The Similarities And Differences Of The Ancient Egyptian And Sumerian Civilizations

Both civilizations excelled at feeding and supporting large populations of people. This was done largely because both had techniques that allowed them to excel in farming and agriculture. Mesopotamia had fertile valleys

The ancient civilizations of the Ancient Egypt, as well as the great Mesopotamia, are the world’s greatest civilization as recorded by history. The civilization was highly facilitated by rivers which cut across their land. The Euphrates, Nile, as well as Tigris, constantly moving along the river banks which in turn resulted in the adjoining land is extremely fertile (Backman). This led to flourishment and development of Ur and Eriku cities in Mesopotamia as well as the city of Thebes in Egypt (Backman). The Nile was very significant in Ancient Egypt as it made invasion by enemies impossible due to its marshy deltas (Backman). On the other hand, Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia differed fundamentally in many aspects more specifically in how their societies were structured, cultural orientation, religion, technological experiences, literature, and art among other things (Backman). This paper will center on examining these differences as well as similarities between these two regions as well as what they communicate concerning the circumstances that people from these two regions faced.

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.

One of the biggest reasons why these two civilizations had these differences is due to their geography. The Egyptians had easy access to large stones that they could bring in to their country and use them to erect such monumental

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

When analyzing the biological, cultural, and social, aspects of the ancient Sumerians and modern day humans we see a profuse amount of distinctions and contrasts. Modern humans live in advanced and culturally diverse societies which in comparison makes ancient Sumer’s way of life seem very plain. The two groups evidently share many differences , but the author, Samuel Kramer, argues that in the face of oblivious contrasts, the roots of these two societies are still very fundamentally analogous. Kramer then expands his point to say modern humans and ancient Sumerians are similar and comparable on the content of their character, their reactions to war and conflict, and with the similarity of their social class system.

The artworks of Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt are both strikingly different and similar at the same time. Consistent is the theme of serving the different gods the two cultures believed in. In Mesopotamia the various city-states each had their own protective deity, and in Egypt they sometimes differed from one dynasty to the next. Whatever the case, with the beginning of kingdoms and rulership came the need to justify a position of power and establish a hierarchy. And as more time passed came also the human need to leave an impression on their world. Looking at the example of the statues of Gudea from the Neo-Sumerian period and the Temple of Ramses II from the New Kingdom of Egypt in the 19th dynasty, will show how both rulers of

This is proof of the Sumerian architectural abilities. The architecture in Mesopotamia are considered to have been contemporary with the founding of the Sumerian cities, but there was some complexity in the architectural design during this Protoliterate period (c. 3400-c. 2900 BC). This is shown in the design of many religious buildings. Typical temples of the Protoliterate period--both the platform type and the type built at ground level--are, however, much more elaborate both in planning and ornament. The interior was decorated with cones sunk into the wall, covered in bronze. Most cities were simple in structure, but the ziggurat was one of the world's first complex architectural structures.

Egyptian geography was more promising than that of the Sumerians. The land on both sides of the Nile was very fertile, due to annual flooding. The flooding was very predictable which helped the Egyptians see the universe as a well ordered system. This resulted in an early sense of nationalism among the Egyptians, which was very different from that of the Sumerian civilization.

There are many similarities (and differences) between Ancient Egyptian Pyramids, Mesopotamian ziggurats, and the pyramids of Pre-Columbian South America. All of them had major significance for their peoples cultures and religious beliefs, as well as having historic significance today. The greatest parallel between all of these ancient skyscrapers is that they were made for the upper echelons of these now defunct civilizations.

In 1950, V Gordon Childe drew up a list of traits of to what he considered to be the common characteristics of early civilizations. According to Fagan & Scarre, a recent archaeologist Charles Redman divided Childe’s list into primary and secondary characteristics. The primary characteristics included cities and states, together with full-time specialization of labor, concentration of surplus, and a class-structured society. For the secondary, the characteristics included symptoms or by-products of these major economic and organizational changes: monumental public works, long-distance trade, standardized monumental artworks, writing, and the sciences (arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy)(Scarre and Fagan 2003). One of the most common characteristics involve was a large, dense population living in a city. This essay well state and describe two early cities in Mesopotamia and explore the layouts and characteristics of these two cities. Also, whether each city is unique or share common characteristics with each other. The two cities are Maskan-shapir and Ur.

Thousands of years ago, in separate river valleys, two large settlements met the requirements needed to become two of the four first civilizations, and Egypt and Mesopotamia were formed. They were similar, as they both met the criteria to become a civilization, but they were also different, because geographic factors affected their lives differently. Three reasons why the society, government, and culture of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were similar and different are: first, while both civilizations were located in a river valley, geographic conditions made sustaining society in Mesopotamia more difficult than in Ancient Egypt. Second, Mesopotamia and Egypt had effective bureaucracies, but the many sustained invasions throughout Ancient Mesopotamian history made the state less stable than Egypt. Lastly, although both religions were polytheistic, unpredictable war and flooding made Mesopotamian culture pessimistic, while Egyptian culture reflected Egypt’s stability.

While describing the cultural among the people of Mesopotamia and Egypt, I learned the differences and similarities in culture. The birth of Mesopotamian Civilization began in c. 3000 B.C.E., in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers of Southwest Asia. Mesopotamia is a Greek word and it means ‘between the rivers.’ In contrast, the birth of Egyptian Civilization began in c. 3100 B.C.E., in a valley of the Nile River in Northeastern Africa. Egypt is a Greek word and it means ‘House of the Spirit of Ptah.’ Since there are several categories in the cultures of the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians, I decided to narrows it to three categories: Religion, Writing, and Geography. The three categories will present the basis to compare cultural differences and similarities.

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

Describe the ancient Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations in terms of political structure, religion, society, and culture. Account for the similarities and differences between them.