers flooding is unpredictable

• River is also called “China’s Sorrow” because flooding has caused the death of millions of people

First Civilization in China

• Around the time that Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus civilizations were collapsing, the Shang family was coming to power in China– They ruled from 1532-1027B.C.E.

• This was the first ruling family in China to leave written records

• The cities in this area all had walls because they were in constant warfare with rival cities

Social Classes

• Shang Dynasty was sharply divided by classes– The people were ruled by a class of warrior

nobles headed by the king– These families owned the land– In the lower class, peasants worked on the

land and provided food for the ruling families

Culture

• Chinese believed that the welfare of the group is more important than that of the individual

• A person’s life was governed by two authorities:1. The King2. The Family

• It is believed to be most important to respect your family– The oldest male in each family made all the decisions

• Women considered less important and inferior to males– Women expected to:

» Obey their father, husband and sons» Marriages arranged for them between ages of 13 and 16» Could improve status by giving birth to sons

Religious Beliefs

• The spirits of deceased family ancestors could bring fortune or disaster to the family

• Families worshiped a superior god called Shang Di– They also worshiped lesser gods making

them polytheistic

Technology

• Special crafts were made by separate class of people – Lived outside the city walls– Made weapons, jewelry, and religious items

• Especially known for work with bronze

– Chinese also the only people to make silk

Zhou Dynasty Takes Over

• Zhou family overthrew the Shang Dynasty– Zhou believed that god took away the Shang

family’s power because they were doing a poor job

– This is known as the Mandate of Heaven –a king can lose his right to rule when the gods change their mind

• The Mandate of Heaven is the central idea behind Chinese government

– This explains wars, rebellions, natural disasters, and the rise and fall of dynasties

» Rise and Fall of dynasties known as the Dynastic Cycle

Zhou Dynasty

• Zhou Dynasty developed new ideas and technology– Built roads– Encouraged trade and agriculture– First to use coin money– Used iron for tools and other items

Distribution of Power

• Zhou family distributed control of different regions to royal families and nobles– This process became known as feudalism – A

political system where nobles and lords are granted the use of land that belongs to the king in exchange for their loyalty and military protection

– Eventually, towns grew into cities– Lords grew less dependent on the king

• Lords began fighting each other for wealth and territory

• The Zhou dynasty has had a lasting impression on the culture of present day China