Early civilizations first emerged along major river valleys, such as in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, as well as in ancient Egypt and China. These civilizations were characterized by strong centralized governments, hierarchical societies organized around irrigated agriculture. Writing was developed independently in many early civilizations, often using symbols pressed into wet clay, which allowed them to more effectively organize politically and count resources. Society in early Mesopotamia featured a privileged aristocracy and priests, with underprivileged peasants and craftsmen lacking many rights, including women and slaves. Cities had surrounding walls and prominent ziggurat temples, and contributed innovations including the first written language of cuneiform, early

1. EARLY
CIVILIZATIONS
WHEN ?
WHERE ?
WHEN WRITING IS
DISCOVERED
EARLY
CIVILIZTIONS
AMONG RIVERS
FIRST CIVILIZATIONS
MESOPOTAMIA
CHINIA
EGYPT
CHARACTERISTICS
STRONG POLITICAL
POWER
HIERARCHICAL
SOCIETY
IRRIGARED
AGRICULTURE
MESOPOTAMIA
WHERE?
BETWEEN TIGRIS AND
EUFRATES
REGIONS
LOWER MESOPOTAMIA
MIDDLE MESOPOTAMIA
UPPER MESOPOTAMIA
CHARACTERISTICS
OPEN LAND
DRY AREA
WRITING
CUNEIFORM
SIGNS DRAWN ON CLAY
TABLETS
CONSEQUENCES
ORGANIZING POLITICAL SYSTEM
COUNTING RESOURCES
WRITING STORIES
SOCIETY
PRIVILEGED
ARISTOCRACY
PRIESTS
CIVIL SERVANTS
UNDERPRIVILEGED
PEASANTS
CRAFTSMEN
WITHOUT RIGHTS
WOMEN
SLAVES
CITIES
SURROUNDED BY
WALLS
MAIN BUILDING :
ZIGGURAT
DIFFERENTE AREAS
MARKET
CULTURE
CONTRIBUTIONS
CUNEIFORM WRITING
SCHOOLS
NUMBERS : ARITHMETIC AND
GEOMETRY
CALENDAR
SEXAGESIMAL SYSTEM
ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY
LAWS : CODE OF HAMMURABI
ART
ARCHITECTURE
MATERIAL : BRICK AND ADOBE
BUILDINGS
ZIGGURATS OF UR AND BABYLON
ISHTAR GATE
KHORSABAD PALACE
SCULPTURE MYTHOLOGICAL ANIMALS