Ancient Civilizations

Ancient civilizations had big roles in the course of history. Civilizations in China, Indus, and Ganges were some of many civilizations that played roles in history. Geographic features played a major role in the development of these civilizations that allowed advancements in many areas of life.

            The first civilization in China started in the Yellow River valley. China’s geography was very unique. They were surrounded by mountains, oceans, jungles, and deserts. The mountains, oceans, jungles, and deserts made China isolated. The isolation of China helped them advance in daily life that included agriculture, religion, government, art, and science. This isolation also caused China to become ethnocentric. China believed that they were the only people in the world and therefore they believed were the best in the world. In China they established complex religion of the worship of ancestors. They also believed in the balance in good and evil, which is the Yin and Yang. A major contribution China gave to history was that they were the first silk makers of the world. The Chinese were the first to use money. They had coins with square holes in them that enabled then to carry the money on a string.

            The Indus river civilization contributed to the world. Like China, their geography helped them advance faster than others. They were isolated because of mountains. The Indus river valley civilization was the first human beings to start a sewage system. They also had an extremely good city organization. The city was very organized because of the grid pattern it was in. Indus civilization monsoons gave them their yearly rain falls to help crops and sometimes killing crops. The Indus civilization later fell because of volcanoes and monsoons.

            Aryans passed came from Europe to go to the Ganges river valley to settle. When they went to the Ganges river valley they settled there. The Ganges was isolated by mountains. They had a religion that was based on a single god that was the most powerful than lesser gods. Ganges also had a form of writing that was called Sanskrit.

            In conclusion, these ancient civilizations played major roles in our history. They had many geographic features that helped them. They also used their geography to suit their needs. They adjusted and adapted to their geography. These civilizations gave us many things such as silk, sewage systems, forms of writings, and money.