Civilization
|
Geographical
Factors
|
Accomplishments
|
Miscellaneous
|
Nile
River Valley(present-day Egypt) |
 | The Nile River provided
predictable floods and a stable food source
|
 | The River flows northward
and empties into the Mediterranean but the winds blow south
|
 | This enabled river travelers
to move north or south along the river, which promoted trade and unity in
Ancient Egypt
|
 | Deserts and seas surround
the valley and offered some protection from invasion
|
|
 | Hieroglyphics
|
 | Wrote on sheets of dried
papyrus plant
|
 | Used geometry to survey
fields and build canals as well as pyramids as tombs for the pharaoh
|
 | Knew astronomy and produced
a calendar of 365 days |
|
 | Rigid class structure with
the pharaoh at the top followed by priests, artisans, farmers. and slaves
|
 | Polytheistic religion -
believed in life after death
|
|
Tigris-Euphrates River
Valley(present-day Iraq) |
 | The floods provided fertile
soil and a stable food supply
|
 | The floods of the
Tigris-Euphrates rivers were unpredictable and as a result the Sumerians
believed that their gods were angry gods
|
 | The valley was surrounded by
deserts & hills but they were relatively easy to cross and so the peoples of
this region were constantly conquered and re-conquered
|
|
 | Developed a system of
writing called Cuneiform, which were wedge-shaped characters pressed into a clay
tablet
|
 | Built ziggurats and arches
with sun-dried clay bricks
|
 | Developed the wheel and
algebra
|
 | Hammurabi's Code was
constructed by the Babylonians and was an early form of written laws (an eye for
an eye)
|
|
 | Practiced polytheism
|
 | Had no conception of a
heaven or salvation for the deceased
|
|
Yellow River
Valley(present-day China) |
 | Flooding of the Yellow River
provided fertile, yellow soil and a stable food supply
|
 | The Chinese were surrounded
by mountains and the Gobi desert and as a result were very isolated from other
civilizations and cultures
|
 | As a result of this
isolation the Chinese developed an ethnocentric mode of thinking
|
|
 | Developed a 360-day calendar
based on the moon (priests added days when needed)
|
 | Predicted eclipses and kept
a written history
|
 | Early written language
consisted of pictograms |
|
 | Dynastic cycle and Mandate
of Heaven
|
|
Indus
River Valley(present-day India) |
 | The Indus River and monsoons
provided a food supply
|
 | Monsoons were unpredictable
and led to famine or floods and destruction
|
 | Valley is bordered by the
Himalayas and the Hindu Kush to the north, however the Khyber pass allowed for
entry into the region and invasion
|
|
 | Developed a written language
of pictograms
|
 | Constructed a water system,
public baths, hospitals |
|
 | Practiced animism before
Hinduism and Buddhism take hold
|
 | The Aryans conquer the
valley
|
 | They bring the Vedic
religion and the beginnings of the caste
system
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment