Mesopotamia Ancient China

The River Valley Civilizations of Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, The Indus Valley, and China shared a lot of similar geographic qualities. One quality that they shared geographically is that they all have an important and major river going through them which supplies the people with water. In Egypt they have the Nile, in Mesopotamia they have the Euphrates and Tigris, the Indus Valley has the Ganges River and China has the Yellow River. With that said, they all have access to a major body of water that could be used for transportation or for trading goods. Additionally, each civilization has mountains, some more than other, but they all have them and they can be used to protection if under attack. Lastly, all of them either have steppes or deserts,

Ancient Mesopotamia had four first cities: Sumer, Uruk, Ur, and Babylon. Sumer is located in modern day Iraq. The people of Sumer are known as Sumerians. Sumerians built many cities and because they lacked stone and timber they used mud bricks to build with instead. They influenced many cities with their arches, ramps, columns and pyramid shaped ziggurat (Document 1). They also developed the world 's first known form of writing called cuneiform. They used clay tablets to write on (Document 1). Uruk is one of the most important cities in Ancient Mesopotamia. The reason for this is because, the origin of writing originated here. The city of Ur was a very important trade center. The last city is perhaps the most famous city out of all of them, Babylon. The name Babylon means “Gate of the Gods”. This city is known for its impressive walls and buildings. Another reason is because of a man named Hammurabi, he was the king. He created one of the earliest written set of laws, called the Code of Hammurabi. In these laws covered almost everything that affected his community. Hammurabi created these laws because he wanted his empire to be unified and to provide protection for the weak (Document

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. They began building houses for themselves which were primarily composed of reeds or mud bricks. Granaries, built by the people in Mesopotamia, were the place where they stored extra grains from their

Ancient Mesopotamia"Land between the rivers" (3500 B.C.E) and Ancient China(as early as 3500 B.C.E) are two of the many civilizations in history. Both civilizations left evidence of their way of life and accomplishment Mesopotamia ranging from the 12- month calendar, plow, cuneiform, ziggurats and number system based of on 60 count. China from ink, pictographs martial arts, great wall of China, and the art of porcelain. Mesopotamia had several civilizations within its own such as Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians etc.

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.

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.

The Stone Age was the first known period where humans began using rock and other nonmetallic materials such as bones and leather to create tools.

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. During the bronze age both Ancient Mesopotamians and Ancient Egyptians developed forms of religion that highly reflected their habitat. They had many similarities in their politics even though they had completely different forms of government. Both societies were also known for their discoveries in art and technology. They developed their own forms of writing, different tools and architecture.

There are many similarities and differences between the early civilizations of the Middle East and India. The early Middle East civilizations will include Mesopotamia and Egypt. Mesopotamia was founded in 3300 BC, and Egypt was founded around 3000 BC. India was founded around 2500 BC. So these civilizations were founded all around the same time. There are many similarities and differences in their political characteristics, social/cultural characteristics, and economic characteristics.

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. Religion played an important role in civilization as government laws and divine kingship derived from it. Both civilizations were quite similar, but acquired some differences unique to each civilization. These differences include the environment, divine kingship, and sense of security from either nature or law. The idea and practices of ancient Mesopotamia originated from the Sumerians. Moreover, both Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilization diffused their practices and ideas to other ancient civilizations like the Hebrews and the Greeks. The laws from the Mesopotamian civilization were diffused into the Hebrew civilization as the Exodus. Both Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilization also influenced the Greeks with the idea that the gods were in control of the fate of humans and the environment. In addition, the Greek idea of gods evolved, which was not identical to both Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations.

The Shang dynasty existed from 1750 to 1046 B.C.E., was located in the Yellow River valley of China. The dynasty was lead by King Tang the Victorious, or for short King Tang. One historian described the Shang as followed, “The Shang was an aristocratic culture — brilliant, luxurious, and savage.” To be aristocratic means to be related to the aristocracy, highest class. A definition of brilliant is impressive and successful, remarkable, display of intelligence. An example is A definition of luxurious means elegant, serene, indulgent pleasure. Lastly, the definition of savage is violent, fierce, pugnacious. These four terms really describe the Shang Dynasty as a whole. Like the historian stated, “ The Shang was an aristocratic culture — brilliant,

The Shang Dynasty replaced the Xia Dynasty, around the sixteenth century B.C.E. Their agricultural society ruled by an aristocratic class whose major occupation was war and control over key resources like metals and salt. The Shang king divided his kingdom into a number of territories that were governed by noble military men and order large armies that often fought along the perimeter of the kingdom.

Throughout most of China 's history, the country has remained rather isolated from from other nations and their influences. Although there are major instances in which outsiders were able to make significant impressions, such as the introduction of Buddhism, or the devastating opium wars. However, on a whole they were able to remain genuinely separated especially when compared to the development of other countries. In ancient China, this proved to be beneficial to their cultural development which is why they were able to become such an advanced and lasting ancient civilization. Without outside influences their culture was able to solidify, grow, and provide important advancements in ancient times, such as the first paper. This separation also meant that

During the Shang Dynasty, the king and the elites lived very comfortable lives. To become part of the highest group in their social hierarchy, you had to be related to the king or your family had to be one of a high ranking. At the bare minimum to be verified as a superior in their culture it was necessary to have “control of superior armaments like bronze dagger-axes and horse-and-chariot teams” (De Bary and Bloom, 16). More importantly, “the elites’ legitimacy derived from their ability - through divination - to define, explain and control reality, a reality that, in a Bronze Age theocracy, was primarily conceived in a religious and familial terms” (De Bary and Bloom, 16). Once considered a superior in their society, one was able to conduct sacrifices and other religious practices. The king was one of the leaders of religion and seen as a person who was in between the gods and humans. He had servants who lived with him alongside his extended family. The aristocrats and the king were the only people able to have extended family living with them because they had the money to support all of them, while the rest

For my cultural reading task I read Mao's last dancer which is written by himself Li Cunxin. The majority of the book is based in China during Mao's rulings. The story follows Li as a little boy from his poverty stricken life to becoming one of Mao's last dancers.