Throughout the dawn of civilization the physical geography of the areas that humans inhabited have greatly molded the development of their civilizations. Geography is all around us, the second you step outside you are instantaneously surrounded by geography. Geography impacts our daily lives in many ways similar to the way it impacted the lives of our ancestors of the ancient world. Civilizations in areas such as ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, and even the Americas were greatly influenced by the physical geography that surrounded them. In ancient times, survival through the land was extremely important especially since they lacked the modern technology that we have today. Ancient civilizations survived through what the land provided and the land produce depended solely on the physical geography. Therefore, the physical geography of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, and the Americas greatly impacted the development of the civilizations that inhabited these areas through influencing factors of their civilizations such as; their religion, culture, economy, architecture, politics, and many other factors of their daily lives.
In ancient Egypt, the physical geography of the surrounding region played a vital role in the development of its long lasting civilizations. With the extremely barren and harsh climates of the Sahara and Eastern deserts Egypt was safe from invasion on its west and east sides. The Mediterranean and Red Seas and the inability to sail on open water in the ancient era, kept Egypt safe on its North side. The Sudd, which is known as the largest swamp on Earth and is almost impossible cross, and the cataracts which are aggressive rapids and waterfalls along the Nile kept Egypt safe from invasions in ...
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...ver in the northeast, and the Indus River Valley in the northwest. The Deccan Plateau in southern India, like most plateaus, is a barren land where only grass can grow. This caused the area to be populated by herders and the area never created a civilization due to a lack of agriculture, as well as Western and Eastern Ghats along the Deccan Plateau causing transportation in the region to be difficult. However unlike the Deccan Plateau, the Ganges River in northeast India birthed many great civilizations due to its location as well as its ability to support agriculture. This sacred river helped the development of many great civilizations such as the Mauryan Dynasty, Gupta Dynasty, and many more civilizations. The river produces the fertile soil through the summer monsoons which flood the river and once the river recedes it leaves behind rich and fertile soil
Geographical location affects on ancient civilizations is one of the main factors in their development. Several different factors are responsible for the evolutionary divergence of ancient civilizations, but none so impactful as the circumstances of geographical location, and that which causes divergences in culture. Such examples include climate change, migration, and technological advancement.
During its years of development, specifically around in 3500, the ancient land of Egypt was located close to multiple continents, these continents being Europe, Asia, and Africa. It was separated into different divisions, mainly geographical, there being four major physical geographic sections. The first was water-based, the Nile Valley and Delta, the second two were deserts, Eastern Desert and Western Desert, and the last was the Sinai Peninsula. The ancient Egyptians also considered their land to be separated in two more divisions: “red land” and “black land”. The desert surrounding Egypt was the “red land” section because it was barren. The area served as a means of protection, as it divided Egypt from enemies that wanted to attack and ...
The first way that the Nile shaped Ancient Egypt was through population distribution. According to document A, the map of Ancient Egypt, a lot of people lived among the Nile. But a majority lived by the delta. Living among the Nile and by the delta gave people fresh drinking water, good farmland, and ways of trading and transportation. The Red Land was land desert area that protected
I deeply agree with Jared Diamond’s ideas on the relationship between geography and history. Geography has had a lot to do with the way early civilizations grew and developed over the course of history. In this essay, I will explain in detail how and why certain civilizations grew quickly. Through my studying and interest in history I can see that it’s very clear that certain civilizations grew faster than others based on geographical location. There is a strong and clear link between geographical location and the history of early civilizations.
Geography has provided natural resources and boundaries for cultures continuously over many generations. The topography led civilization to have protection from other cultures and plentiful natural resources that they used for human survival or for an economic profit. With a good amount of resources available, cultures like India and China thrived in the creation and expansion of their civilizations. Geography helped India and China civilization develop their culture, spread their religion, and determine the rate at which each civilization’s ideas were transferred. The physical features that India and China lived on helped their cultures form and thrive into their current form.
...ompletely wiped out and the droughts caused famines, which limited the population. Even though Babylonians could not predict the rivers, it was still a benefit to the area. Like the Egyptians, the people used the rivers as transportation of goods and food, perfect for selling and trading; it was also a good source of communication. Another very negative aspect of Mesopotamia’s geography was their lack of mountains. This made the country very unsecure and prone to attack. The only positive geographical aspect of the land was the hills. Northern Mesopotamia is made up of several hills and plains. The land is quite fertile due to seasonal rains, and the rivers and streams flowing from the mountains. Early settlers farmed the land and used timber, metals and stone from the mountains nearby. Other than the hills, Mesopotamia was very unfortunate in ancient civilization.
The virtual isolation of the Nile Valley allowed Egyptian civilization to develop unthreatened by its neighbors. The Mediterranean Sea lay to the north, vast deserts were found to the east and west, and dense jungle lay to the south. An invader would have to be quite determined to brave the elements that protected the Nile Valley civilization.
The locations of both of these civilizations has guided them through survival and existence. Ancient Egypt was located near the Nile River, which produced a fertile area in the middle of a desert. The people relied on this sector for two effects, which were food and water and the environment
The Mesopotamian geography affected their society because Mesopotamia was located on an open plain without protection from foreign intrusions. Egypt, on the other hand, was centered on the Nile River ad protected by natural boundaries. This allowed Egypt?s kingdom for prosper and last for thousands of years. Mesopotamia was not considered a nation or country, it was considered a region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that established a number of highly organized city-states. Since each city-state was independent there was no capital of Mesopotamia.
Most of central Asia is covered by cold steppes. Dictionary.com describes a steppe as “an extensive plain, especially one without trees”, consisting mainly of grasslands and considered to be a land that is “too dry to support a forest, but not dry enough to be a desert”. The coastal border of Asia was inhabited by some of the world's earliest known civilizations that developed around fertile river valleys. These people “may well have exchanged technologies and ideas such as mathematics and the wheel with one another”1. The central steppe region had long been inhabited by nomads who could reach all areas of Asia from the steppes on horseback.
In Ancient Egypt they use the Nile River and the Sahara Desert in some many ways that benefited them. Ancient Egypt was divided into two land different land, the black land and red land. The black land was the fertile land that the Nile River made and the red land was the desert of Egypt. They use the Nile River for the fertile soil that was left after the river was not flooded, so that they could use that fertile soil for growing crops. They would also use the Nile River for fishing, washing their clothes, and sometimes they would trade with others for resources that they needed. The Sahara Desert was used for protection against other invading armies. The climate was always hot and very dry; this is what made it really hard for farming if you lived in the desert area.
Human activity has major effects on geography. When studying the earth you can come to several conclusions about the geography of any particular civilization. Distribution of life in the civilization allows you to analyze whether their geography is their own destiny. Do people control their own destiny? Is geography something that people can control? Technology is really the key to why geography can be overcome by any people.
Between 2500 and 1700 B.C., the Indus valley had an annual rainfall of 400 to 800 mm. This annual rainfall was the ideal amount of water needed for this specific region to harbor great civilizations. ...
Providing extremely fertile soil is one, if not the most important, roles the Nile River played in the life of the ancient Egyptians. By providing fertile soil, the Nile made it easy for cities and civilizations to grow alongside the banks of the river. This fertile soil comes from the annual flooding of the Nile. This replenishes the top soil with silt deposits that hold much needed nutrients for crops to grow. Ancient Egyptians developed highly complex irrigation methods to maximize the effect of the Nile waters. When the Nile overflows in mid summer, Egyptians divert the waters through the use of canals and dams. As the water seeped into the farm land, rich deposits of silt ensured a good harvest for the year. This allows the civilizations of Egyptians to grow enough food to feed the community. Without the annual flooding of the Nile, Egyptians would have a very difficult time growing necessary amount food to sustain life. Most of the land in the Egyptian nation is dry desert. Very little rain falls year round here. The river provides the needed water to grow the crops as well as provide drinking water for the people. Th...