How Did Geography Affect Early Civilizations

In Greece, the geography affected early settlements in positive ways. An example is Mount Olympus, since it was so high up and covered by clouds, Greeks believed Gods lived there. Document 2 states, ”According to the ancient Greeks, their gods controlled every part of daily life--the weather, crops, money, love, and business, phases of the moon, earthquakes, and even whether a loaf of bread burned in the oven.” This proves that ancient Greeks not being able to see the top of the mountain, made them believe the gods were up there, and it gave them an explanation to everything. Another one is, how hot and dry climates were great for growing olive trees. In document 4 it states, ”Olive oil was as good as money to the ancient Greeks, since they could trade it for other land not available

Throughout Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond explains the importance of geography in the ways ancient civilizations grew and spread and how some areas were more advanced than others. He began his research when he was asked a question by a Papua New Guinea residence, Yali. Yali had asked Diamond “[w]hy you white man have so much cargo and we New Guineans have so little?” At that point Diamond had no answer and he was curious to find out why Eurasia had a head start in civilizing people meanwhile the other continents were behind. As a result, several differences were made between countries that did not have the same resources as those who were advanced. Some of the developing countries were poor and they had to rely on whatever was given to them through nature. When Diamond went to Papua New Guinea, he discovered that the residences of the island had the same routine as those in the ancient civilizations of Eurasia. They would often hunt for animals and used stone weapons instead of metal.

The civilizations of early China, Nubia, the Eurasian steppes and the Celtic’s emerge from very different places for example the Nubians and the Celts came from very different environments with the Nubians being from a very hot place and the couch from a cold place with that being said these countries still had to develop a way to respond to the environment opportunities and challenges such as the lack of rainfall or the lack of fertile land.

First Civilizations proved to be fragile and vulnerable. Mesopotamian city-states were absorbed into larger empires. Egypt suffered a series of foreign conquerors. Indus Valley civilization

In conclusion, there were many factors that contributed to the development of the colonial America, but geography was clearly a sizable influence. If the geography of America wasn’t the way it was, the colonists who settled here may have not survived as

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 physical environments of Egypt and Mesopotamia do explain their cultural differences. Egyptians had natural barriers and fertile, predictable land, while Mesopotamians had unpredictable land and no protection from invaders. These key differences are the basis of the cultural differences between the two regions, and explain different parts of their culture, such as their outlook on life/afterlife and their rulers.

Geography had a tremendous impact on early civilizations, the topography of the different regions played a key role in their development and formation. This statement by Fernand Braudel “ Geography is the stage in which humanity’s endless dramas are played out” (Getz et al., Exchanges, 26) is a very moving and telling description. The terrain, whether it is natural or man made is not the end all, be all. It does however affect the stage a great deal. Mountainous areas act as blockades, which keep the societies independent, plains open up the area, and rivers enable everything to move around freely. 2

Even though the barbarians impacted ancient civilizations in positive ways they also impacted ancient civilizations in negative ways too. In the section titled “Were the

The Nile shaped Egypt by influencing its geography, popular distribution, and settlements. The majority of settlements in Ancient Egypt were located around the Nile River Delta (Doc. A), where land was fertile, trade was good, and there were many natural resources. Because of geography in this civilization, Egyptians could easily protect and defend themselves, as well as settle down and have good lives.

The geography of Mesopotamia influences the way people lived. In source a it states “The Geography of each area and the natural resources found there, affected the ways that people lived.” This shows Geography severely impacted life in Mesopotamia by having a growing population, farmed land, irrigation, and the flowing Tigris and Euphrates rivers. From what I learned in class, the land was fertile and had rich soil to farm and to have a surplus

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.

Early civilizations started to form beginning from the fourth millennium B.C.E. such as ancient Egypt and early China under the Shang and Zhou. Geography had significant influences on the development of economy, religion, society, and culture in these two civilizations. While both ancient Egypt and early China were isolated by natural borders and thrived on their great river systems, Egypt and China had access different natural resources which affected their culture and religion.

Geography and the environment play a monumental role in the establishment and success of a nearly every civilization. For example, rivers bring water and allow for agricultural development, while mountains or deserts provide for protection and create a barrier. Many things, such as the aforementioned deserts and mountains, can offer both positive and negative influences on the society in question. The climate and amount of rainfall is directly related to the success or failure of crop growing, and thus related to the amount of time spent on simply surviving. Civilizations that are able to spend less time on subsistence farming are able to redirect that energy towards the establishment of arts, culture, religion, and science. Where a

Geography can alter many facets of history. It can determine the prosperity of the people in the civilization and the development of culture. Rivers and Mountains are two examples of geographic features that effect prosperity and culture. Many early civilizations developed near rivers.