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Civilizations found in river valleys
The civilization of 2 river valleys
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In The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Indian and Chinese ancient histories are shown to share several distinct similarities. "As in China... civilization in India appears to have begun in a river valley" (881). Both regions span a diverse ethnic population who are unified by the idea of a shared heritage. Each domain was influenced by the idea of a code of conduct. However similar on the surface, a notable difference is the way literature manifested itself in India and China during ancient times. "The Chinese tradition begins with lyric poetry" (812). In India, religious hymns formed the basis of the first writings, but the Mystic Doctrines are evidence that prose dialogues were the favored form of literary expression (882).
Evidence shows that Chinese civilization originated in the Yellow River basin (805). Indian civilization began in and around the Indus River valley. It is not remarkable that each of these great civilizations sprang from the land around a river system. Life is drawn to water, and seasonal floods often regenerate the soil around the watershed. The mo...
Daily life was influenced in both Ancient India as well as in Ancient China by religion and philosophies. Their caste system, their beliefs, and their well being affected the religion and philosophies.
Hayley Ryan Anthropology 215 Archaeological Book Analysis February 7th, 2017 Bridge of Birds There is a great art that can be found in being able to describe the world of an ancient civilization. Especially in one where large man made walls form because of the creases of a sleeping dragon’s back, or that the layout of the fields and streams of a small village create the image of a galloping unicorn when looked from up above. Yet, this is Imperial China, or as Barry Hughhart writes in his Novel Bridge of Birds, “an Ancient China that Never Was” (Hughhart 1984). This novel explores the history and the world of Ancient China, and the tales of the people who have walked across the land.
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
The first civilization to rise was the Mesopotamia, located in present day Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and Egypt, along the Nile River. It’s split in two ecological zones. In the south Babylonia (irrigation is vital) and north Assyria (agriculture is possible with rainfall and wells). By 4000 B.C.E., people had settled in large numbers in the river-watered lowlands of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Archaeologists have shown that large-scale irrigation appeared only long after urban civilization had already developed, meaning major waterworks were a consequence of urbanism (population). Mesopotamia cities were made of people called the Summerians in the land of Sumer located on the south of Babylonia. The Summerian city was one of
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 Indus civilization extended over a much larger area as compared to its counterparts, The Mesopotamian Civilization and The Egyptian Civilization. However, far less is known about the Indus Civilization as it is a newer archaeological discovery and the current inability
Sherman, D. (2000). Civilizations of the Ancient World. Western Civilizations: Sources, Images, and Interpretations (pp. 8-12). New York: McGraw-Hill.
There have been many contributions from a very long time ago that still influence life today. Specifically the three River Valley Civilizations, Egypt, China and Mesopotamia. Starting in around 3500 B.C. the first of the River Valley Civilizations was formed in southwestern Asia, and soon grew into these three major contributions to society today.
Authors, Various. The Origins Of Civilizations, "The Agrarian Revolution And The Birth Of Civilization." Last modified 2007. Accessed March 23, 2012. http://history-world.org/neolithic.htm.
Hobson, J. M., 2004. The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 57
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...
The epic hero’s journeys hold the hopes for future of ordinary people’s lives. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written in approximately 2000 B.C.E which is highly enriched with Ancient Mesopotamian religions, and The Ramayana was written by ancient Indians in around 1800 B.C.E. The stories were written in two different parts of the world. However, these two stories etched great evidence that show people from generation to generation that different cultures and religions are interconnected; they share ideas with each other. Both Gilgamesh and Rama traveled long journeys in these tales. These epic journeys played a role in the creation of different archetypes. We can clearly see that these two tales share similarities between these archetypes. Although
Although the Indus Valley Civilization began approximately 5000 years ago, it was not discovered until the 1920’s. Interestingly, all of the information we have on this civilization comes from physical findings, as although we’ve discovered some of their writings, it has yet to be deciphered. No consensus has yet been made concerning the social organization, and there is very little information on the religion of the Indus Valley Civilizations. What we do know is that there were at least two major cities, and hundreds of small towns and villages, all displaying a well planned urbanization system (http://www.ancient.eu/Indus_Valley_Civilization/). There were wide streets, public and private wells, drains, bathing platforms and reservoirs (http://www.harappa.com/har/indus-saraswati.html). We also recognize that all evidence points to a peaceful people, with very few weapons being found and no signs of violence on either the human bones or building remains (http://www.ushistory.org/civ/8a.asp) found.
When the term “literature” crossed the mind, one may immediately think of a classical definition of literature. Large libraries with stacks upon stacks of books may enter the mind. However, literature in the broad, informal sense can be traced back much further. In order to trace the evolution of literature, the evolution of human communication must first be considered. For thousands of years, humans have told stories through verbal and written communication. The first written communications are attributed to drawings on writings on prehistoric cave walls. Many of these works however are not considered true literature. Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest known literary works and dates to around 2000 BC in Mesopotamia.
When asked the question, “what is world literature,” the typical response you get from people (mostly students) is, world literature is this boring college course in which students are forced to take, as it is a requirement for everyone’s education and is about what some dead guys wrote centuries ago. However, I personally do not have that same response because world literature is much more than that. In actuality, yes, world literature is composed of tremendous works of literature throughout the world that will forever be pasted down and learned from, although, it is much more important and serves as a bigger purpose. This purpose is to enlighten today’s society on how the world once was, making world literature important for three main reasons.