Ancient Civilizations

Mesopotamia Egypt China Greece Indus River Valley

Mesopotamia

6500 – 3100 B.C.E.

Karl Musser. Tigris - Euphrates Watershed. 2005. Map. WikipediaWeb. 28 Jun 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopotamia>.

Location Between Tigris and Euphrates River Present Day Iraq Known as the Fertile Crescent

Empires Sumerian Babylon Assyrian

Important contributions Wheeled Vehicles Astronomy Algebra Geometry First form of writing – cuneiform Hammurabi's Code – set of laws for society

Ancient Egypt

3200 – 500 B.C.E.

NASA Goddard. Egypt. 2011. Photograph. FlickrWeb. 28 Jun 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/5635018418/>

Location Nile River Valley Mediterranean Sea

Society Pharaohs were divine rulers

Depended on viziers to supervise Mummified bodies upon death

Believed in afterlife

Contributions Tombs Pyramids

jay8085. Pyramids at Giza. 2005. Photograph. FlickrWeb. 29 Jun 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/89649959@N00/5275093636/>.

Ancient ChinaShang Dynasty: 1600 B.C.E.

- Han Empire 220 C.E.

Lamussa Design. Map of Shang Dynasty. 2009. Graphic. WikipediaWeb. 28 Jun 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_Dynasty>.

Location Present day China Dynasties shifted central location based on

who had power Tended to stay near rivers (Huang, Yangzi)

Society Social Classes (nobles, peasants) Many nature gods and spirits were

worshipped

Contributions

Roantree, Dermot . Great Wall. 2004. Photograph. FlickrWeb. 29 Jun 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/21814742@N00/13414746/>.

Ritenour, Anita. Terra-Cotta Army. 2008. Photograph. FlickrWeb. 29 Jun 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/puliarfanita/3456327439/>.

Ancient Greece

1750 – 133 B.C.E.

Megistias. The Archaic Period in Greece. 2007. Graphic. WikipediaWeb. 28 Jun

2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece>.

Location North Mediterranean Sea Aegean Sea Balkan Peninsula

Society Very skilled seamen

Government evolved Monarchy to aristocracy to oligarchy to democracy

Polytheists – Many different gods and goddesses

Contributions Literature

Homer Democracy Science Philosophy

Aristotle, Plato, Socrates

Cattiaux, Guillaume. Parthenon. 2008. Photograph. FlickrWeb. 29 Jun 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/gcattiaux/2349772226/>.

Indus River Valley

3300 – 1300 B.C.E.

M M. Indus Civilization. 2005. Graphic. WikipediaWeb. 28 Jun 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization>

Location Northwestern India and Pakistan Along fertile lands of Indus River Valley

Society Two main cities

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro Major farmers Polytheists – worshiped nature gods

Contributions Uniform weights and measurements Accurate time records Dentistry Used swastika before it became a symbol of

hatred Cremation

Works CitedEllis, Elizabeth Gaynor, and Anthony Esler. World History: Connections to Today. 1st. Saddle

River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1999. 35-125. Print.

Mesopotamia

"Mesopotamia." . British Museum. Web. 29 Jun 2012. <http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/>.

Egypt

Kinnear, Jacques. "Ancient Egypt Site." 30 Jun 2011. Web. 29 Jun 2012. <http://www.ancient-egypt.org/>.

China

Wikipedia contributors. "Shang Dynasty." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Web. 29 Jun 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_Dynasty>.

Greece

"BBC: Primary History-Ancient Greece." . BBC, 2012. Web. 29 Jun 2012. <http://www.ancient-egypt.org/>

Indus River Valley

Wikipedia contributors. "Indus Valley Civilization." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 27 Jun 2012. Web. 28 Jun 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization>.