1. River Valley Civilizations Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus River, Huang He River Another Goellner Endeavor

2. Mesopotamia • “Land between the rivers” in Greek • Irrigated the arid landscape • Developed city states that each had their own rulers (Ur, Urak, Babylon) • Polytheistic • Built walled cities of mud and brick (Ziggurats) • Sumerians invented wheel, sailboat, copper and bronze tools, • Law (Code of Hammurabi)

3. Egypt • Nile floods replenishing the banks w/ fertile soil • Pharaoh was absolute ruler (he was a God) • Social order established (priests, nobles, warriors, scribes, merchants, craftsmen, peasants, slaves) • Believed in afterlife and body preservation • Pyramids were tombs for the pharaohs • First to use medicines, hieroglyphics, studied geometry and astronomy

4. Indus River Valley • Annual flood provided fertile soil • Grew barley, wheat, dates, and melons • Lived in large cities (Harrappa, Mohenjo-Daro) • More than 1,000 cities most with over 30,000 • Dockyards, granaries, warehouses, protective walls, sewers, and water supply • Harrappans made cotton cloth, had written language and traded extensively • Civilization collapsed suddenly (still and mystery)

5. Huang He River Valley • Yellow River, very fertile soils from floods • Farmed millet, soybeans, raised chickens, dogs, and pigs • 1700 BC Shang Dynasty took power • Established capital at Anyang • Military leaders, and also acted as priests • Excelled in bronze work, silk textiles, developed pictographs (characters) • Confucianism developed later (around 551 BC)