Early River Civilizations

Nile River Valley Civilization The Nile River is the longest river in the world. It stretches 4, 187 miles to the Mediterranean Sea. The source of the Nile is sometimes considered to be Lake Victoria, but the lake itself has feeder rivers of considerable size.

The Nile Delta The Nile Delta, created by deposits of sediment at the mouth of the river, was important to the people of Egypt. The Nile River flooded every year bringing silt, finely ground soil, to fertilize this area.

Farming Along the Nile The farmland was divided into large estates: however the peasants did most of the farming. They used crude hoes and wooden plows.

Crops Wheat and barley were the main grain crops. Flax was also grown and then spun and woven into linen. Farmers also grew cotton to weave into cloth.

Buildings The Nile Valley contains minerals such as granite, sandstone, and limestone which were used for trade and building of religious facilities pyramids, the pharaoh’s tombs.

Climate The climate was sunny and frost-free which made it ideal for farming. The North wind made it easy for ships to travel upstream to southern Africa with the wind or downstream to the Mediterranean Sea with the current.

Egyptian Government The government was controlled by Pharaohs who had absolute power. They kept a strict control over the government and people. Egypt created a strong army and gained land along the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea.

Hieroglyphics They had a developed writing system called hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics used more than 600 signs, pictures, or symbols to represent words and sounds. They used papyrus that grew in the delta to make paper. Egyptians used ink made from soot, water, and plant juice.

Education The Education focused on scribes or clerks. Scribes learned to read and write so that they could work for the government. Schools were usually attached to temples Most people in Egypt believed in many gods, polytheism.

Sumerian River Valley Civilization (Mesopotamia) Mesopotamia is also called the Fertile Crescent because of the regions curved shape and richness of the land.

Geography The land was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The Fertile Crescent was surrounded by the Taurus Mountains (Turkey) to the northwest, the Zagros Mountains (Iran) to the east and the Syrian Desert to the south.

The Rivers Like the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flood each year, providing silt to fertilize the soil. The source for both rivers is the Taurus Mountains. They both flow into the Persian Gulf in what is today Iraq and Kuwait.

Cuneiform Sumerian writers used a wedge-shaped tool called a stylus. This writing is called cuneiform. There were 600 signs.

Buildings The Sumerians built large temples called ziggurats. They were made of baked bricks placed in layers. Ziggurats could be up to 150 feet high and the top served as a shrine to a Sumerian god.

Sumerian Arch They also invented the arch, a curved structure over and opening. It is the strongest form of building. By combining several arches the Sumerians built rounded roofs in the shape of domes.

Trade Sumerians farmed and traded goods around the world. They grew dates, grains, flax, and vegetables.

Cities The Sumerians forms city-states, city and surrounding land controlled by the same government. A city-state functions like a separate country today.

Babylon In about 1792 B.C. Hammurabi conquered most of the Tigris and Euphrates River Valley became a ruler of Babylon. He combined a collection of 282 laws. These laws contain some ideas that are still in our laws today.