How Did Geography Affect Ancient China

The earliest forms of civilizations were said to be located on the three river valleys of the Tigris-Euphrates River in ancient Mesopotamia, the Nile River in ancient Egypt and the Huang He and Indus River in ancient India and China. These three river valley civilizations had many differences yet still lived common life styles. Although the civilizations are located on different continents, they share similar social, political, and economic beliefs from their intellectual developments to types of government to religious beliefs and trading systems.

Thousands years ago, civilizations emerged around the world. Valleys and cities arose in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, and China. These societies organized themselves and formed unique political, religious, and social systems to maintain stability. Later, these valleys and cities growth and expanded, forming territorial states. Among these four ancient civilizations, Egypt and China had similar political systems of territorial states and were relative isolated from the rest of the world, but differed in their rulers’ rationalizations of where their power came from and their government structures.

The two rivers had a delta which was called the Fertile Crescent. This was because of its crescent-like shape and because of how fertile it was due to the two rivers depositing rich silk into it, giving it the ability to support agriculture. The two rivers were incredibly important to the ancient Sumerians because it supplied them with water for their irrigation systems. They were able to also dump their sewage as well. The water gave them mud to use as clay for building. The river led them to the concept of regional government, which was used to manage their irrigation systems, consequently resulting in them creating a city-state. Unlike the Chinese and Harappan people, the Sumerians left behind records that we today are able to decipher. Their writing system was called ‘cuneiform’, which they wrote on clay tablets. This tell us that the Sumerians were civilized and organized. Unlike the Chinese, they utilized their time to learn how to read and write instead of fighting

The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt develop into successful civilizations by having floods from the nile river that provided water, food and fertile area in the middle of the desert as document 1 states. In document 2 it says that they also had rivers that provided many resources such as transportation, trade as well as plants, the rivers were surrounded by deserts.

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

Time after time throughout history we see civilizations succeeding by rivers such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley and the Yellow River. One of the things the rivers provided in Mesopotamia was the “ground is extremely fertile”. The Mesopotamians used the river for irrigation and the rich soil to produce and abundance of resources to support a large population.

One of the cultures of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia developed into successful civilizations is by their water sources. In document 1, the river Nile in Egypt flooded every year, which gave the land around it soft fertile ground, great for planting crops. Most people lived near the river. In document 2, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which was also called the Fertile Crescent, provided food, transportation, and plants. They were especially populated since the area had deserts and mountains. Another reason is their rulers. As stated in document 3, the ancient Egyptian looked at their ruler, the pharaoh, as one of their gods in a human form, serving them well and deciding what’s best for the country. Quoting document 4, the people of Mesopotamia

During the years of 3500 BC to 2500 BC, the geography of a land often impacted a civilizations development in great measures. Depending on the resources available or the detriments present due to certain topographical characteristics like rivers or deserts, a civilization could flourish or collapse. By studying the geographic features of growing societies like the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris Rivers as well as the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the link between developing cultures and geography will be examined through sources, including Egypt: Ancient Culture, Modern Land edited by Jaromir Malek and Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek. To determine the extent

One way geography can affect the lives of people in the Ancient World is by allowing them to flourish permanent settlements. One important geographical feature that paved the way for permanent settlements is rivers. Rivers are necessary for major cities in the Ancient World to remain prosperous, as seen in the Geography of the Ancient Middle East Map (Doc 5). Rivers provide fertile soil for farming and plentiful drinking water. In Mesopotamia, two major rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates helped shape civilization for the next 2000 years. In Egypt, however, the Nile River was so important; it was given a hymn, as

Egypt and Mesopotamia were both located near rivers, and these rivers helped shape everyday life. Both civilizations used their respective rivers (Nile for Egypt, Tigris and Euphrates for Mesopotamia) to help grow crops. However, the Nile was much calmer and more predictable than the Tigris and Euphrates, making it much easier to grow crops and predict when the waters would rise. The Tigris and Euphrates were much more unpredictable, flooding irregularly and requiring more labor to grow crops. The Nile’s calmness and predictability allowed Egyptians to get an abundance of food while not having to work as much, giving them time to spend on other things, such as building pyramids and temples.

Agriculture was central to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia; it was the basis of both their economies. While both civilizations utilized agriculture in similar fashions, ancient Egypt had a more stable efficient system due to geographic location and resources, therefore relishing in a more positive economy. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers surrounding Mesopotamia were harsh, unpredictable, and prone to erratic flooding, causing

According to the document 1, Egyptian civilizations began close to the Nile River because the Nile provided a fetile area in the middle of a dessert located near Africa, these fetile could be use for soil for the plants and crops to grow food and farming. The Nile also beneficials to the people not only for rich soil, but also for the transportation to get from one destination to another and also for trade, which allow Egypt to be open for sharing resources from other area around the world. According the document 2, Mesopotamia are located in Fertile Creasant area, which have lots of river to provide civilization food, transportation, as well as plants. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers located in Fertile Creasant are also essential to the survival of people and the Nile river proves how geographic luck play the big role in both civilizations to be

These early civilizations experienced similar environmental situations that contributed to the shaping of their societies because both societies were built around two river valleys. Mesopotamia was located between the Tigris and Euphrates river, but their river valley societies were surrounded by a desert that was easy terrain. While the first Chinese civilization developed along the Huang he (Yellow) and Yang Zi rivers, but this society was isolated from the rest of the world. Ancient China was surrounded by various environmental barriers; deserts from the north and west, the surrounding oceans from the east, and mountainous valleys from the south limited this societies interaction. Even though these civilizations had different environmental surroundings, they both had to adapt to their situations. These societies were located in fertilely rich lands that were great for agricultural lifestyles,

Ancient Egypt and Ancient Middle East were located by the rivers and depended on them heavily. Ancient Middle East had a civilization, Mesopotamia, that was located between the Tigris and Euphrates river and they used it for many occupancies. “Built dams to hold back the flood waters and irrigation ditches to carry water” (Ellis and Esler 31). This civilization used the river to help with farming. The rivers would flood and it would destroy all their crops. Farming is a necessity in the early times. Farming would allow for the food to be

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.