Mesopotamia Egypt Indus Shang China

Time period 3500 BCE 3200 BCE 2500 BCE 1650 BCE
Tigris and Euphrates Nile River. Indus river and later Huang He (Yellow) and Yangtze
Geographic Description river Predictable floods. Ganges rivers.
flooding Natural barriers like Violent flooding due Unpredictable flooding River of
Few natural barriers desert. to seasonal Sorrows
Invasions and trade People settled on monssons Natural barriers led to geographic
caused city-states to one side of river; Buffered by the isolation..Middle Kingdom.
initially develop other side reserved foothills of the River meandered so it caused
for religion; led to Hindu Kush Mts decentralized feudalism
centralization although Arynas
found a pass (Kyber
Pass)
Made organized Ruled by Pharaoh Government Shang Dynasty- controlled the
P city-states. who had political oversaw the public Huang He valley. Was first
Summer, Ur, and religious power. works. organized state.
Babylon, (some of Dynasties were Two most known Feudalism- land based government
the city-states). created. Centralized cities are Harappa was used due to shape of river and
Walled for rule and Mohenjo population spread throughout the
protection Determined public -Darobuilt using a extensive valley
Territory was works project, grid-like pattern; They created palaces and tombs.
important. worked along Nile shows math Regulated irrigation.
Decentralized City- River. knowledge and Dynastic cycle, Zhou took control in
states fought each First female pharaoh well-planned cities 1000s BCE; beginning classical
other for land and was Nephritides. therefore probably period
water. Led to the Old Kingdom not decentralized
development in the (3200- 2200 BCE)
early empires Middle Kingdom
towards the end of (2100-1650 BCE)
the period New Kingdom
Ruled by kings who (1550-700BCE)
were war heroes. Do not get these
Hammurabi, leader different periods of
of Babylon, created early Egyptian
Hammurabis code- history confused
first written law with the Chinese
although shows concept of the
unequal treatment of Middle Kingdom
classes. Created an
Empire later
conquered by
Persians who would
create an empire
Located by the Nile used for trade Economy was based Based on agriculture.
E Tigris - Euphrates and agriculture. on agriculture. Grew Grew rice
River. Business was wheat, barley, and silk made by silkworm.
Rivers deposited dependent on the cotton. Domesticated animals- dogs, pigs,
fertile nutrients for Nile. Used the Indus for and sheep.
soil. Grew wheat Trade was Irrigation. Had bronze artisans.
and barley. government Dependent on FAT
Agriculture and directed, Monsoons
farming allowed for Based on Certain percent of
great economy, had agriculture. food was stored in
irrigation. Grew wheat and granaries for public
Metal, wood, and barley. use for droughts
stone were traded. Traded with Traded with
Traded with Indus Mesopotamia and Mesopotamia,
and Egypt. (Hittites Nubia. Persia and Egypt as
created iron tools Irrigation and evidence by goods
and they were found predicted flooding cotton
in Indus) by calendar. FAT
Used resources for FAT
technology. Traded
for food.
FAT- farmers,
artisans, traders.
(Traditional
Economy).
 This was a major Polytheistic religion.
R part of their Believed in afterlife
civilization. (Amen Rah- sun
Polytheistic- belief god, Osiris- God of
in many gods, try to nile).
explain the Mummified kings
unknown. and nobility,
Built pyramids preformed by
called ziggurats- priests.
place of worship. Pharaohs who
Priests preformed passed away were
rituals. Believed in mummified and
afterlife. If you were buried in the
bad in life you had a pyramids.
bad after life. Most sophisticated
Hebrews established polytheistic religion
first monotheistic of its timeBook
religion- Judaism of the Dead
Had many social Social classes were
S classes, was a hierarchy.
hierarchy. 1. Pharaoh and high
1. Ruling family, high priests.
ranking officials, 2. Artists, merchants,
nobility, and lesser priests.
important priests. 3. Farmers
2. Artists, merchants, 4. Slaves
lesser priests and Women were not
scribes. treated equal to men
3. Farmers and but had more rights
peasants than in other
4. Slaves societies.
Women were not Several queens,
treated equal to women pharaohs,
men. Nephritides being
the first.
Cuneiform- first Writing system was
I form of writing, hieroglyphics
2000 symbols (derived from
reduced to 300. Cuneiform) which
Scribes learned to were written on
write on clay tablets. papyrus, made from
Kept records. Code reeds along the Nile,
of Hammurabi Mathematics and
Had a number astronomy not as
system to make advanced as
agriculturally based Mesopotamia.
calendars Very accurate
Created the plow, calendar, 12 months
wheel, had and 30 days. Used
mathematics, used for annual flooding.
money Knowledge of
medicine and
surgery because of
mummification
Metal weapons,
pyramids, and
irrigation
Made pottery Built pyramids and
A industry. statues of god.
Metal welding, Sarcophagus had
architecture. artistic paintings on
Ziggurats had art, them.
Statues of god. Sculptures,
paintings, carvings,
and architecture.
Decline Invasions gave way to Invasions eventually gave
shifting of civilization way to end of River
core to the North valley period and the civilization re-emerged
beginning of Greek development of the
classical period (800BCE) Kingdom of Kush and
while the Persian Empire later Axum followed by
Grew Ethiopia
Global Connections/ cultural interaction. Some cultural
Interactions Interaction through interaction.
Polytheistic beliefs Polytheistic developed many gods
The Aryan invasion based on natural disasters
in 1500 BCE Believed in afterlife similar to
brought Hinduism to heaven, where their ancestors were.
India as well as the Sacrificed food and other things to
Caste system please gods in temples.
Reincarnation- Used oracle bones, carved what they
belief in rebirth of wanted from deities and/or
soul after death. ancestors on it.
Caste System-
When you die your
family stays in the
same class.
Dharma and Karma.
Had hierarchy as Social classes similar to other
well civilizations.
Aryans would 1. Ruler (god like).
established a rigid 2. Nobles and important priests.
Caste System 3. Warriors and lesser priests.
looked at religion 4. Artisans, merchants, scribe.
and society closely 5. Farmers
developed later. 6. Slaves
Fathers arranged marriages,
controlled families, daughters
sometimes sold into slavery.
Had public works China had advanced mathematics
public baths, and astronomy.
running water, cow Created first books.
breeding and Writing was done in pictographs,
irrigation. and ideographs over 1000 symbols
Early form of next to Cuneiform it is the 2nd
sandscript writing, original writing form
based on Cuneiform Made silk, had advanced
but still not agriculture, irrigation.
deciphered. Considered themselves the middle
Streets were kingdom center of the world.
efficient, had grid Bronze work.
patterns. Had
sewage systems and
indoor plumbing.
Good
mathematicians.
Made first dice and
chess games.
Tools were made of
steatite and lime. Collars for animals so they could
They have fine art, plow and pull wagons.
sculptures, and Pottery
pottery. Painted scenes of what life was
Had bronze tool and based upon.
steal weapons. oracle bones
bronzes
Aryan Invasions nearly Shang collapsed around 1000BCE giving
wiped out civilization rise to Zhou dynasty; 1st dynasty of
classical period
and Classical period
began under the Vedic
Age with Aryans
dominating the
civilization in 1500BCE
Some cultural Considered themselves middle
interaction. kingdom.
trade with Indus and
Egypt due to
Interaction through
trade with
Interaction through
trade with
Not much cultural interaction due to
relatively flat geographic isolation although
Mesopotamia and Mesopotamia and
topography; war interacted with Pastoral Nomads
Nubia. Persia.
occurred Aryan invasions