Transcript Early River Civilizations

Early River Civilizations
Mesopotamia
”Land between the Rivers”
► Fertile
Crescent
► Euphrates and Tigris
Rivers
► Rivers flood leaving
mud or silt for crops
► Surplus of crops
allowed villages to
grow
► Multiple city-states
develop
Environmental Challenges
PROBLEMS
► Unpredictable flooding
► No natural barriers
► No natural resources
SOLUTIONS
► Irrigation ditches
► Walls of mud bricks
► Trade for raw materials
Sumerian technology & invention (3300 b.c.)
► The
wheel, the sail, the plow, use bronze
► Arithmetic and geometry
► Architectural innovations: arches, columns, ramps,
ziggurat
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The 4,000-year-old ziggurat (temple tower) at Ur honored the moon god Nanna. A
statue of the god once stood at the top of the temple and was washed, clothed, and fed
by priests.
http://wn.com/Ziggurat_of_Ur
► Cuneiform-system
of writing. Not pictographs
► Negative view of afterlife
► Polytheism – belief in many gods
Cont.
► Sargon
of Akkad (2350 b.c.) defeated Sumer.
Created first world empire.
► (2000 b.c.) Amorites invade and conquer
mesopotamia.
► Hammurabi, King of Amorites, puts together code
of laws (282) & displayed throughout empire
Hammurabi
► http://www.wsu.edu:8
080/~wldciv/world_civ
_reader/world_civ_rea
der_1/hammurabi.html
Egypt
► Nile
River, flows northward into Mediterranean
► Longest river in the world (4,100 miles)
► River worshipped as a god
► Egypt was “gift of the Nile”
Egypt
► Nile
flooded same time each year
► Kings were gods – Pharaohs
► Theocracy –rule based on religious authority
► Lower and Upper Egypt was united by king
Narmer. (3000 b.c.)
Pyramids
► Belief
that Kings rule after death. Burial very important.
► Use 2 million blocks that weigh at least 2.5 tons each, structure
covers 13 acres
Sphinx
►
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“Which creature in the morning goes on four legs, at mid-day on two, and in the evening upon three,
and the more legs it has, the weaker it be?” She strangled and devoured anyone unable to answer
"There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first."
Religion
► Egypt
was polytheistic
► Believe in afterlife
► Royal Egyptians were preserved by
mummification – embalming & drying a corpse to
prevent decay.
► Fill coffin with items for use in afterlife
►
First they draw out the brains through the nostrils with an
iron hook… Then with a sharp stone they make an incision
in the side, and take out all the bowels… Then, having
filled the belly with pure myrrh, cassia, and other
perfumes, they sew it up again; and they steep it in
mineral salt, leaving it under for 70 days… At the end of
the 70 days, they wash the corpse and wrap the whole
body in bandages of waxen cloth.
► Egypt
developed
hieroglyphics – writing
system
► Write on papyrus
(plant) reeds.
Hieroglyphics
Indus River Valley
► Mountains
separate from world
► Deserts
► Ganges
and Indus Rivers support providing fertile
land
► Monsoons dominate India’s climate
Settlements/Buildings
► Planned
cities (Roads, plumbing, walls
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Road system
Advanced plumbing
Bricked cities
Prayed for safety
Theocracy
Worship Shiva
Priests
Sacred animals
Trade (gold, silver, jewels) for goods
Use River for transporting goods
Strong central gov’t
Trade w/ Mesopotamians
► Known
as Harrappan civilization
► Known for city planning, advanced plumbing
system, standard size bricks
Religion
► Worshipped
Shiva, cattle, fertility images
Economic Life
► Farming,
long-distance trade
China
► 1.
Himalaya Mountains, Huang He (Yellow
River) and Yangtze rivers, Yellow Sea,
Deserts, plateau of Tibet
► 2. Flooding rivers, Isolation, supplied own
goods, invasions
► 3. Walled Cities, palaces, tombs,
settlements are now modern cities, farming,
1st dynasties formed from settlements
China
► 4.
warrior nobles & Peasants
► 5.
Central Authority. Elderly have special
rights. Women treated as inferior
► 6.
Worshipped spirits of family ancestors,
consulted gods through oracle bones
China
► 7.
many written characters representing an
idea
► 8. manufactured weapons bronze work,
iron, roads, canals, coined money, blast
furnaces
► 9. Embroidered silk clothing