Indus River Valley
-3300 to 1900 BC
-Southwest Asia
Geography;
-in present day Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, and China
-Natural borders of the Himalayas and Arabian sea sheltered area from attacks and disease.
-Consisted of forests, jungles deserts, vast plains, and mountains.
Importance:
-fused for transportation and trade
-fertilized land when it flooded
-provided irrigation and food
Culture
-similar to Hinduism
-Seals of animals and swastikas
-worshiped animals
-god names are unknown
-god names died with civilization
Writing System
-between 400 and 600 distinct Indus symbols
-made terracotta figures out of gold and stone
-skilled in pottery, weaving and metal working.
-Weapons - axes, spears, daggers, but no shields or armor
Name of People:
-Harappan Civilization, four different classes
Cities:
-set up in perfect grid patterns comparable to New York City
-home to the first urban sanitation system.
Emperors and Kingdoms:
Indus River - No known kingdoms
China:
-Xia Dynasty - 1st known dynasty of the Chinese area along the yellow river.
-known for their black pottery.
Shang Dynasty:
-Created objects out of bronze.
-Used human sacrifice a lot.
-If a king died, 100 slaves would be thrown into the grave with him
Western Zhou
-Used the father to son kingdom passing.
-didn't rule all of China
Eastern Zhou
-relocated western Zhou after being attacked
Mesopotamia:
Babylon
-from 1792-1750 BC
-Hammurabi was the king
-didn't last long because king died
Neo Babylonian
Babylon - means gate of gods.
Egyptian Kingdoms
-2700-2200 BC
-Pharaohs were buried pyramids but later buried in tombs.
Middle Kingdom
-Egypt's golden age
-trade, arts, and literature flourished.
New Kingdom
-Egypt's expansion period through military force.
-Kings were buried in the Valley of Kings.
Mesopotamia - greek for the land between two rivers.
-Py Thag was first invented here.
Importance:
-Trade and commerce was very important because they had very few natural resources.
-Many cities and grazing animals along the river banks.
Challenges:
-River would flood causing problems for farmers.
-Cities would be abandoned which would lower trade and commerce
Culture:
-They believe in many gods
-they wrote on clay tablets.
-People were often buried with these items.
-Gods decided what crops would be planted and which ones would survive.
Beliefs:
-1st religion to be recorded
-believed the world was flat
-believed water covered the entire earth.
-Monthly festivals were based on the phases of the moon.
Geography:
-located in the Fertile Crescent
-centered around the Euphrates to the west and tigris to the east.
-Bordering Countries - Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Turkey
Reasons people settled there
-water
-warm climate
-fertile soil
Lack of Resources:
-few trees
-little rainfall
-traded surplus for stone, wood, and metal
Emergence of Cities and States:
-first cities began around 4000-3500 BC
Ashur - in modern day iraq.
Nile River:
-4160 miles long.
-Located in Africa flows north near egypt.
Importance:
-Provided resources for almost all aspects of life.
-called the chief of transport. looked at as a highway of transportation.
People:
-the people of the nile were called egyptians.
-3 classes: Upper, middle, and lower class.
-men wore skirts and robes. women wore skirts and dresses.
Religion:
-based on nature
-Main god was the Sun God - Re or Ra
-God of the Nile - Hapi
Beliefs:
-Believed in life after death, so they preserved their bodies in mummies so their bodies wouldn't decay.
States and Cities:
-3 civilizations formed: Nubia, Kemet, and Kush
Decline of the early river valley civilizations:
Mesopotamia empire (akkadian empire)
-fell in 1950 BC
-attacked by the amorites
Babylonian Empire:
-their leader died. after that, the leaders after him didn't last very long and the empire collapsed into the hands of the Romans
Ancient Egypt Empire
-Along the Nile River
-Most powerful during the Ramesside Period
-Taken over by Libyans, Nubians, Assyria, Babylonian, Persian rule and Greece.
Yellow River
Xia Dynasty was the first ever recorded Chinese civilization. Ended because of famine and being overrun by the Shang Dynasty.
Zhou clan became the Zhou Dynasty. Short civil war ended the dynasty.
Indus River
-floods destroyed the irrigation system and the buildings.
-Aryans invaded and took over after they failed to restore their civilization.
-Named after the yellow clay, "loess", that blows across northern china
-Approximately 3000 miles long
-Located in central and northern China
-The river begins in central China
-Begins in the Bayan Har Mountains
-Empties into the Bohai Sea of the Pacific Ocean, on the east coast of China
-Also referred to as the Huang He river
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