Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
mesopotamia and indus valley civilization
mesopotamia and indus valley civilization
the indus valley civilization essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: mesopotamia and indus valley civilization
This paper explores life at Mehrgarh and its importance as one of the major cities of the Indus valley civilization. Mehrgarh represents long chronological sequence from the 7th millennium to the 3rd millennium B.C. which has been divided into seven main periods from the Pre-Ceramic Neolithic to the Bronze Age. The third period belongs to the farming society (agriculture and animal husbandry).
For decades archaeologists believed that plants and animals were first domesticated in the near east (Israel, Lebanon, Syria, south west Turkey, Iraq, western Iran) early in Holocene (8000 to 10000 years ago). It is now possible to mount a challenge to this archaeological dogma about the domestication of plants and animals as evidence of that has been found in Afghanistan and Mehrgarh on the Kachi plains of Pakistan. The roots of sedentism and village farming community have been documented in the 7th millennium BC, at the site of Mehrgarh on the Kachi plains of the central Indus valley. Farming was successful here because it is thought that Pleistocene Indus River flowed in this area...
Indus valley civilization is one of the earliest civilizations in existence. The historical time period of this civilization is predominantly divided into two phases, the early Indus Civilization and the later Indus Civilization. There is very less information known about the early Indus due to its sheer time frame and destruction of historical evidence. However, the later well developed Indus Civilization lasted for over a thousand years from about 2600 AD to 1500 AD.
The Nile and Indus River Valley civilizations were both unique civilizations in their own way in comparison. Yet despite being separated by thousands of miles there are similarities in these two ancient civilizations. It is seen that amongst ancient civilizations, rivers are fundamental for them to prosper and provide for a relatively stable society for which a people can grow and develop. There are general similarities with pinpoint differences as well as general differences with pinpoint similarities. Both civilizations have left their influence on human civilization and history, with their unique characteristics of their religion, way of life, social classes, cultures, technological advancements, government systems, rulers and notable
According to Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel, there are many types of agricultural areas that impacted the amount of food being grown, which is shown through the four original domestic animals. The author wrote in his book, “In contrast, four species of big mammals- the goat, sheep, pig, and cow- were domesticated very early in the Fertile Crescent, possibly earlier than any other animal except the dog anywhere else in the world. Those species remain today four of the world’s five most important domesticated mammals. But their wild ancestors were commonest in slightly different parts of the Fertile Crescent, with the result that the four species were domesticated in different places: sheep possibly in the central part, goats either
This research plans to compare and contrast the similarities and differences in agricultural development between the Jericho Valley,in present day Palestine, and that of the Andes Mountains. There are several aspects to compare in these regions. First and perhaps most obvious is the environmental differences of these regions as well as the ecological changes in each region has itself undergone. Closely linked to these environments is the native biological species, how these native species have been domesticated, as well as looking at what crop species have been introduced to the regions, and their effect on the native species. After explaining the differences in climate of the two regions it is important to understand who was doing the farming in these areas. This will be looked at in terms of cultural evolution, groups' social approach to farming and how that affects land use and technical procedure.
Archaeological excavations on ancient agricultural sites reveal that there was little homogeneity in irrigation system building structure and style. In other words, most irrigation systems found were unique to the particular conditions farmers faced in the area. Ancient farmers likely built according to their individual circumstances, that is to say building structure, style, and size would have depended on proximity to geological surface runoff and/or active floodplains. This characteristic of Negev desert farming suggests “the agriculture systems were built in a wide variety of forms highly compatible with the local conditions by local farmers and not by a well-designed external governmental effort”. In short, farming methods in the region were unique to the local conditions and resources available to individual cultivators without the interference of a centralized system. The dissimilarities between different agricultural sites speak to the wide range of temperature and rainfall discrepancies between the northern and southern parts of the Negev desert. Unique agricultural set-ups allude to the necessity for ancient farmers to cultivate according to their individual needs based on location, rainfall, and access to floodplains.
The beginning of this process in different regions has been dated from 10,000 to 8,000 BC in theFertile Crescent and perhaps 8000 BC in the Kuk Early Agricultural Site of Melanesia to 2500 BC in Subsaharan Africa, with some considering the developments of 9000–7000 BC in the Fertile Crescent to be the most important. This transition everywhere seems associated with a change from a largely nomadic hunter-gatherer way of life to a more settled, agrarian-based one, with the inception of the domestication of various plant and animal species, depending on the species locally available, and probably also influenced by local culture. Recent archaeological research suggests that in some regions such as the Southeast Asian peninsula, the transition from hunter-gatherer to agriculturalist was not
“broadly based subsistence, experimental agriculture, seasonal nomadism giving way to sedentism, and technological proliferation” (Lynch 1983:91). By the end of the Paleo-Indian times the shift to agriculture and cultivation came to a head during Pre-ceramic 2500 BC quinoa, maize, gourd, squash, potato, beans and lucuma were now utilized for agricultural domestication—the Formative stage according the Lynch (1983:91) ca. 2000 BC had “intensive agriculture, full sedentism, class systems, corporate labor projects, and temple-based religions.”
The presence of humans dates back to 8000 B.C. but not much is known about the inhabitance of these Paleo-Indian people and their uses of the land (NPS).
Author, Unknown. The River Valley Civilization Guide, "PALEOLITHIC - NEOLITHIC ERAS." Last modified 2010. Accessed March 23, 2012. http://www.rivervalleycivilizations.com/neolithic.php.
The Indus Valley was the earliest Indian civilization. This civilization flourished for about a thousand years, then disappeared without a trace. Even though archeologists have no solid evidence, they know that it covers the largest area than any other civilization until the rise of Persia a thousand years later.
The blessing and curse of the Agricultural Revolution is advocated with its augmentation and dissemination. Taking the stipulative definition of “blessing” and “curse” from the original premise, one can only superimpose the layman’s terms of “negative” and “positive”. Upon examination of the two classifications within the Neolithic Period and ancient Mesopotamian civilization one can confirm the premise. Therefore, the agriculture revolution was a blessing and a curse for humanity. Human society began to emerge in the Neolithic Period or the New Stone Age. This new age began around 9,000 B.C.E. by the development of agriculture in the region surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and what is commonly referred to as “The Fertile Crescent” located in West Asia.1 The very development of agriculture had benefited humans by no longer having to move about in search of wild game and plants. Unencumbered by nomadic life humans found little need to limit family size and possessions and settled in a single location for many years. One negative aspect of this settling is that the population increased so much so that wild food sources were no longer sufficient to support large groups. Forced to survive by any means necessary they discovered using seeds of the most productive plants and clearing weeds enhanced their yield.2 This also lead humans to develop a wider array of tools far superior to the tools previously used in the Paleolithic Period or Old Stone Age. The spread of the Agricultural Revolution in the Neolithic Period also cultivated positive aspects by creating connections with other cultures and societies. Through these connections they exchanged knowledge, goods, and ideas on herding and farming.3 Another major positive aspec...
Establishing an adequate supply of food is historically one of the fundamental challenges facing mankind. The modern food infrastructure employed by contemporary society is rooted in the creation and innovation of food production. Its effective utilization decreases the level of societal labor contribution required and discourages food shortage trepidation amongst individuals. It is hard to fathom given the current status of our society massive agricultural-industrial complex that the hunter-gatherer organization of society dominated for more than 99 percent of our existence (Fagan 2007: 126). The hunter-gatherer population was characterized by their primary subsistence method, which involved the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild. The primary methods employed were foraging and hunting, which were conducted without any significant recourse to the domestication of either food source (Fagan 2007: 129). Food production is presumed to have emerged approximately 12,000 years ago as a system of “deliberate cultivation of cereal grasses, edible root plants, and animal domestication” (Fagan 2007: 126). The pronounced change from hunting and gathering to agriculture and domestication can be simplistically designated the Agricultural or Neolithic Revolution (Pringle 1998). The catalytic developments of the Neolithic Revolution mark a major turning point in the history of humankind. The resulting animal and plant domestication established the foundation on which modern civilization was built.
All technologies are shaped by their particular cultural context. Different physical environments and geographies create different needs that require solutions. A number of examples can be found in the Levant of the Middle East, where the first Mesopotamian civilizations developed. About 10,000 years ago, sedentary populations in this area started domesticating the native cereal p...
The Indus Valley is located in northern India and is an important site concerning the early beginnings of agriculture in the old world. The geography, environment, and timeframe of the Indus Valley are distinct to the area and different from other sites of agricultural origin. Many plants and animals were domesticated in the Indus Valley, and due to the areas susceptibility to flooding, technological innovations had to take place. The Indus Valley is important to understanding the beginnings of agriculture and early civilization.
The civilization took place at the modern Pakistan and India places. The Indus valley area was quite fertile and agriculture was the main source of livelihood. There were sufficient rains that provided water for the crops. There was sufficient food among the people and thus there was a rapid population increase among the people in the Indus valley. Due to the increased population, it was necessary to establish a government system which was complex due to the large area to govern (Violatti, NP). The people of the Indus valley were held legible to the laws of the land. Also, the Indus people had a writing system that marked a major milestone in civilization. The writing was used as a form of communication (Koslowski 376). Pottery and making of artifacts was also a major activity that was witnessed during the Indus Valley