Basic+Features+of+Early+Civilizations+in+Different+Environments


 * Mesopotamia**

Mesopotamia (also known as the Fertile Crescent) was one of the oldest known civilizations. It lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, both of which gave the civilization its life as they provided water for drinking. More importantly, the rivers flooded, enriching and replenishing the soil so the people could continuously grow crops. But everything was not peaceful. The rivers, which gave life, also caused great hardship. The floods, which enriched soil, happened unpredictably and were often violent. Mesopotamia was situated on a broad, flat plane that had few natural barriers. While this may have been good for farmland, it also left them open to invasion and subsequently, conquering.

This hostile environment had a direct affect on the people and their culture. Their view on life was that humankind was caught up in a disorderly world, subject to the will of argumentative and whimsical gods. As for their view of the afterlife, they had little notion of it. Instead, they felt that one simply ceased to exist.

The government of Mesopotamia changed as different people or groups gained power. During the time of the Sumerians, the area was organized into more than a dozen city-states and a king or type of governor ruled each state. Warfare was common between them as each fought for land and water. Like the Greek city-states, this constant fighting weakened the people and left them open for invasion. The Sumerians were defeated and overtaken by first the Akkadians, then the Babylonians, and then the Assyrians. These rulers created territorial states or bureaucratic empires, at times switching between the two. The social structure of the Mesopotamians, while in the very beginning men and women being mostly equal, they quickly transformed into a patriarchal society. With the men ruling, women were looked at as little more than property. Women were considered owned by men, first by their fathers then by their husbands. Because of this, females were divided into two categories, respectable and unrespectable. Respectable women belonged to a man, covered their faces in public, and served their man. Unrespectable women were prostitutes and slaves. As for education, only royal offspring and professionals (scribes, physicians, temple administrators) went to school. For most boys, they were taught their father’s trade or were apprenticed out to learn another trade. Girls never went to school, but were forced to stay home with their mothers to learn housekeeping, cooking, and to look after the younger children.


 * Egypt**


 * Indus Valley (Harrapan civilization)**

The Indus Valley was one of the first civilizations with developed culture, social structure, and state. Indus Valley is located in Indus and Saraswati river valleys of present-day Pakistan, which arose between 3000, and 2000 b.c.e. During the Paleolithic era the Harappan civilization consisted mostly of hunters and gatherers. As climate and game patterns changed the people had to adapt to the conditions.

In adaptation the civilization created irrigation systems. From population growth the people of these cities lived in stone houses two and three stories high, and had sewage systems. They used bronze tools. They may have learned to make bronze from the Sumerians, a civilization developing in Egypt. As the civilization grew so did its culture. Indus Valley had elaborately planned cities and standardized weights, measures, architectural styles, and brick sizes. Along with its uniquely developed architecture the Indian civilization unlike other civilizations generated no palaces, temples, and elaborate graves. Another part of the Indian culture is its diverse written script that remains undecipherable.

Besides its diverse culture it also had a unique social structure. With a combination of its two main cultures, Buddhism and Hinduism, social structure was developed. Scholars remain uncertain as to how society was organized but theories include a series of small republics, rule by priests, or an early form of the caste system. But it is known that priests or religious leaders did not run by kings but the civilizations. Also unlike Mesopotamia there were fewer slaves in the Indus Valley civilizations. The development of state for Indus Valley civilization created the first urban centers in the region. The quality of municipal town planning suggests the knowledge of urban planning and efficient municipal governments. The fall of the Harrapan civilization is unknown to many scholars.

Overall the Indus Valley civilization had one major empire, which was the Mauryan Empire. The Mauryan Empire was stimulated by Persian and Greek penetration of northwest. Mauryan Empire ruled all but the southern tip of India. The estimated population was about fifty million. The empire consisted of a large influence of military and civilian bureaucracy. The best-known emperor of this civilization was Ashoka, who converted society into a Buddhist nation. With the influence of Buddhism, he ran the empire peacefully, and developed a moral code, which everyone lived by. The fall of the Mauryan Empire came because of the death of Ashoka. Along with the Mauryan Empire, Gupta was also another empire to rule in this region. They reigned from 320-550 c.e.. There are many reasons why India could not maintain an empire. For one the states failed to command loyalty, great cultural diversity, frequent invasion from Central Asia, and the caste system encouraged local loyalties. Despite the lack of unity of the civilization trade in India flourished. Mesopotamian sea trade with the Indus Valley civilization was as early as 2300 b.c.e. Along with the sea trade the iron working industry developed. Trade had brought about many advances, for example merchants and artisans patronized public buildings and festivals, Hinduism and Buddhism spread through much of Asia, and Indian mathematics and astronomy. As you can see the development of the Indus Valley civilization has grown over time in advancement in culture, state, and social structure.


 * The Shang or Haunge He Dynasty (Yellow River Valley civilization)**

The Shang Dynasty was located in northern and central part of China. The dynasty’s capital was Anyang near the border of Henan from about 1384 BCE. The Shang lasted over 600 years and by 30 different emperors over the course. This dynasty was surrounded by mountains, seas, and deserts and based on agricultural crops such as millet, wheat, and barley. Also, Silkworms, pigs, sheep dogs, and oxen were raised. Throughout the years, there was advancement in metallurgy. Oracle bones took great part in Shang Dynasty’s history. These oracle bones contained records about solar and lunar eclipses stars and other celestial happenings which led to advancement in astronomy. Also, oracle bones functioned as a prophetic object. A question was written on the bone, which was then fired and a T shaped crack were produced which was interpreted, and the interpretation was written on the bone. The Shang Dynasty was an aristocratic society where the king appointed terrestrial leaders in return for their support in his military campaign. Also, the priest kept the records of the government and the religion. The social structure of the Shang was strictly patriarchal where the oldest male was the head of the family who makes all the decision and respected.