Ancient Civilizations: Mesopotamia, China, And India

In the Ancient World, civilizations dominated parts of the world from around 3,000 BC to 30 BC. This domination was immensely helped because of the Neolithic Revolution, that happened thousands of years prior. The revolution allowed for more people to settle in one place and not follow and migrate with their prey. This began civilizations that were controlled by leadership, organization, innovative technology and mainly by geography. An example of these civilizations are Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Israel. Each of these civilizations had their own advantages, Egypt was brought fertile land from the regular floodings by the Nile River, Mesopotamia was located in the fertile crescent and Israel was in between both of these advanced

When you look back in history to the development and the contributions of both the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations, you see that there was a lot accomplished, as well as a lot created. The earliest forms of writing developed in Mesopotamia, while Egypt was referred to the “Gift of the Nile” by traveler Herodotus (McKay,42). Development of cities was another major marker, especially in the “old world”, of how people eventually determined civilizations and what they represented. According to McKay, civilizations were determined by people who considered themselves more “civilized”, urban people mostly. Made up of cities, written rules of law, and social justice codes, Mesopotamia and Egypt would develop into two of the largest civilizations in history.

Civilization is the stage of human social development. Civilizations have improved over the years. The ancient River Valley Civilizations have created a foundation for future human developments. The ancient River Valley Civilization all made key contributions for future societies. The Civilization from Mesopotamia and China had a massive influence for future civilizations.

The civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and China all contributed their own intellectual outlooks and advances to history.

Some ancient civilization depend on rivers for their agriculture like Mesopotamian, Egypt, India, and China. Neolithic Mesopotamian and Chinese civilization learned to adjust to climate by using a systematic agriculture of farming and herding, living sedentary and developing a pottery, allowing the preparation and storing food and water. Over time other civilization such Indus Valley from India learned to predict a flooding of the river and use it to their benefit. Unlike the Canaanites society from Egypt in which believed to sacrifice an infant and child in the name of the earth god(Baalim)and goddess(Baalot) to ensure a prosperous harvest.

The civilizations of the Nile River valley, the Mesopotamia valley, and Indus Valley marked human progress toward fixed settlements and the development of a rich culture. These civilizations shared many characteristics that contributed to their success. What made these civilizations unique were the contributions that each one gave to the world. They contributed their own ideas and accomplishments in the areas of religion, science, and mathematics. These contributions defined each civilization and how they would be remembered, as well as, their importance to the world.

Ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes referred to as the “Cradle of Civilization”, was located in the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, bringing the Greek origin of its name, of “land between rivers”. There were two very different regions in ancient Mesopotamia:

Most places make advancements that help societies. But, ancient civilizations like China, Mesopotamia, and Egypt that started over thousands of years ago heavily advanced the future of societies. Such as, languages, laws to follow, and architecture. These contributions helped our society and societies in the future.

(DI1) Mesopotamia, India, and China governments have strict laws and harsh punishments to keep social order. (DD1) In Mesopotamia, The Code of Hammurabi has strict laws with equal punishments so people treat everyone with respect. Law 196 states, “If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out” (Document A). If a man harms another man, he shall be harmed the same.

Throughout the history of Earth, there have been many fascinating developments, the most prominent being the first civilizations, Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. They had many similarities, such as characteristics of early civilizations and social structures, but they also had their differences. The most embossed differences included the divergent geography, prior belief, trade, relations with other civilizations, and politics.

The ancient lands of Mesopotamia are unknown territory for many people. It is one of the earliest civilizations in the world. The first great civilization, located between Tigris and Euphrates rivers, was developed in 3500 BC. Word “Mesopotamia” is derived from two Greek words meaning ‘land between two rivers’. The region is a vast, dry plain through which two great rivers flow. People of Mesopotamia were ‘Sumerians’. Tigris and Euphrates created fertile river basins for the region. World’s first cities grew up in Mesopotamia. The people of Mesopotamia were among the first to use the written words and a language of their own. Mesopotamia is known as the “cradle of civilization”. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers provided rich fruitful soil and

Though many centuries have past and the people of Mesopotamia are long gone, the civilized world continues to build from the adaptation of their systematical way of life.

Mesopotamia—the land of rivers. Encompassed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Ancient Mesopotamian civilization spanned thousands of years and has a deep and rich history. As a result, the culture is widely considered to be the cradle or birthplace of Western Society. Although most of the perception of their history is derived from famous texts and literary stories, there is also an equally important aspect of life in examining the everyday artifacts that civilization has left behind. We tend to focus on the more ostentatious kingships, mythological creation stories, and the advent of cuneiform, but it is also crucial to realize that there are also many smaller parts of civilization that make up an often overlooked portion of society such as the extracurricular activities of both the lower and ruling class of the Ancient Mesopotamian civilization. Although the sports, games, and music of the people that were living in this period and region were many millenniums ago, the pastimes gave rise to many of the same activities that we know today, although subtle differences arose as time passed.

Urbanization can be defined as a rapid shift in population of a group living in a specific area. This typically happens when the society decides that it is more advantageous to settle, rather than migrate. Throughout ancient history, we have seen various groups of civilization to adept different forms of urbanization near river valleys. These cities include the regions near Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Indus valley. Even though their lifestyle might have revolved the valley as a main source of development, their cultures and beliefs differed greatly from each other.

Mesopotamian civilization began in the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and was where agriculture, the Bronze Age, and writing (cuneiform wedges to ideograms/combination of pictures, to phonetic writing) developed.