...The civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt (between 2700 B.C.E. and 1000 B.C.E.) were religiously different, but similar in political and social factors. The Mesopotamians believed that the afterlife was a bad place, while the Egyptians believed that it was heavenly. Both civilizations used writing and storytelling for political gain. Mesopotamia and Egypt were prosperous societies. A list of Egyptian laws or a document about the destruction of an Egyptian city would have helped me with this assignment. A difference between Mesopotamian and Egyptian culture is their religious beliefs for after death. The people of Mesopotamia thought that the afterlife was a cold, dark, hungry place. It is depicted in the Epic of Gilgamesh, saying, “...people...
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...Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia Egypt and Mesopotamia, two of the earliest civilizations, both established around river valleys. Although these civilizations were located in close proximity to each other, their differing geographical features such as rivers and environmental factors led to the development of two very different societies. Rivers in the Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies played enormous roles in the growth of their civilizations. Egypt, located on both sides of the calm and predictable Nile River, agriculturally prospered from annual flooding that left behind rich, fertile soil known as silt. Flood waters would rise in July, slowly saturating the lands of the Nile River valley and recede in October leaving behind silt for farmers to cultivate and grow numerous crops. In contrast, Mesopotamia was located between the capricious and violent Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the valley known as the Fertile Crescent. While Mesopotamians relied on flooding for the fertile, silt rich soil as well, the unpredictability of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers caused unimaginable damages, some of which resulted in the destruction of entire villages. Environmental factors played a role in the creation of these civilizations, especially in their views of their gods. While Egypt experienced hot, dry, mild weather, Mesopotamia was subjected to, more destructive weather that included severe rainstorms, drought, hail, flooding...
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...13.) Mesopotamia appeared around 3500 B.C.E. and is one of the first civilizations. Another is Egypt appearing around 3500 B.C.E. Norte Chico was also one of the first civilizations appearing around 3500 B.C.E. These civilizations all had advancements in technology. These also had agriculture, which helped them grow in the first place. 14.) Cities were important because they made technological advancements. With such a high concentration of people someone is bound to find something new out. Cities were also good for spreading ideas and trade. 15.) When a ruler was established and the money was piling up they decided it should be split up. The higher up you were the more money you would get. This is where it all began. Also, gender inequality has been around forever. Women generally stayed at home while the men did the work, but soon women became a sort of property to men and women relied upon them. 16.) Gender inequality was a problem in early civilizations. Men were seen as more powerful than women. Women were seen as property and men were allowed to have...
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...The Civilizations and Cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt Mesopotamia has been called the first civilization, forming around 2500 BC, but there was also another civilization being formed around the same time; the Egyptian civilization was formed by 3000 BC along the Nile River. Both civilizations were strongly influenced by geography, natural resources, and social class. The development of two great early civilizations were guided by the geography, natural resources, and social classes but these broad categories branched off in different directions for each civilization. Geography had a large impact on the successful development of these two civilizations. Both largely depended on nearby rivers for their success and were called the river civilizations. Mesopotamia translates to “land between rivers” which is exactly what it was. It was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. These rivers provided for the Sumerians to develop an extensive irrigation system. They were also able to use the flooding of the rivers to their benefit, and all of these developments lead to them having things to trade which they also used the rivers to do. Goods were able to move from place to place along the river along with ideas. Similarly, the Egyptian civilization was strongly dependent on their river, the Nile, and they would have not made nearly as much advancement without it. When the Nile flooded it helped farming and agriculture by providing silt, helping the soil. Their irrigation...
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...One can learn many things about class and social structure (as well as religion) by studying beverages (and/or food). For example, as stated in the reading selection; thanks to the discovery of beer, agricultural advances began which lead to the beginning of civilization. Growing the food instead of having to travel as hunter-gatherers replaced the nomadic lifestyle that humans had been following for millions of years, for a more stable and civil one. Also thanks to the food surpluses, a small amount of people didn’t have to gather their food and began specialization. This allowed people to develop and concentrate on ways to improve their daily life such as the discovery of pottery and advancement in art. These accomplished led to new ones and started a chain of inventions and advances that would eventually lead to the modern civilization that we live in today. Yet the contribution of foodstuffs is likely only part of the reason why humans stopped their nomadic way of life. Other factors such as climate changes would have most likely influenced the decision as well. One paragraph in the article stated how maybe early humans might have hunted one of the animals that they depended largely on for food to extinction, maybe forcing them to turn to agriculture or starve. The influence of food advancements would also cause it to be used as a way of trading and thus writing was needed to keep track of these events and...
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...Mesopotamian/Egypt writing assignment In about 3600 BC the two earliest civilizations came into existence, great rivers are a crucial part of the story. The Sumerians settle in what is now Southern Iraq. Between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. Egypt develops in the long narrow strip of the Nile Valley. Although Egypt and Mesopotamia were developed at the same time there are differences in political systems, religion, and social stability. Both regions had nomadic people arrive during the Neolithic Era in what became the Agricultural Revolution. In Egypt, the Nile overflowed it’s banks yearly depositing rich natural fertilizing elements. Unlike Egypt, which had natural protective barriers, both the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers caused...
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...How Geography Effected Ancient Cultures Mesopotamia and Egypt in the ancient world were in modern day Iraq, and Egypt is still there today. Culture in theses societies, was loosely based on their natural surroundings. While geography in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt differed in stability and protection, they were similar in farming opportunities, with comparable sources of water giving them both the chance to excel in agriculture. The river flooding in Mesopotamia and Egypt differed in predictability; while rivers in Mesopotamia were sporadic in flood patterns, the Nile in Egypt was very predictable in its flooding. This caused the two civilizations to have opposing ideas of the power of their gods. In ancient Mesopotamia, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were incredibly unpredictable, and when they flooded they caused frenzies in surrounding areas. This unpredictability was reflected in their religion, as they felt the flooding of the rivers was a punishment for something they did. In thinking they could never please the gods, the people of Mesopotamia believed one only had the underworld to look forward to after death. They viewed nature as something out to get them. This belief led to more selfishness in people, and as a result, people were generally less trusting. However, in Egypt, the Nile River and its yearly predictable flooding led to the creation of calendars to plan agriculture around flooding; therefore, the flooding would help, not hurt them. The predictability...
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...Ancient Egypt vs. Mesopotamia The decision to write this Paper came about as soon as I read the subject. I am in love with Ancient Cultures. It is very interesting to me to study and learn new things about the style of life peoples of ancient times lead, the type of housing and furniture ancient peoples possessed, the foods and resources they had at hand, as well as the religious and other daily values which ancient peoples believed in. To compare the Ancient Egyptian civilization to the civilization of Ancient Mesopotamia is surely going to be a task which will not be easy, especially since it is my personal believe that both of these grandiose civilizations cannot be compared to one another. Comparing the Ancient Mesopotamian Civilization to the Civilization of Ancient Egypt is not really possible once you think about the difference of years between the beginnings of each of these Civilizations. Mesopotamia is considered to be at the least 5000 years older than Ancient Egypt. The earliest civilized form of Human development in Mesopotamia is known to Historians to have occurred between 10500-3500 BC (Mayan Archeology), whilst Historians believe the Ancient Egyptian Civilization to have started between the years of approx. 5500- 3100 BC, which is what is considered the Pre-dynastic Period. (Experience ancient) While Ancient Egypt started to develop Mesopotamia already made big progress in forms of Farming, building the first settlements...
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...Civilization than the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia, as the floods in the Nile River were more predictable than the Tigris and Euphrates. Geography is the study of Earth; it’s landforms, features and inhabitants. It is important as it includes the study of our planet and what happens in nature, it studies people, helps with navigation, includes study of natural resources and let’s us appreciate life. Unfortunately, The Tigris and Euphrates River set a negative view of the afterlife for Mesopotamia, as they couldn’t foresee the floods that were going to happen. Thus, the people of Mesopotamia believed that the Gods were displeased or rather frustrated with them. This led them to believe that the afterlife was absolute misery. The rivers were used as a water supple and to irrigate crops, but also important for transportation and trade. Because of these rivers, Mesopotamia was a crossroads of the ancient world for trade between China, Egypt and India. As the Mesopotamians thought that their gods were furious at them, they built statues of them prayigg in hopes of them to please their gods....
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...The leadership was given to an individual by the gods. In order to understand the role of a king in Mesopotamia, it is important to analyze the Hammurabi’s code, a document that provides examples of how the king was a lawgiver. The laws show how they were created to protect the people in Mesopotamia. Moreover, the king was expected to honor his gods since he represented them on earth. The Hammurabi’s code says that a king can rejoice the heart of god. For example, Marduk showed delight with Hammurabi’s actions (“The Judgments of Hammurabi”, Reader, p.16). Also, from the collection of laws, readers can infer that the king is in charge of the justice system by ensuring punishment of the guilty individuals (“The Judgments of Hammurabi”, Reader p. 14). Therefore, there was a justice system to enforce those laws. Additionally, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, in his search for eternity, Utnapishtim reminds the king Gilgamesh that eternal life was not...
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...When examining the ancient cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia, it is vital to observe the distinct similarities between their religious beliefs. Considering the geographic closeness of the two ancient civilizations, Mesopotamia occupying mainly modern day Iraq, centered around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and Egypt which is still located in the region recognized as modern Egypt, centralized around the Nile River, and the overlapping time frame both of these societies occupied, it is not unexpected that Mesopotamia and Egypt would possess similar ideologies. Despite the fact that the political structure of these civilizations differed between Mesopotamia’s unstable collection of city-states and Egypt’s unified monarchy, both societies were comprised a polytheistic philosophy where the Gods reflected a larger, universal system. Furthermore, both ancient civilizations relied on the flooding of their adjacent rivers for survival and these floods manifested within their religious ideologies. Although, the annual flooding of the Nile gave the Egyptians a sense of comfort and satiability surrounding death and was the direct rational of the Egyptians belief that rebirth followed death, the inconsistent flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates left the Mesopotamian people uncertain of the continuity of lives, evident in their harsh God’s and lack of interpretation of what the after-life consists of. Nevertheless, the similarities between the two culture’s religious beliefs are far too comparable...
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...between ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia was the political organization in both civilizations. The tyrannical presence of ancient Egypt’s godly Pharaohs and the justified structure of Hammurabi’s code in ancient Mesopotamia were the distinct political differences. Political organization affected the ancient economy, that then affected social order, which in turn affected the kinds of religions practiced, which played a huge role in the development of these ancient societies. Egyptian Pharaohs took advantage of the geography surrounding them, and found the Nile River Valley to be rich in precious metals, including gold, copper, and iron. A large number of men took a chance and left their homes to go out and mine for these precious metals. While in Mesopotamia, Hammurabi established many laws which allowed for the stabilization of the economy. These laws established legitimate trade and commerce for the sharing and distributing of agriculture grown in the area. In both ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia their economies flourished with trade, this is because in order to establish a...
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...A. Justify your choice of the two most significant environmental/geographic factors that contributed to the development or expansion of the United States. I am choosing the Gold Rush and the Dust Bowl as my two significant factors that have contributed to the development or expansion of the US. The Dust Bowl. In the middle of the 19th century many people were traveling across the US looking for land to farm and make homes on. When they reach the Midwest they thought they had found paradise. The grass was tall and rich all the way from Canada to Texas. Men started to clear the land and started planting crops of wheat. The most ideal was the Southern Plains. The only down side was once the trees and grass was removed the top soil had nothing to hold it into place. The water from the ground that would have gone to the roots of the trees and grass flowed into nearby water ways, such as creeks and rivers. The southern plains were the place to be in the 1930’s. They grew wheat which the government was paying top dollar for because of World War I. The wheat and corn was used to help feed the soldiers and other countries as well as many Americans. In the summer of 1931 a great drought hit the southern plains, turning the once fertile ground into dry brittle dirt. But the lack of water was not the only reason the ground was so dry. The farming practices at that time were depleting the soil of all the nutrients needed to help crops grow. The drought did not stop...
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...happiness were of the utmost importance in life, and regarded the home and family as a major source of happiness. This meant that the Egyptian’s thought better of women who did not work, and took care of the home and family. All other ancient civilizations had one thing in common. Mesopotamia, Rome, Greece, and Israel were all surrounded by other sets of people. This meant that these other civilizations had to be warlike societies, and this meant women would have less of a role because men believed women could not fight as well in battle. Egypt developed under unique circumstances. The Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea separated the Egyptians from everyone else in the ancient world. In other words, the Egyptians did not have a warlike society because training like that was unnecessary. Since there was no need for a warlike society in Egypt, women had a more established role in society. Women’s rights in Egypt were more equal to men than other civilizations because of the unique circumstances under which Egypt developed, the non-warlike society, and the predictable overflow of the Nile River. Egypt developing independently from all other civilizations was important to women’s rights because Egypt could not be affected by other nations. For the ancient civilizations in the Middle East, their cultures and social tendencies were similar because they developed closely together. For example,...
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...Besides Mesopotamia, a second civilization grew up in northeastern Africa, along the Nile River. Egyptian civilization, formed by 3000 B.C., benefited from trade and technological influence from Mesopotamia, but it produced a quite different society and culture. Because its values and its tightly knit political organization encouraged monumental building, we know more about Egypt than about Mesopotamia, even though the latter was in most respects more important and richer in subsequent heritage. Basic Patterns Of Egyptian Society Unlike Mesopotamia and the Middle East, where an original river-valley basis to civilization ultimately gave way to the spread of civilization throughout an entire region, Egyptian civilization from its origins to its decline was focused on the Nile River and the deserts around it. The Nile focus also gave a more optimistic cast to Egyptian culture, for it could be seen as a source of never- failing bounty to be thankfully received, rather than a menacing cause of floods. Egyptian civilization may at the outset have received some inspiration from Sumer, but a distinctive pattern soon developed in both religion and politics. Farming had been developed along the Nile by about 5000 B.C., but some time before 3200 B.C. economic development accelerated, in part because of growing trade wi,h other regions including Mesopotamia. This economic acceleration provided the basis for the formation of...
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