Describe The Relationship Between Ancient Civilizations

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.

“Floodwater dashed up against the skies... God issued a command allowing Yu to spread out the self-replacing soil so as to quell the foods in the Nine Provinces.” This myth from China’s remote past may reflect stories about the efforts of early rulers to control the flood waters of the Huang River- the mighty river that has been central to Chinese civilization since the earliest of times.” (Holt, World History textbook, 76). China is located in the far east side of Asia. They have very rugged mountains in the west, some of the tallest in the world. In the south there are many plateaus, moving north; there are semi-deserts. The heart of China, the China Proper, has been significant though it’s early years. China has three major rivers that they used for transportation, crops, and ect. they are

The economy of ancient China was based on agriculture. China was made up of farming villages along its rivers. Manufacturing and trade were carried out by merchants and artisans in walled towns.

The first topic of comparison is the prospect of culture and environment in each society. Due to cultural diffusion amongst the civilizations, except geographically isolated China, among other factors, it can be deduced that the civilizations had many similar practices. However, each society boasted distinctive qualities. Early Mesopotamia, known by the moniker of “the land between the rivers,” was a fertile plain settled near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers located in the Fertile Crescent. All of the river valley civilizations settled near a river. Egypt settled near the Nile; the Indus Valley

China, definite connection b/c Zhou took over from the Shang about 1000 BCE, ruling a loose coalition of regional lords; recorded history flowed smoothly

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:

The Indus Valley was located along the Indus and Ganges Rivers. The Yellow Valley was located along the Huang He (aka Yellow) and the Yangtze Rivers. 11) Fertile land/soil aided the agricultural production of the RVCs. Page 1 of 5Page 2 of 512) Egypt was located in the Fertile Crescent. 13) The Code of Hammurabi helped Hammurabi to keep order in a society. This was developed in Mesopotamia. 14) A Ziggurat was a tiered, pyramid­shaped structure that formed part of a Sumerian temple.It was similar to a pyramid. 15) The "Miracle of the Nile" was yearly flooding that brought fertile soil which allowed sedlements to grow. 16) Two significant features of the Indus Valley citites of Mohenjo­Daro and Harappa was that they both had advanced plumbing and sewage and advanced city planning. 17) The Caste System was the social class pyramid of Ancient India. 18) The Huang he is also known as the Yellow River because huge amounts of yellowish Silt is deposited when it overflows it's banks 19) The Mandate of Heaven in Chinese history was the divine approval thought to be the basis of royal authority. The Dynastic cycle was the historical pattern of the rise, decline, and replacement of

Most people believe that all ancient civilizations were the same: they all lived with a steadfast loyalty to their one and only king that ruled all of the lands, civilizations only achievements were monumental buildings, and they vacuously attacked neighboring societies to gain more land for millennia. While some of this knowledge is true to an extent, civilizations accomplished an abundance more than some realize. Some fail to register that early civilizations are unique from each other. Egypt and Mesopotamia were two distinct civilizations. Despite similarities such as both being river civilizations, Egypt and Mesopotamia contrasted with each other in the areas of, type of ruling, religion, and

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.

Ancient China is one of the oldest and longest lasting civilizations in the world. The Ancient Chinese have thrived for thousands of years because of the geography, their skills, and their talents. Throughout history, rivers such as the Yangtze and Huang He rivers made China thrive for thousands of years. While other features such as deserts and mountains like the Gobi, Himalayas, and the Taklimakan isolated the Chinese and kept other civilizations from culturally diffusing into Chinese lifestyle and culture.

The first civilizations and the rise of empires began with small groups or villages existing with the use of hunting, fishing, and foraging. (William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History, vol. 1, 1) Within a few thousand years, people learned how to cultivate food crops and this led to an increase in population. Increased food production resulted in larger communities. The cities began to expand their cultural and religious developments leading to the beginnings of civilization. (Duiker, World History, 1) The first civilizations emerged in Mesopotamia and Egypt during the fourth and third millennia B.C.E and had various components in common. Each of these civilizations was established in a river valley so they were able to provide and produce the agricultural resources needed to survive and uphold the population. (Duiker, World History, 1) Mesopotamia developed in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates River known as “the land between the rivers.” These rivers provided irregular and catastrophic flooding for the city-state. They created an intensive irrigation system to improve their agriculture. The first people to create Mesopotamian civilization were known as the Sumerians. These people were the first city builders and created the major city’s named Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Umma, and Lagash. These cities were built with surrounding walls and defense towers. A six-mile-long wall enclosed the city of Uruk. Mesopotamia lacked

Through the archeological discoveries, we can infer some details into the lives of the people who originated in the cities of Mesopotamia. The root word of Mesopotamia refers to ‘between rivers’, this infers to the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, figure 1. Because the environment influenced people to settle, we can see a change in their political, social, and economic structure as they begin to form a complex society. This is the period where we see a complex engineering system as people started to develop canals and other technologies for a more efficient agricultural development. An early culture to settle in the lowlands of Mesopotamia were the Hassuna culture, their civilization were characterized by “small settlements with a few hundred inhabitants, who lived in rectangular houses with several rooms” (Feuerbach, 2015). Another culture to settle in this area were the Samarran culture; even

Mesopotamia was the world's first civilization--the first time people settled down to live together in one place. They didn't have to rely only on hunting and gathering to get food because they knew how to farm and could save up food for the winter. Since they had so much extra time now (the time they used to spend hunting animals and gathering plants), this allowed them to begin creating objects and ideas to help them live a little easier.

Many ancient civilizations of this world started with people doing simple tasks in life. Early civilizations often hunted and farmed for food. Over time, society became accustomed to these simple things and started to interact, by several means. Interaction is so important in the development of human societies, since it brings about developments and innovations within several cultures of society.

Egyptian civilization was born from the vast and unique Nile River. This river provided the rich “Black Land” soil that was the foundation for agriculture (Duiker & Spielvogel, 2010). Although there was no need for irrigation as in Mesopotamia, Egyptians were able to provide an abundance of foods for their civilization base. The Nile River not only provided land perfect for farming it was also used as a mode of transportation for the Egyptians enabling the trade of imports and exports. Due to natural barriers in the geography and the strategic use of fortifications, Egyptians were able to create a secure way of life protected from invasion. This way of life was organized hierarchical lines with a god-king at the top (Duiker & Spielvogel, 2010). The ruling class consisted of nobles and priests who assisted the god-king and ran the government. The middle class society was made up of merchants and artisans who controlled trade and art while the rest of the population were common farmers and slaves. Similar to the Mesopotamians, controlling the vast civilization of Egypt were the numerous gods and goddesses created by the polytheism belief. These gods were represented in wall paintings,