Cradles of Civilization: The Beginning of a Civilized World
By Hamzah Jameel
Staff Writer
Think about it: would you be enjoying your life out there in a big wide ‘civilized’ city if it were not for the emergence of civilization? Probably not. For a civilization to develop, there should be a surplus of food, a division of labor, and the building of cities. Humans have lived in civilized communities for millenniums before today. The Sumerian, Egyptian, Indus Valley, and Chinese civilizations were among the very first vanguards for this great movement that changed the way humans have lived—forever. Although these civilizations lived in river valleys, traded with each other, and had similar religious beliefs, not everything was identical, for they all had different writing systems, inventions, and life spans.
The Sumerian, Egyptian, Indus Valley, and Chinese had similar characteristics, geographically, economically, and religiously. Geographically speaking, these civilizations all started by the banks of a river. Often, they were referred to as “river valley civilizations.” Besides the easy access to fresh water from the rivers, annual floods took place depositing rich alluvial soil for planting. Once these civilizations had irrigation systems, they had a surplus of food. When they had a food surplus, the men and women had more time for other jobs, such as jewelry making, priesting, writing, and city building. Going out of their borders, these people traded with the rest of the world. They loved jewelry, and so, with their food surpluses, they traded for lapis lazuli from Afghanistan and many types of wood from Lebanon. Now, let’s go back to their homeland. Developing polytheistic religions, these civilizations all worshiped many gods and deities, which were believed to be responsible for the forces of nature.
Sharing so many similarities, not everything was the same in these civilizations, for they all had different writing systems, architecture, inventions, and life spans. They all developed special writing systems. The Sumerians created a form of writing called “cuneiform.” The Egyptians had “hieroglyphics.” The Chinese had a system of symbol writing known as “calligraphy,” while the Indus Valley people developed a mysterious writing system that scientists and historians are unable to yet decipher. Besides, every civilization had a factor making them unique. For instance, the Sumerians had ziggurats while the Egyptians had their pharaohs buried in pyramids, papyrus to write on, and wheels with which to carry stuff. The Indus Valley people stamped their products with soapstones, bathed in indoor tubs, had a complex sewage system, developed indoor plumbing techniques, and enjoyed life in grid planned cities. The Chinese made silk and kept the procedure of making it secret for years to come. Another major difference between these cultures is their life span. Except for the Chinese civilization, all of these ancient civilizations had to reach an end someday and somehow; the Chinese are considered to be “the only living ancient civilization.”
These four civilizations made a giant leap for mankind. Humankind has journeyed a long odyssey full of hardships until this present day. But, their odyssey didn’t finish yet—it probably still has a long way ahead. Remember, the ‘civilized’ part of the odyssey had their roots beginning in these civilizations and these civilizations had so much in common; yet, they also had so many differences that made them unique and stand out.
Source:
Currie, Robin, Rebecca Jones, Mary Lyons, and Mara Rockliff. The Human Odyssey. Ed. Mary Beth Klee, John Cribb, and John Holdren. 2004, 2007 ed. Vol. Volume 1. Versailles: K12, 2004. Print.