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Ancient River ValleyCivilizationsWarm-up ActivityImagine you are archaeologists living many years in the future. In excavating a site, they have found a coin from an unknown society.Take a penny out of the box.Write down all you notice on both sides of the coin. Consider what this coin could tell future archaeologists about the unknown society, write this information on a piece of paper, and turn it in.

The Oldest River/Valley CivilizationsMesopotamia about 3500 B.C.Egypt about 3000 B.C.Ancient India about 2500 B.C.Ancient China about 1600 B.C.

MesopotamiaAbout 3500 B.C.- 300 B.C.

Fertile Crescent

Mesopotamia = the land between the rivers.MesopotamiaUnpredictable floodingWhy a blessing?Why a curse?No geographical barriers?Why is that a problem?

STOPThe SumeriansBelieved to be the oldest civilization on earthThey are believed to be the first people on earth to invent a system of writing cuneiformMost of the people were farmers but many were traders and artisans

zigguratSumerian SocietyThe farming communities grew into 12 city states with a god for eachThey were always in conflictPriest managed the gods land and were at the top of societyBeneath the Priest were artisans and tradersSlaves were at the bottom of societyRuler led army in war and enforced laws.Complex government with scribes to collect taxes and keep recordSumer was conquered by Hammurabi who created the Code of Hammurabi which was 282 lawsThe Code of Hammurabi became a model for other legal systems of the worldSumerian ReligionThey were polytheistic ( worshipped many gods) Believed gods controlled every aspect of life.Saw afterlife as a grim place.To keep the gods happy, each city built a ziggurat, or pyramid temple.

EgyptDesert climate, but they had the Nile River with yearly floodsThey developed geometry and engineering so they could set up and irrigation systemPharaohs were the king of Egypt seen as gods and ruled in dynasties or ruling familyReligion polytheismAfterlife Osiris, mummification, tombsPyramids used as tombsHieroglyphics written on papyrus

Egyptian SocietyConquered neighbors but often absorbed ideas and customs from the people they conqueredPharaoh Amenhotep tried to convert the country to monotheism, to worship the god Aton. When he died, 9 year old Tutankhamen became the new ruler and they returned to polytheismThey believe in an afterlife after death that you could have if you lived a good life. A bad life would = the devourer of souls for youEgyptian ContributionsSystem of writing hieroglyphics, which was placed on paper or papyrusThey had the first doctors in the world and studied anatomyStopGeography

IndiaThe subcontinent is divided into three major zones: northern plain, Deccan plateau, and coastal plainsThe Indus Valley is located on the subcontinent of India.Surrounded by three major mountain rangesIsolation protected India from invasionsGanges & Indus Rivers

The mountains in the north limited contact with other lands and helped India to develop a distinct culture. The first Indian civilization was along the Indus16IndiaGrew around Indus River ValleyThe earliest Indian civilization flourished for about 1,000 years, then vanished without a traceThe Indus Valley Civilization had:Well-organized government Carefully planned citiesMost people were farmers and used irrigation canals to water their cropsThey were polytheisticThey had a system of writing that used pictogramsThey were conquered by the Aryans

Priests, Warriors, everyone else17The Hindu Religion Began around 1500 B.C.It created a caste system separating people into social groupsThey wanted to keep themselves apart from the original inhabitants of India whom they believed were inferior

Aryans -Vedas are Holy books which formed the basis for the four Aryan religious books HinduismThey believed the god Brahma created the universeReincarnation is also a part of their beliefOnly artifacts left by the Aryans.Their system of writing was Sanskrit

Indus River Valley Early Innovation Clip

The Mahabharata celebrates battle and reflects important Indian beliefs about the immortality of the soul.The Ramayana celebrates a daring and adventurous hero and portrays the ideal woman as loyal and obedient to her husband. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana are about Aryan life and valuesImportant Literature2ChinaGrew around Huang He (Yellow) RiverDynasties Shang, ZhouShang rulers ruled by the Mandate of Heaven divine right to rule governed via orders from the spirits until 1912During the Zhou dynasty, China became the most populated place on earthConfucius lived during the Zhou dynastyHe wanted the leaders to avoid un-necessary wars and to lower taxesHe wanted people to develop personal morality and goodwill toward allReligion polytheism, ancestor worshipFeudal stateSilk makingHad a system of writingAgriculture

Chinese FeudalismZhou to the Qin Dynasties were true feudal statesSocial organization that arose due to circumstancesCharacteristicsIndependent feudal states . The people needed to be loyal to the central rulerOrganization RulerLordsKnights Peasants

Qin dynasty = Great Wall23