S: The River Valley Civilizations
FC: The River Valley Civilizations By: Dustin Farris
1: Table of contents | Mesopotamia............page 2-4 | Egypt.........................page 5-7 | Indus........................page 8-10 | China.....................page 11-13
2: Mesopotamia: Mesopotamia is the area located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
3: The Mesopotamians were polytheistic, meaning that they believed in many gods. | Farming was the main occupation in Mesopotamia. | The Sumerian's did not believe in an afterlife
4: The wheel was the biggest invention credited to the Sumerian's. The Sumerian's style of writing was known as cuneiform - which had wedge like symbols. Mesopotamia is located in the fertile crescent, which provides the Sumerian's with rich soil to grow crops. The Sumerian's began what is now called social classes. The Sumerian's started what is called city-states. The Sumerian's dug irrigation ditches to get water from the Tigris to the Euphrates River.
5: Egypt The Egyptian civilization started during the Neolithic Revolution. | The Nile River would flood yearly, leaving behind rich fertile soil.
6: The seas and deserts surrounding Egypt would protect its people from being attacked by enemies. Farming and agriculture were the major occupations for the Egyptians. | The early Egyptians were polytheistic. The Egyptians built the pyramids to please their kings.
7: The Nile river civilization believed in an after life, and prepared for life after death. | The Egyptians produced the 365 day calender, which was based on astronomy. | The Egyptians created and used hieroglyphics, which they put onto tablets for a form of communication. | The bodies of royal and wealthy Egyptians were preserved through a process called mummification.
8: Indus River Valley Civilization
9: The desert and tall mountains protect the Indus river valley civilization from invasion. | The Indus was a Bronze Age civilization. The Indus valley civilization was also known as the Harappan culture. | The Indus civilization built their city on mud brick platforms to prevent flooding. The Indus created one of the first plumbing system.
10: They had ties to many different religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism. Monsoons controlled most of the regions climate. There was no evidence of division of social classes. | It is believed that earthquakes and floods led to the decrease in population of this civilization. They were responsible for having the first urban centers in this region. Their economy was very dependent on trade.
11: China River Civilization | They built walls around their cities to protect themselves from invaders.
12: Civilizations developed on Yellow River Valley - or Huang Ho. Rivers had unpredictable and bad floods. There were three main Dynasty's: Xia, Shang and Zhou. They were isolated due to the Himalayan Mountains, deserts and Jungles. No government exisited - they worshiped an Aristocratic King. Priest and Military were not at the top. The King and Nobles lived within the city. Peasants lived in huts outside the City Walls in small huts.
13: The grew rice and soybeans. They also raised pigs, chickens and dogs. They had a good irrigation system for farming. | They made silk from silk worm cocoons. | Shang Di was the supreme god, and they also worshiped lesser gods. they believed spirits of ancestors could bring good fortune or disaster. | Their writing was complex was consisted of pictures that represented words.