Worlds Civilization
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How the river impact civilization?
Rivers play a crucial role in the preservation of early civilization due to water provision. The water from these rivers and water bodies are used in irrigation and providing water for transport. Most early civilizations thrive due to the availability of the river. Mesopotamian culture is the ancient culture that benefitted due to the proximity to two great rivers Tigris and Euphrates. From 3500 BC to 1600 AD, the world civilization was in the infancy stages. Therefore, the available rivers were used for transport, domestic purpose, and agriculture. The areas around permanent rivers during that era experience success and development due to economic activities. Despite the rivers’ role in starting the most celebrated civilization to date between 3500 BC and 1600 AD, many activities that impact civilization happened in the river. Some rivers were seasonal, so their impact on civilization was short-lived. People moving from one place to another for various reasons through water transport carried important ideas to make a civilization great. This essay discusses how the river impacted civilization between 3500 BC and 1600 AD.
Most people settle around the river due to their domestic needs. The interaction of many people around some of these places enables them to interact and exchange ideas. The settlement of various people with distinct backgrounds created a suitable oasis of civilization in ancient times. In 2000 BC, there was the earliest settlement along River Nile. The earliest settlement along this river was crucial to the world’s earliest civilization (Moret, 2013). There was a link between people and the landscape. Historians and archeologists are unable to account for the evolution of Egyptian civilization. The oldest civilization along the River Nile bank was influential in North Africa since the favorable factors in the river banks attracted individuals from different places. The earliest inhibits at the River Nile bank around 2000 BC were struggling to live in the bank with insufficient food. However, water in the area gives them relief since the water was used for drinking and preparing the limited food among the dwellers. Pyramid and other artifacts that were used among these residents were important in defining the early Egyptian cultures.
Greek civilization incorporated various aspects from the earliest Egyptian civilization, especially in architectural works and other aspects. The arrival and the settlement of people who lived in the pyramids around the river bank were important to civilization. The river bank’s residents never interacted with another civilization. Therefore, their decision and actions generate a sketch that was improved with time. High illiteracy among these individuals meant that their civilization had flaws. Unfortunately, they did not have an alternative rather than accepting their weaknesses and justifying them as a life protocol. Although with time, Egyptian civilization has advanced. However, the advancement has not eliminated the skeleton of the earliest Egyptian civilization. Some ideas generated by the people in 2000 BC were out of guesses and assuming those ideas’ credibility. Even though the flaws, other early civilizations found a starting point. The celebrated ancient Greece civilization borrowed many of their ideas from Egyptian civilization due to its old age. The people who stayed at River Nile banks mostly used the river for domestic purposes because there was limited movement through the waters (Sameer et al., 2019). Most times, these individuals meet while fetching water or washing. The frequent meetings of individuals at the river enable them to share ideas. The sharing of knowledge enabled the residents to offer creativity and other aspects of the culture that crafted Egyptian culture and civilization. There were other suitable areas for these people to live rather than staying along the river. Nonetheless, these people preferred to stay around the river. The high populace at the river bank intensified interactions of both the residents and non-residents who use the river for different reasons.
The waters from rivers Tigris and Euphrates enabled in Mesopotamian people to irrigate their farms. The flooded area of Mesopotamia dictated canals and ditched to be dug to create space for settlement and agriculture. 2500 BC was a serious and creational era in Mesopotamia due to the land activities between two rivers, Tigris and Euphrates. Mesopotamian civilization is defined as the first civilization known to the history of humanity from Fertile Crescent. Apart from providing water for irrigation, the presence of the two rivers offered a fertile ground for civilization (Postgate, 2017). The ideas generated at Mesopotamia in 2500 BC were unique, enticing other people outside the region. The uniqueness of Mesopotamian civilization became the foundation of various ideas and thinking in Western Civilization. Western civilization came later after the Mesopotamian civilization. Despite the timing and events that preceded Western civilization, the retaining of most aspects of Mesopotamian civilization indicated the older thought’s value. The suitable terrain and Mesopotamia’s fertility enabled people to engage in agriculture. However, the intense agricultural activities in Mesopotamia demanded Mesopotamians to incorporate technology in farming and irrigation. The residents had enough water to be used for agriculture. The technology could make them benefit from Tigris and Euphrates. The residents were not enjoying these rivers’ presence. Hence, technology was supposed to allow people to fetch enough water for irrigation and farming to the residents’ satisfaction. The habitats’ amateur skills forced them to start with subsistence farming. However, as the people continued farming, new ideas were born on how to advance farming to maximize the output. Farming advancement was a crucial part of agricultural modernization. Ox-carts and traitor gradually replaced human labor. Modernization was also experienced in non-agricultural sectors due to the interactions and the people’s collectiveness. The presence of rivers Tigris and Euphrates changed almost everything in the area. However, the integration of civilization was a gradual process since the experience was new. Fortunately, the efficiency of technology and other aspects of civilization thrilled most people who took a short time to embrace civilization.
The gradual settlement of agriculture was necessary for the transformation of Mesopotamian. Also, the change made the civilization to be enticing to other people beyond Mesopotamia. As a result, Western civilization borrowed many aspects of Mesopotamian civilization to craft theirs, which later become dominant (Al Yaseen et al., 2020). The influence of the early Mesopotamian civilization on Westernization has generated mixed reactions about the cradle of civilization. Some scholars insist on Mesopotamian civilization to be the cradle because it mothered other civilizations with significant aspects. Contrary, other philosophers uphold the thought that Greek is the cradle for civilization regardless of Mesopotamian influence on westernization. Towns around Tigris and Euphrates heavily invested in farming and trade (Kadhim & Kadhim, 2020). The farm products needed to be manufactured and distributed to different markets. Therefore, industrializing started in the land between two rivers. These industries were purposefully established to handle agricultural products. The people in Mesopotamia were good in pottery, metalwork, and woolen textiles. Therefore, industrialization considered other economic ventures. During 2500 BC, industries were at the infancy development stages, but the people had limited needs since most people preferred using handwork. The technological demand and the advancement of most operations intensified industrialization and technological growth. As a result, from 2500 BC to 3000 BC was a vital Mesopotamian civilization in improving amateurs’ ideas generated in the time. In 3000 BC, the necessity of transporting farm produce to industries demanded transport improvement. The two rivers provided suitable water transport, but there was a need for other transport means to enable terrestrial transport. The wheel invention in Mesopotamia benefitted Mesopotamia’s people in ensuring faster and more efficient transport. Early industrialization intensified Mesopotamian civilization and culture. The industries were integral in the economic and social development of Sumerian cities. The cities’ development and other events in 3000 BC accorded Mesopotamia credit as a civilization’s cradle.
The Yellow River is considered a “Mother of Chinese Civilization” due to people’s unification to produce bumper harvests around the river. Xia Dynasty offered strong leadership from 2100 to 1600 BCE, where Chinese civilization was born around the Yellow River. Although the Yellow River experienced floods that affected the residents, it was important. The Xias dug canals to pass the water to the sea. Hence, these canals created favorable land for both agriculture and settlement. The waters from the Yellow River offered water for agriculture and domestic purposes. The flood deposits from the Yellow River improved the fertility of the soils. The fertile soil and the water proximity favored most Chinese people to venture into agriculture. China was different from other regions that attained a “flowing civilization” since the Chinese had two great rivers, the Yangtze and the Yellow River. These two rivers contributed differently to the Chinese culture and civilization. Nevertheless, the Yellow River’s contribution was more immense than the Yangtze to justify its reference to the “cradle of Chinese civilization” (Chen, 2019). Most activities were happening alongside the bank of River Yellow. As a result, it was easy for the bank to receive Chinese civilization accolade. The River Yellow’s role in civilization silenced the Yangtze’s contribution. Nonetheless, both these rivers played a crucial part in the genesis of Chinese culture and civilization. The Yangtze and the Yellow River also had a surging impact, especially during the rainy season. The size of these rivers made them collective large amounts of water that broke river banks. These waters spread into homesteads and firms, destroying plantation, properties, and even killing the residents. The continuous flooding triggered the administration to construct dykes to prevent the floods from reaching the homestead and farms (Yang et al., 2020). Sadly, the magnitude of the floods made the waters to destroy these dykes. Gradually, stronger dykes were erected that stopped the devastating impacts of the floods. The high population at around the Yangtze and the Yellow River created a breeding space for ideas. Prominent Chinese individuals were born around these banks, who later on became integral in defining Chinese civilization. Confucius is a prominent Chinese figure born in a village close to the Yellow River in Shandong. This philosopher was crucial in influencing Chinese culture through his publications. Confucius’ location in the region was strategic since the area hosted many people. Thus, it was easy for him to influence these residents.
Most celebrated early civilizations have originated and grown around different rivers. Egypt civilization flowed from River Nile, Mesopotamia was from Rivers Euphrates and Tigris, and the Chinese one was from the Yangtze and the Yellow River. These rivers enticed people who settled along the river banks to engage in agriculture. Similarly, these rivers made the banks to be fruitful for human settlement. The river bank’s preference enticed a huge population. The settlement of many people at the river banks provided an avenue for ideas’ birth and spread. Therefore, the regions that enticed people willing to cultivate and stay enticed pursuit of different ventures. Gradually industries and urban centers started to emerge. The civilizations were gradual but important to modern civilization. Mesopotamian civilization was aped a lot by Western culture. Similarly, Egyptian civilization’s influence is evident in the Greek religion and architectural works.
References
Al Yaseen, E. H., Ashour, A. S., & Al-Alwan, H. A. (2020, July). Sustainability of Sovereign Buildings in Mesopotamian Civilization. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 881, No. 1, p. 012033). IOP Publishing.
Chen, Y. (2019). Flood dynamics of the lower Yellow River over the last 3000 years: Characteristics and implications for geoarchaeology. Quaternary International, 521, 147-157.
Kadhim, W. M., & Kadhim, L. M. (2020). Geomorphological Characteristics of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the Iraqi Sedimentary Plain and their Impact on the Extinction and Change of Mesopotamian Civilization Centers (A Study in Historical Geomorphology). The Islamic college university journal, 2(57).
Moret, A. (2013). The Nile and Egyptian Civilization. Routledge.
Postgate, N. (2017). Early Mesopotamia: society and economy at the dawn of history. Taylor & Francis.
Sameer, M. A., El-Din, M. M. N., Rasheed, T. G., Bakry, A. H., & Shabbir, A. (2019). Revisiting Ancient Societies of the Harappan and Egyptian Civilizations: Anthropological Perspectives. Asian Research Journal of Arts & Social Sciences, 1-13.
Yang, L., Ma, M., Chen, T., Cui, Y., Chen, P., Zheng, L., & Lu, P. (2020). How did trans-Eurasian exchanges affect spatial-temporal variation in agricultural patterns during the late prehistoric period in the Yellow River valley (China)?. The Holocene, 0959683620941140.