The document summarizes the major early civilizations that arose near river valleys, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus River Valley civilization, and Chinese river valley civilizations. All developed irrigation, systems of government and religion, legal codes, trade, and writing. They established some of the first major cities and advanced technologies like wheels, plows, sailing, bronze working, and calendars. Mesopotamia introduced cuneiform writing and Hammurabi's Code, while Egypt had powerful pharaohs and built pyramids and the Great Sphinx. The Indus civilization developed gridded cities and plumbing, and China built the Great Wall and worked with bronze, iron, silk, and coinage

1. •Mesopotamia (3500 BC-1600 BC)
•Egypt (3000 BC-2000 BC)
•Indus River Valley Civilization (2500 BC-
1700 BC)
•Chinese River Valley Civilizations (3950
BC-1000 BC)

2. From Neolithic to Civilizations
Settlements need rules/law to maintain order
Rules and laws needed to regulate irrigation
Threat of outside invasion made it necessary to have
rulers who could provide protection
Money from taxes and tributes

3. Mesopotamia (3500 BC-1600 BC)
Tigris and Euphrates River around 4500 BC
Sumerians arrive in 3500 BC-Begin irrigation
City-States established around 3000 BC-ruled by monarchy-often
military leaders who displace priests as rulers-pass power
to their sons who pass it to their sons (dynasty)
Polytheistic religion-Ziggurat (temple) center of each city state
Scientific Achievements: Wheel, plow, sail, bronze, pottery,
arch, number system based on 60 and 360 degree circle,
cuneiform (writing)
Hammurabi’s Law Code-First written law code
Other Civs (Assyrians, Phoenicians, Hebrews) adopt ideas first
developed by the Sumerians

6. Hammurabi’s Law Code…
Political Impact-Made the
law more stable and
predictable-less personal,
more objective
Legal Impact – The idea of a
separate judiciary (court
system) like the U.S.

9. Egypt (3000 BC-2000 BC)
Earliest settlement along Nile-5000 BC
“The Gift of the Nile” Regular yearly cycle of flooding
Pharaohs=god-kings: theocracy-form of government
where the rulers were divine leaders of both the
religion and the government/army
Polytheistic-belief in many gods
Pyramids built as tombs for Pharaohs; belief in
afterlife; mummification

13. Egypt (3000 BC-2000 BC)
Stratified society
Writing system; hieroglyphics; papyrus
Scientific achievements: written numbers, geometry,
stone columns, calendar for flooding cycle, advanced
medicine (repairing broken bones)

16. Indus River Valley (2500 BC-1700
BC)
First Major cities include Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa
Developed cities on grid system and had sophisticated
plumbing and sewage systems
Early cities declined due to a possible change in the
course of the Indus River.
Indo-European peoples known as the Aryans settle in
the Indus Valley around 1500 BC.
Aryan religious features: sacred literature known as
the Vedas
Caste system

17. Computer generated
picture of what
Mohenjo Daro may
have looked like.

20. Chinese River Valley (3950 BC-1000
BC)
Huang He (Yellow) River Valley
Shang Dynasty (2000 BC): Importance of family,
division of classes
Writing system where each symbol represents an idea
Technology and science: Great Wall of China,bronze
working, coined money, ironworks, and silk

21. Important Elements of ALL…
Advanced cities
Irrigation
Systems of government and religion
Written legal codes
Trade networks
Architecture-arch
Divisions of time/calendar system
Writing