Ancient Civilizations: Ancient River Valley Civilization

Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt were two early human civilizations that lived during the bronze age in harsh desert environments located not far from each other. Both civilizations were built around rivers that they depended on for survival. There is evidence that these rivers had great influence on both the societies politics and culture. Egypt was built around the very strong and reliable Nile River. Ancient Mesopotamia was established in the fertile crescent between the less reliable Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Ancient civilizations began in areas that had arable land and other features such as rivers. Civilizations succeeded in these environments because they could settle down and not live a nomadic lifestyle. Because the land was arable, agriculture prospered and people relied on the geography to grant them the elements needed for survival. In China and Egypt, geography greatly influenced and affected the lives of the people living there because of the prosperous rivers and large natural barriers.

After the Neolithic Revolution Era, civilizations in Asia and Northeast Africa started to form. All of the civilizations in that area were located near water, so that’s why they were all called, River Valley Civilizations. The most advanced ancient river valley civilization was the Indus Valley Civilization. According to Document 5, it states that “While the cities of Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt were built with very little planning...the cities of the Indus Valley were sophisticatedly planned. The cities were built on a grid system.”

Geography played a huge role in the lives of both the ancient Egyptians and the Mesopotamians. It affected much more than crop cycles or the weather; it affected everything about the way each group lived, including the way each viewed their own separate gods. Egypt and Mesopotamia aren’t very far apart by our standards today, but those 900 miles back then made a lot of difference. The main things both civilizations had in common were things like being dry deserts that lay close to rivers with fertile soil for crops to grow. These similarities are what allowed both groups to flourish and expand into a long-staying civilization of people.

Egypt, Mesopotamia, Shang/Zhou dynasties/China, and the Indus Valley are all different ancient river valley civilizations. All have different aspects of civilizations. Some aspects of civilization include technology, writing/language, specialized jobs, government, etc. These decisions were made based on the climate and biome the civilization was located in. These things needed to be taken into account because certain aspects of civilization were not suitable for every civilization. A written language was key to creating a thriving civilization, helping many tasks become easier. Writing was composed of many things, but the most important include a government building, a library, and a written language.

The Yellow and Yangzi river valley people of China during Shang times were prosperous civilizations in their time. In addition, so were the Egyptians and Nubians on the Nile River. Both groups of peoples had their own traditions and ways of living, based on environment and where they migrated from. While these civilizations are quite different, they have more in common than some would realize. While they differ in religious views and political organization, the Chinese and Egyptians have similar agricultural practices and writing systems.

For example they used engineering to build their cities. One economic similarity that these civilizations have is trade. In Mesopotamia they used the Tigris and Euphrates river to trade with neighboring civilizations. In Egypt they used the Nile river to trade with other civilizations. In India they used the Indus and the Ganges river to trade.

The civilizations that flourished in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine were located in river valleys or along the Mediterranean coast. These civilizations developed highly complex cultures that shared many common characteristics. Egyptians were a very advanced civilization due to their inventions and technology. The Old Kingdom, which first began in 2650 B.C as stated in the timeline of Document 1, was defined by its many great pyramids and monuments. From there on in the ancient Egyptian timeline, Egyptians surpassed other civilizations through their many remarkable advancements and achievements.

Mesopotamia is one of the earliest civilizations in the world; hence it is called the cradle of civilization. Located between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, Mesopotamia is the perfect word for this region since Mesopotamia also means the land between rivers. These two rivers created the Fertile Crescent which was surrounded by barren territories. People in this area gave up hunting and gathering and instead slowly shifted into agricultural means of getting food to help them survive. They started domesticating animals and planted their own crops.

Ancient Civilizations Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India are some of the early civilizations, that helped to shape the world as we know it. Each ancient civilization had many contributions to society. Some would include irrigation, grid like house system, and written languages. Ancient Egypt is one of the most common ancient civilizations. We all know them for the pyramid but that 's not all that they achieved.

Life in the ancient river valley civilizations was different for each region. A perfect example would be the Egyptians river and the Yellow river both are river valley civilizations but each have different geography, social structures, beliefs, gender roles, literature, weapons and technology.

Geography not only plays a part in the spread of a religion but also can be inspiration or reflection for the religion itself. Many societies have numerous deities inspired by the landscape in and around their civilization. However, I believe not all religions drew inspiration from the land they lived in.

Ancient Egypt was the most advance civilization of antiquity. They had fairly advance Medicine, Architecture, Religion, and were also wise in philosophy. Greek culture learned a lot from Egypt, and they constantly referred to them and sought to find their ancestors in Egypt. The Nile was a fundamental element for the flourishing of the civilization of ancient Egypt, most of the population of cities were in the Nile valley and the Delta. The Nile was vital to Egyptian culture from the stone age.

During 600 BCE and 600 CE, many countries was going through a drastic change. When analyzing early civilizations, it’s evident there is similarities and differences. The Middle East, China, and Africa were among few countries that advanced during this aeon. All of these empires within the countries have risen and fallen, developing these civilizations to what we know of today.

Civilization is the cooperation between individuals within a region. The first civilizations were Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations. Both civilizations acquired a different environment. However, their environment promoted religion, specifically polytheism. Although their environments were different, both civilizations were in harmony about the existence of many gods.