In this unit, we learned about three of the world’s earliest civilizations: Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China. For this assignment, you will compare and contrast two of these civilizations. The Book : Adler, P.J. & Pouwels, R.L. (2018). World civilizations. Cengage. The history of ancient Mesopotamia, which means “the land between the two rivers.” This chapter describes how the city-states in Sumeria became one of the first of the world’s civilizations in what is now the country of Iraq. Cuneiform writing not only allowed complex societies to develop in Mesopotamia but is why we know so much about ancient Mesopotamian people that lived thousands of years ago. Chapter 2 Read the sections “Mesopotamia” and “Sumerian Civilization” The Nile River cuts through the northeast corner of Africa and became the birthplace of another of the world’s earliest civilizations in what are now the modern countries of Egypt and Sudan. While most cities of ancient Egypt lay beneath modern settlements, massive tombs (like the Giza Pyramids) and temples built of stone have survived for thousands of years. You will read about ancient Egyptian people and the pharaohs who ruled them, thousands of years of history that we know because of the writing system of hieroglyphs. Chapter 3 Read the sections “Egypt,” “The Land and People of Egypt,” “The Pharaoh: Egypt’s God King,” and “Cultural Achievements” Along the Yellow River and the Yangzi, a great civilization arose in what is now the modern country of China. Like other civilizations, the history of China is divided into dynasties, a dynasty being a rule by a series of kings or queens from the same family. The earliest dynasties of China, the Shang and the Zhou show how agriculture, government, and writing flourished in Asia. Chapter 5: Ancient China to 221 BCE
The ancient world witnessed the rise of several remarkable civilizations, each with its unique characteristics and contributions to human history. Among these, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China stand out as some of the earliest and most influential. In this paper, we will compare and contrast two of these ancient civilizations: Mesopotamia and Egypt, as described in the book “World Civilizations” by Adler and Pouwels (2018).
