Geography and Early Civilizations
Geography had a tremendous impact on early civilizations, the topography of the different regions played a key role in their development and formation. This statement by Fernand Braudel “ Geography is the stage in which humanity’s endless dramas are played out” (Getz et al., Exchanges, 26) is a very moving and telling description. The terrain, whether it is natural or man made is not the end all, be all. It does however affect the stage a great deal. Mountainous areas act as blockades, which keep the societies independent, plains open up the area, and rivers enable everything to move around freely. 2
In Mesopotamia, the Tigris and Euphrates River played a tremendous role in the formation of this
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The Himalayan Mountains as well as the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts isolated the Chinese civilization. This seclusion slowed cultural advancements from taking place in the region. Travelers did eventually arrive in China and brought with them new technologies and goods from outside the region. 1, 3
The Nile River was the life force of ancient Egypt. People from all over the region immigrated to the area for its irrigation waters and rich silt deposits. The geography of the region played a huge role in the way the inhabitants and civilization in general was formed. The main core of Egypt covered 386, 560 square miles, of which only 11, 720 were cultivable (Tignor et al., Worlds Together, 62). The Nile differed itself specifically from the Tigris and Euphrates in that its waters did not irrigate or fertilize nearly as well but it did create green belts along the water. This created a society that flourished along the river. The Nile unlike Mesopotamia did not have a bountiful borderland but did have a desert rich in materials. The Niles predictability as the source of life and abundance shaped the character of the people and their culture. (Tignor et al., Worlds Together, 63). The Nile was peaceful and calm unlike the vicious Tigris And Euphrates Rivers. Egypt with its natural borders, which included the Mediterranean Sea, Deserts, and Large Waterfalls, was very isolated. This helped to achieve
The Egyptians were very lucky to have the Nile River because without it they wouldn’t be able to survive. The Nile shaped Egypt by granting them with almost everything they needed. Where the Nileś source came from may have been a riddle to them but we know that came from Lake Tana which is the branch called the Blue Nile and from Lake Victoria which is the other branch called the White Nile. Egypt has been around for five thousand years and for all of those five thousand years the Nile River helped the Egyptians survive in Egypt. The Nile River shaped Ancient Egypt by setting a calendar, providing food and water,
The Nile shaped Egypt by influencing its geography, popular distribution, and settlements. The majority of settlements in Ancient Egypt were located around the Nile River Delta (Doc. A), where land was fertile, trade was good, and there were many natural resources. Because of geography in this civilization, Egyptians could easily protect and defend themselves, as well as settle down and have good lives.
As you can see the Aksum empire was the best and biggest trading empire because of where they were and the geography around them. Ancient Egypt was a smart empire and learn the way the geography around them worked and what it did, so they can plan around it and be successful. Lastly, Ancient Greece was affected and they weren’t able to move and be able to life with a very successful empire where they were. This shows that geography was a huge part of the way the people in the empires lived and if they were successful or
Just as the Tigris and Euphrates rivers shaped the worldview of early Mesopotamians, The Nile shaped the world view of the Egyptians. The Nile River was easily navigated and fairly temperate, which made for one of the greatest agricultural regions in the world at that time. Like clockwork, each year the Nile River would flood the land, leaving behind nutrient-rich silt that provided a bountiful harvest the following season. Due to the agricultural success of the land that followed the Nile the majority of Egyptians would settle close to it shores. The Nile Rivers benevolent waters also allowed the Egyptians to transport its most valuable resources to the southern regions of Africa, especially the divine metal that had been endowed by the gods to Egypt's elite. Even today the Egyptians are considered to be the pioneers of water management.
Rivers can help develop different civilizations such as the Nile River. This great river measures thirty five hundred miles through many different countries (Orlin, 2010). The Nile helped to bring life, security and dictated how the people planned activities throughout the year. For example, the farmers would seed the land after the Nile would start swell and then recede to its normal banks (Orlin, 2010). This helped the seedlings to grow and then produce bountiful harvest. The Nile provided security for the Egyptian people by allowing the reeds and natural grasses around the bank of the river (Orlin, 2010). This would allow any enemy that wanted to attack to not
Ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes referred to as the “Cradle of Civilization”, was located in the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, bringing the Greek origin of its name, of “land between rivers”. There were two very different regions in ancient Mesopotamia:
Have you ever wondered what made Egypt and Mesopotamia successful civilizations? Ancient Egyptians developed their civilizations by the Nile River around 3000B.C. Ancient Mesopotamia developed their civilizations between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers around 3100B.C. Their location, government, and rules have helped Egypt and Mesopotamia to be successful civilizations. Rivers were an essential part of the development of the civilizations. Rivers provided transportation, food, and water to them. For example, document one is a song.
It is undeniable that the natural environment of ancient Mesopotamia had a profound effect on the earliest civilizations known to the world. Humankind’s ability to control irrigation waters directly correlates with the rise of mass agriculture. With this mastery of their river environment, early farmers were capable of supporting large urban populations. However, in Mesopotamia the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were both a source of life as well as destruction for early societies. In many ways, the geography of ancient Mesopotamia fostered a sense of catastrophic determinism within the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians. The scarcity of resources as well as the untamable nature of their deluge environment led these early people to
The Nile: The Heartbeat of Ancient Egypt Egypt was one of the most developed civilizations of its time. How was this possible? The Nile was an enormous part of Egypt’s success. It held Egypt together from the time of the first unification in 2920 B.C.E. to the time of Egypt’s downfall in 30 B.C.E. The Nile’s sources were Lake Tana in the Ethiopian highlands and Lake Victoria in Kenya. When Egypt began to develop into an empire, the Nile was needed more than ever.
Without the ebb and flow of the great Nile River, Egyptian civilization might not have ever existed. The Nile, the longest river in the world, led to prosperity like no other waterway before. Flowing northward, the river was the foundation of Egypt’s economy and lifestyle. The Nile shaped Ancient Egypt through providing stability as a civilization, offering agricultural success, and influencing Egyptian culture. Egypt became a long-lasting civilization as a result of the Nile’s ability to support the needs of the people, including settlement and trade.
Based on document six, China is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean (to the west), the Himalayan Mountains (to the southwest), and the Gobi Desert (up north). These natural barriers helped stop foreigners from invading China, thus helping the civilization develop. Furthermore,
Geography and the environment play a monumental role in the establishment and success of a nearly every civilization. For example, rivers bring water and allow for agricultural development, while mountains or deserts provide for protection and create a barrier. Many things, such as the aforementioned deserts and mountains, can offer both positive and negative influences on the society in question. The climate and amount of rainfall is directly related to the success or failure of crop growing, and thus related to the amount of time spent on simply surviving. Civilizations that are able to spend less time on subsistence farming are able to redirect that energy towards the establishment of arts, culture, religion, and science. Where a
The lives of humans of the ancient world were greatly affected by the geography of the region that they lived in. The geography dictates what the people would eat, builds, and grow and where they would live. Based on the documents people of the ancient world lives were different to each other because of their geography. On example of how geography shaped the lives of earlier humans is document 2. Document 2 shows a map of Paleolithic, Neolithic China and where civilizations were located.
Early civilization shared similar common features, because all of these societies were under the same pressures. Their whole purpose was survival as it is to this day. Each societies main focus was to become established, stay in one place provide food, shelter and protection for their families. Early civilizations materialize along rivers, because rivers supplied a continuous and dependable supply of water for farming and human consumption. Agriculture today has had an enormous benefit on today’s society, there are now more farmers growing organic fruits and vegetables because the realize the great health benefits organic foods have on human consumption, providing less risk of pesticides and or chemicals on their food.
Egypt is the most iconic of the river valley civilizations and it is also one of the most significant civilizations of all. The trade mark of Egypt is the Nile River. It was the most Important part of the geography. The predictable and cyclical flooding of the Nile was what helped agriculture thrive in Egypt. Agriculture emerged in Egypt by 5,000 BCE. The flooding of the river acted as a perfect irrigation system for plants and silt that cam from the river was nutrient rich and helped grow plants at a great scale. Egyptian agriculture was so successful that there was a great surplus of food.