River Valley Civilizations PDF

# RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATION ## WATER FOR SURVIVAL - Rivers provided fresh water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning, which was essential for life. ## FERTILE LAND FOR FARMING - The soil near rivers was rich and fertile due to floods, making it ideal for growing crops like wheat, rice, and barley...

# RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATION ## WATER FOR SURVIVAL - Rivers provided fresh water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning, which was essential for life. ## FERTILE LAND FOR FARMING - The soil near rivers was rich and fertile due to floods, making it ideal for growing crops like wheat, rice, and barley. ## FISHING & FOOD SUPPLY - Rivers had plenty of fish and other resources, which added to their food supply. ## TRANSPORTATION - Rivers served as natural highways for transporting goods and people, helping trade and communication. ## PROTECTION - Some rivers created natural barriers, protecting people from invaders and wild animals. ## RESOURCES FOR DAILY LIFE - Rivers provided resources like clay for making bricks and pots, and reeds for making baskets or roofs. # SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION ## GEOGRAPHY - **Where was the Sumerian civilization located?** - The Sumerian civilization was located in Southern Mesopotamia, a region in modern-day Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. - **Why was the region known as the FERTILE CRESCENT?** - The region was named the FERTILE CRESCENT because of its fertile land and plentiful water supply from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This made it a prime location for agriculture and supported the growth of SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION. ## SOCIETY & CULTURE - **What were the main social classes in SUMERIAN society?** - Sumerian society was divided into several social classes. At the top were the rulers, followed by priests and scribes, who were considered the intellectual elite. Below them were farmers, artisans, and merchants, who formed the backbone of the economy. At the bottom were the slaves, who were often prisoners of war or debtors. - **Name 1 Sumerian invention and explain its importance?** - One of the most important Sumerian innovations was the wheel. The wheel revolutionized transportation, making it easier to move goods and people. It also led to the development of new technologies, such as chariots and potter's wheels. ## GOVERNEMENT & RELIGION - **What kind of government did the Sumerians have?** - The Sumerians had city-states, each ruled by a king or queen. These city-states were often at war with each other, but they also cooperated in trade and cultural exchange. - **Who were the key gods and goddesses worshiped by the Sumerians?** - The Sumerians worshiped a pantheon of gods and goddesses, each associated with different aspects of nature and human life. Some of the most important deities included ANU - Sky god, ENLIL - god of air and storms, and INANNA - goddess of love and war. ## WRITING & COMMUNICATIONS - **What is cuneiform, and why is it significant?** - Cuneiform is a system of writing used by the Sumerians, consisting of wedge-shaped marks pressed into clay tablets. It is one of the earliest forms of writing and is considered a major achievement in human history. Cuneiform allowed the Sumerians to record their laws, literature, and history. ## LEGACY - **What contributions did the Sumerians make to future civilizations?** - The Sumerians made many contributions to future civilizations. They developed a complex system of irrigation, advanced mathematics and astronomy, and created some of the earliest forms of literature, such as epic poems and hymns. Their invention of writing laid the foundation for the development of later writing systems, such as the EGYPTIAN hieroglyphics and the PHOENICIAN alphabet. # INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION ## LOCATION - The civilization is located in South Asia, along the banks of the Indus River. - It covered parts of INDIA and PAKISTAN. - Important cities were HARAPA and MOHANJODARO. ## FEATURES/ACHIEVEMENTS - Cities were well-planned (grid-like layout). - Advanced drainage system and houses made of baked bricks. - The cities had buildings - GREAT BATH, GRANARIES. - They traded goods with Mesopotamians. - They developed a system of writing which is mostly undeciphered. ## REASONS OF DECLINE - Attack from foreign tribes. - Environmental degradation. - Natural disasters # INNOVATIONS OF THE SUMERIANS ## FARMING - Irrigation technique of using canals to channel water around. ## THE WHEEL - The Sumerians were the first to develop the wheel. ## NUMBERS - They developed a number system primarily based around the number 60. ## BUILDING - Best known for Ziggurats, pyramid structures with flat roofs. ## BRONZE - They used bronze for creation of different tools and weaponry. # DECLINE OF THE SUMERIANS - The civilization collapsed around 1750 BCE with the invasion of the region by the Elamites. - Historians attribute many reasons for the fall of the Mesopotamian Empire, including: - Overcrowding. - Pollution. - War. - Changes in the environment, environmental degradation, and over-use of resources. # DECLINE OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION - **Economic disparity and concentration of wealth with the aristocracy led to unrest among the population.** - **Centuries-long drought.** - **A civil war coupled with invasions by the Assyrians weakened the Egyptian military, allowing the Persian Empire to successfully invade and taken over Egypt.** - **Major climatic shifts ruined harvests, triggering mass farming, which decimated Egypt's population.** # GREEK CIVILIZATION ## INQUIRY QUESTIONS - **Define democracy. Who all were allowed to vote in Greek civilization?** - Leaders of Greek were selected from a lottery of eligible citizens: men who had completed military training and who were over the age of 30. Women and slaves were excluded. - **What is the meaning of philosophy?** - Philosophy is the study of knowledge and it attempts to explain different ways to live life and offers plenty of opportunities for deep reflection. - **Name the term "CITY STATES."** - POLIS ## H.W - Research on any 2 significant individuals from Greek civilization and write about their contributions to the modern world. - **Define democracy.** - A type of government where citizens were allowed to vote in order to elect their representatives/leaders. ## HOMER - Homer was a poet and writer. He was well known for writing the "ILLIAD and the ODYSEY". Homer's epic poems are classical works of literature. The ILLIAD is set during the Trojan War and tells the story of ACHILLES. The works of HOMER marked the beginning of the classical era. ## SOCRATES - A philosopher who had a great influence today. His ideas have influenced the development of political philosophy and many other subjects. # ROMAN EMPIRE ## IQ - **Define the term REPUBLIC and EMPIRE.** - **Republic** - A state of government where the state is ruled by elected representatives. - **Empire** - A variety of places ruled by a single supreme authority - **How was the ancient ROMAN socity divided?** - **THE PATRICIAN CLASS** - landowners, noblemen with wealth and power. - **THE PLEBIANS** - farmers, craftsmen, artisans, builders, etc. - **THE SLAVES** - war prisoners with limited rights and considered the property of others. - **Identify some of the achievements of ROMAN EMPIRE.** - **Buildings & Infrastructure** - They built: - Roads. - Bridges. - The endreg - Aqueduct - Used to transport water - - Amphitheaters. ## MAYAN CIVILIZATION ## LOCATION - The civilization of the Maya people emerged in Mesoamerica. Mesoamerica is the area of central America between Panama and the north of Mexico. ## WEATHER/CLIMATE - Mesoamerica is mostly rainforest - hot and wet all year round with dense vegetation. ## ACHIEVEMENTS - The Maya built: - Pyramids. - Palaces. - Housing. - Courts for ball games. - The use of writing - The MAYA used hieroglyphics to communicate written information. - They were advanced in their use of numbers and developed the use of zero as a number. - The Mayan Calendar was developed based on astronomical Ideas. - The culture of the use of human sacrifice was associated with their beliefs. - Trade played an important role in Mayan civilizations, facilitating the exchange of goods and ideas between regions. ## DECLINE OF MAYA - Warfare between city-states. - Overpopulations. - Occurrence of great drought leading to crop failure. - Over utilization of ressources. - Environmental degradation. # INCA CIVILIZATION ## LOCATION - The civilization of the Inca developed in South America, primarily in the Andes Mountains. Their influence spread from PERY, CHILE, EQUADOR and as far south as Argentina. ## ACHIEVEMENTS - They developed extensive roads and paths were built with stones. - The Incas used terrace forming and irrigation techniques to help the growth of crops. - For communication they used Quipus, a system to communicate information. - Incas are known for well-structured tax systems that used food and metals as a form of payment. - The emperor or monarch of the Inca is called Sapa Inca - this individual held the greatest power and wealth in the entire empire. ## DECLINE OF INCA - The arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century signaled the end of Inca dominance. - The Europeans brought a number of diseases that the Inca had not before been exposed to. - Smallpox had a devastating impact on the indigenous people of the Americas. # HOW THE CIVILIZATION DEVELOPED - The Sumerian civilization developed towards the south of Mesopotamia and was established in the region of Sumer, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. - These rivers aided the development of the Sumerian civilization because their flooding, as well as the creation of canals and use of irrigation techniques increased the fertility of the land for farming. This allowed people to progress from a hunter-gatherer society to a more advanced structure. - As a result of the increased amount of food produced in the area, people could start to specialize in other forms of work such as handicrafts, pottery, and construction. Consequently, the Sumerians were able to construct more permanent settlements to aid the development of their civilization. # INNOVATIONS OF THE SUMERIANS ## WRITING - Sumerian writing involved the use of cuneiform. This is the use of symbols to represent different things that are communicated. The writing of the Sumerians was usually recorded on stone tablets by scribes whose job was to record the thoughts and sayings of the ensí (ruler) in a particular city-state. ## FARMING - Developments in farming aided the development of the Sumerian civilization. Of particular note was the irrigation technique of using canals to channel the water around. A challenge faced by the Sumerians was the unpredictable flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates that often created problems for farming. ## THE WHEEL - Although disputed, many historians and archaeologists claim that the Sumerians were the first to develop the wheel. It is thought that they used the wheel on chariots that were an early form of transport. ## NUMBERS - The Sumerians also developed a number system primarily based around the number 60 (as opposed to our present system based around the number 10). This led to the development of 60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a circle, which are used today. ## BUILDING - Buildings were constructed in the Sumerian city states and perhaps the best known were the ziggurats, pyramid structures with flat roofs. They were usually built with sun-dried mud bricks that were ideal for the construction of ziggurats. ## BRONZE - The Sumerians were also noted for their use of bronze in the creation of different tools and weaponry. This was a sign of their advanced nature as a civilization. # THE MAYA - The civilization of the Maya people emerged in Mesoamerica. Mesoamerica is the area of central America between Panama and the north of Mexico. A number of civilizations emerged in this region due to a variety of favorable conditions that helped the development of cities and settlements. Other civilizations include the Olmec, who preceded the Maya and greatly influenced them, and the better-known Aztec civilization who emerged slightly later in Mexico. - The Mesoamerican civilizations developed in complete isolation from other civilizations in the world such as those in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean. The climate and topography of Mesoamerica could not be more different from these areas. While Mesopotamia and Egypt were largely desert, Mesoamerica is mostly rainforest - hot and wet all year round with dense vegetation. - Like the Egyptians, Greeks, and Sumerians, the Maya civilization also developed in the form of city states. These city states were structured and had religious leaders. They sometimes fought with each other. Within the city states, the Maya built pyramids, palaces, housing, and courts for ball games. Famous ruins of Mayan city states can be found at Tikal in Guatemala and Chichén Itzá in the south of Mexico. - The Maya civilizations were at their peak between 300 and 800ce. During this time they were able to build on many of their achievements and expand their influence in Mesoamerica. One of the achievements of the Maya is the use of writing. Using a similar system to the Egyptians, the Maya used hieroglyphics to communicate written information. This was recorded on paper that was made from different materials available in the locality, such as tree bark. - The Maya were also advanced in their use of numbers and developed the use of zero as a number. This was an advanced concept as it allowed far more complexity of understanding of numbers and mathematics. The Mayan calendar was 260 days per year and they developed ideas in the field of astronomy. Another, more grizzly, feature of Maya society and culture was the use of human sacrifice that was associated with their beliefs. Although not a regular occurrence, human sacrifice influenced the Aztecs who made more widespread use of this ritual. After 800CE, the Mayan civilization slowly went into decline, but the reasons for this are debated. # THE INCA - In the early twentieth century, US explorer Hiram Bingham wrote a book called The Lost City of the Incas. This was a book about his recent adventures in Peru where he had rediscovered the ruins of the Inca city Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is now viewed as one of the modern wonders of the world. The existence of a small city so high in the Andes mountains was a strong indication of how advanced the Inca were. - The civilization of the Inca developed in South America, primarily in the Andes that run the length of the continent. The Inca civilization really began with the establishment of the city of Cuzco. Cuzco became the center of the Inca Empire, through which the different power structures and the spread of their influence could be organized. The Inca are an example of a relatively recent civilization as the city of Cuzco was founded around 1200CE. Compare that to the Ancient Egyptians or Sumerians who were setting up their city states well before 2000BCE. - Over time, the Inca became a very powerful empire in South America and their influence spread from Peru to Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and as far south as Argentina. Their territory was primarily mountainous and they did not spread much into the Amazon rainforest that takes up huge amounts of land in South America. They made use of the mountains through the development of extensive roads and paths built with stone. They were able to farm the land in the Andes through the use of terraces, which were used to farm a variety of crops. Like other civilizations, the Inca used irrigation to help develop the farming. The Inca did not develop the use of either the wheel or writing. For communication they used Quipus, a system of knotting rope to communicate information. The size and type of knots would indicate what was being said. Knots could be used to communicate numbers, which helped with the running of their tax system. - The Inca were organized as a hierarchy to distribute power. Families were organized into Ayllus - these were groups of families who worked together, usually in farming. There was an overall emperor or monarch of the Inca called the Sapa Inca - this individual held the greatest power over the civilization and lived in great wealth. One notable achievement in terms of organization and structures of power was the use of an extensive and well-structured tax system across the empire, that used resources such as food and metals as a form of payment. - The arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century signaled the end of Inca dominance in the region. The Europeans brought a number of diseases that the Inca had not before been exposed to. Many Inca were killed; in particular, smallpox had a devastating impact on the indigenous people of the Americas. The Spanish went on to dominate South America politically from that point onwards. The Inca language and culture are still prevalent today, especially in Peru, where Machu Picchu and Cuzco are visited by many tourists. The Inca civilization is a testament to the role of the environment in the development of a civilization. # REFLECTION: THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE SUMERIAN AND EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATIONS ## CONSTRUCTION - Perhaps the most iconic association with the Ancient Egyptians is that of the Great Sphinx and pyramids at Giza, close to Cairo, built during the Old Kingdom. These structures help us to understand how advanced the Ancient Egyptians were in terms of building, but it is still a mystery how the pyramids were constructed, given the lack of technology to lift such heavy materials. It is thought that the pyramids were built, brick by brick, by slave laborers over many years. ## WRITING - The Ancient Egyptians also demonstrated advances in communication. A system of writing called hieroglyphics was developed. Like the Sumerians, they used symbols to represent different things. The hieroglyphs were recorded by scribes on papyrus reed (papyrus comes from a plant and is a thick form of paper). Egyptologists have been able to translate these hieroglyphics thanks to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in the late eighteenth century. This stone, produced towards the end of the civilization, presents the same information in both Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and Ancient Greek. Owing to the text being identical, experts have been able to translate the meanings of the hieroglyphs. ## MEDICINE - The Ancient Egyptians also made some advances in the field of medicine. The practice of mummification led to a more developed understanding of human anatomy. Mummification was the process for the preparation of dead bodies before they were put into a tomb. The internal organs, apart from the heart, were removed and the body was embalmed, a process that helped with the preservation of the body. - Owing to these technical procedures, the Ancient Egyptians were able to increase their understanding of the human body. They also made connections between the river Nile and the human body. They thought that the human body was full of channels and problems occurred due to blockages, similar to the problems that would result if a channel of the river became blocked up. The Ancient Egyptians also developed a range of surgical techniques that were usually used to treat external problems. As well as this, there was also encouragement of a healthy diet, largely thanks to the range of crops, fruits, and vegetables they could grow on the land surrounding the Nile.