Give 5 early world civilizations and describe each of them.
The Mesopotamian Civilization
Civilization Name: Mesopotamian
civilization
Period: 3500 BC–500 BC
Original Location: Northeast by the Zagros
mountains, southeast by the Arabian
plateau
Current Location: Iraq, Syria, and Turkey
Meaning: Land between rivers (ancient
Greek)
Major Highlights: First civilization in the
world
And here it is, the first civilization to have
ever emerged. The origin of Mesopotamia
dates back so far that there is no known
evidence of any other civilized society
before them. The timeline of ancient
Mesopotamia is usually held to be from
around 3300 BC to 750 BC. Mesopotamia
is generally credited as being the first
place where civilized society truly began to
take shape. It was somewhere around
8000 BC that people developed the idea of
agriculture and slowly started to
domesticate animals for both food and to
assist in farming.
People had already been creating art well
before the Mesopotamians, but this was
part of human culture, not human
civilization. It was the Mesopotamian
civilization that refined this, adding to and
formalizing all these systems, and
combining them to create the first
civilization. They prospered in the regions
of modern-day Iraq, then known as
Babylonia, Sumer, and the Assyria
Highlands.
The Ancient Egyptian Civilization
Civilization Name: Egyptian civilization
Period: 3150 BC–30 BC
Original Location: Banks of the Nile
Current Location: Egypt
Major Highlights: Construction of
pyramids
Ancient Egypt is one of the oldest and
culturally rich civilizations on this list. The
ancient Egyptian civilization, a majestic
civilization from the banks of the Nile, is
known for its prodigious culture, its
pharaohs, the enduring pyramids, and the
Sphinx.
The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC
(according to conventional Egyptian
chronology) with the political unification
of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first
pharaoh. But this would not have been
possible had there not already been
settlers around the Nile valley in early
3500 BC.
The history of ancient Egypt can be
divided into a series of stable kingdoms
separated by periods of relative instability
known as intermediate periods: The Old
Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the
Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age
and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze
Age.
Ancient Egypt gave us the pyramids, the
mummies that preserve the ancient
pharaohs to this day, hieroglyphics, and
much more. Ancient Egypt reached its
pinnacle during the New Kingdom, when
pharaohs like Ramesses the Great ruled
with such authority that another
contemporary civilization, the Nubians,
also came under Egyptian rule.
 The Chinese Civilization
Civilization Name: Chinese civilization
Period: 1600 BC–1046 BC
Original Location: Yellow River and
Yangtze region
Current Location: Country of China
Major Highlights: Invention of paper and
silk
Ancient China – also known as Han China
– comes in at number five and doubtlessly
has one of the most diverse histories. In
fact, if you consider all the dynasties from
the very first to the very last that ever
ruled in China, a significantly huge period
of time needs to be covered.
The Yellow River civilization is said to be
the beginning of the entire Chinese
civilization as this is where the earliest
dynasties were based. It was around 2700
BC that the legendary Yellow Emperor
began his rule, which later led to the birth
of many dynasties that went on to rule
mainland China.
In 2070 BC, the Xia dynasty became the
first to rule the whole of China as
described in ancient historical chronicles.
From then on, there were a number of
dynasties that held control during different
periods of time until the end of the Qing
dynasty in 1912 AD with the Xinhai
Revolution. This marked the end of more
than four millennia of ancient Chinese
civilization. By this time, however, the
Chinese had given the world some of its
most useful inventions and products such
as gunpowder, paper, printing, the
compass, alcohol, cannons, and many
more.
The Ancient Greek Civilization
Civilization Name: Greek civilization
Period: 2700 BC–479 BC
Original Location: Italy, Sicily, North
Africa, and as far west as France
Current Location: Greece
Major Highlights: Concepts of democracy
and the Senate, the Olympics
The ancient Greeks may not have been
the oldest civilization, but they are
doubtlessly one of the most influential.
Even though the rise of ancient Greece
came from the Cycladic and Minoan
civilizations (2700 BC–1500 BC), there is
evidence of burials in the Franchthi Cave
in Argolid, Greece, dating back to around
7250 BC. The history of this civilization is
spread over such a long period of time that
historians have divided it into different
periods, the most popular of them being
the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic
periods. These periods saw a number of
ancient Greeks come into the limelight,
many of whom changed the world forever
and are still being talked about to this day.
Among other things, the Greeks invented
the ancient Olympics, and formed the
concept of democracy and the Senate.
They laid the foundations for modern
geometry, biology, and physics.
Pythagoras, Archimedes, Socrates, Euclid,
Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great… the
history books are full of these names
whose inventions, theories, beliefs, and
heroics have had a significant impact on
subsequent civilizations.
 Give at least 2 inventions that were
The Roman Civilization developed in each of the civilization.

Provide photo and description.
Civilization Name: Roman civilization
The Roman Civilization
Period: 550 BC–465 AD
Original Location: Village of the Latini 1. Roman Numerals
Current Location: Rome
Major Highlights: Most powerful ancient
civilization

Roman numerals, one of the most popular

number systems, was invented by the
Romans. The number system is still
taught in every school or college all over
the world. The Roman numerals were
Roman civilization emerged around the
first used around 900 – 800 BC but were
sixth century BC. Even the story behind
developed around 500 BC.
the foundation of ancient Rome is the stuff
of legend and myth. At the height of its
Before that, the counting number system
power, the Roman Empire ruled over a
developed by the Greeks was in use. The
huge chunk of land, and all the present-
Roman numerals were invented to make
day Mediterranean countries were part of
the counting system more uniform,
ancient Rome.
effective, and simple.
Early Rome was governed by kings, but
2. Sewer and Sanitation
after only seven of them had ruled, the
people took control over their own city and
ruled themselves. They introduced a
council known as the Senate which ruled
over them. From this point, Rome was
referred to as the Roman Republic.

Rome also saw the rise and fall of some

of the greatest emperors in human history,
like Julius Caesar, Trajan, and Augustus.
But eventually, the empire became so vast
that it was simply not possible to bring it
under single rule. In the end, the Roman
The ancient Roman Empire in many ways
Empire was overrun by millions of
boasted the highest level of sewage and
barbarians from the north and east of
sanitation management in contemporary
Europe.
times. The Romans established a number
of public baths, latrines, and an
interlinked sewage line binding them all
together in a complex and efficient feat
of engineering.
 The Mesopotamian Civilization
1. The Plow
Humans learned to domesticate animals
and use them to make daily life easier. In
Mesopotamia, man first harnessed the ox
and developed the first plow called the
“ard.” The earliest plow was made of wood
and was very heavy. The major problem
with the plow was that the dirt would stick
to it and needed to be removed manually. It
also did not work in thick grass. The
invention of the plow in Mesopotamia
helped the hunter-gatherer groups to stay
in the same place and use agriculture for
food rather than hunting.
2. The First Form of Writing: Cuneiform
The Sumerians developed the first form of
writing called “cuneiform” to maintain
business records. It was mostly used in
trade, where merchants recorded
information such as the amount of grain
traded. The Mesopotamians also used
writing to record daily events like
astronomy.
Cuneiform evolved as a simple pictograph.
For instance, the pictograph for a horse
might be a small image of a horse. The
writer had to drag the tip of a stylus across
wet clay to create a shape. It was hard to
remember every character and it would
take 12 years for a person to learn to write
in cuneiform.
The Ancient Egyptian Civilization
1. Cosmetics Make up
The Egyptian invented eye makeup as far
back as 4000 B.C. They combined soot
with a lead mineral called galena to create
a black ointment known as kohl. They
also made green eye makeup by
combining malachite with galena to tint
the ointment. Both men and women wore
eye makeup; believing it could cure eye
diseases and keep them from falling
victim to the evil eye.
2. Paper Orpapyrus
Papyrus sheets are the earliest paper-like
material – all other civilizations used
stone, clay tablets, animal hide, wood
materials or wax as a writing surface.
Papyrus was, for over 3000 years, the
most important writing material in the
ancient world. It was exported all around
the Mediterranean and was widely used in
the Roman Empire as well as the
Byzantine Empire. Its use continued in
Europe until the seventh century AD,
when an embargo on exporting it forced
the Europeans to use parchment.
 The Chinese Civilization
1. Silk
The invention of silk dates back to the fourth
millennium BC during the Neolithic period.
Apart from clothing, silk was widely used in a
variety of sectors including writing, fishing,
and for musical instruments. Silk was
dominantly used by emperors and high-class
society but later it spread to the rest of the
population. During the Han dynasty (202 BC–
220 AD), silk became more than just a
commodity. It was used as a reward for a
worthy Chinese citizen or government official.
Silk became an important part of the Chinese
economy. Japan and the Middle East started
cultivating silk around 300 AD and the
Crusades brought the concept of silk
production to Western Europe. This resulted in
an economic boom and Chinese silk started to
decrease in value and exports. However, China
dominates the luxury silk market today.
2. The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China was built by the
first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang
(260–210 BC) to protect the country from
northern invaders. The 5,500-mile-long
wall was built by slaves, criminals, and
peasants. It is estimated that millions of
people worked to build the Great Wall over
a period of 1,000 years. Most of the Great
Wall that we can see today was built during
the Ming dynasty. Glutinous rice flour was
used as a binding material to bind the
bricks.
The Ancient Greek Civilization
1. Water Mill
Water mills were a revolutionary
invention and have been used all over the
world for the purpose of metal shaping,
agriculture and, most importantly,
milling. To mill means to grind, and that
invariably means to grind grain. This in
turn led to the production of edible food
staples like rice, cereals, pulses, flour, and
so on. Ever since its invention, the water
mill has seen a number of adaptations,
which have enabled people to use it to
mill different raw materials. These mills
are still used in many parts of the world
and serve a similar function.
2. Alarm Clock
One of the most commonly used gadgets
these days is the alarm clock, and it too
had its origins in ancient Greece. Over
time, the alarm clock has undergone a
number of changes and improvements
from the mechanical alarm to modern
gadgets like cell phones, which come with
an inbuilt alarm.
The ancient Greek philosopher Plato
(428–348 BC) was said to possess a large
water clock with an unspecified alarm
signal similar to the sound of a water
organ. He used it at night, possibly for
signaling the beginning of his lectures at
dawn.
 Look for a world map and label where exactly your identified early
civilizations developed.

Roman Ancient Egyptian Chinese

Civilization Civilization Civilization

Ancient Greek Mesopotamian

Civilization Civilization

What geographical features make a region especially conducive to the

development of a civilization and why?

Countries with plains, mountains, and waterfalls, in my opinion, are more likely to develop
because they are places where civilization cannot be observed as much, as opposed to those
regions whose geographics are already susceptible to cultivation. For example, regions located
in rural areas tend to be the target of businessmen in commercial sectors, resulting in more
engagements for tourists, thus bringing civilization in.

How does geography influence the nature of a civilization that develops

in a particular region?
Geography influences the nature of a civilization that develops in a particular region in such a
way that it allows someone to perceive a particular place in a physical manner. Having a
physical image of the geography of a region can result in broader and more refined
information for better civilization.

What else can you learn from looking at a map of early world
civilizations?
Something that I can learn from looking at a map of early world civilization is that it proves
the movement of tectonic plates.