ANCIENT RIVER

VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS
SOL 3

River Valley Civilizations emerge

During the New Stone

Age (Neolithic),
permanent settlements
appeared in river
valleys and around the
Fertile Crescent.
River valleys provided
rich soil for crops (silt),
as well as protection
from invasion.

Earliest River Civilizations

(~3500-500 B.C.)

Egypt
Nile

River Valley and Delta

Mesopotamia
Tigris

India
Indus

and Euphrates River Valleys

River Valley

China
Huang

He Valley

Cradle of Civilization

River valleys were the Cradles of Civilization

Early

civilizations made major contributions to

social, political, and economic progress.

Social Patterns:
Hereditary
n dynasties

Rigid

rulers

of kings, pharaohs

class system; slavery was accepted

Political Patterns

Worlds first states

city-states
kingdoms
empires

Government often based on religion

Written law codes

Ten

Commandments
Code of Hammurabi

Economic Patterns

Metal tools and weapons

bronze, iron

Agricultural surplus
better

tools, plows, irrigation

Increasing trade along rivers and by sea

Phoenicians

Development of the worlds first cities

Specialization of labor

Language
Pictograms | earliest written symbols
Hieroglyphics | Egypt
Cuneiform | Sumer
Alphabet | Phoenicians

Other River Valley Civilizations

Phoenicians
Settled

along the Mediterranean coast (part of

Fertile Crescent in Southwest Asia).

Other River Valley Civilizations

Hebrews settled between the Mediterranean

Sea and the Jordan River Valley (part of
Fertile Crescent in Southwest Asia).
Kush was located
on the upper
(southern) Nile River
in Africa.

Religion was important to the early

civilizations

Polytheism was practiced by most early

civilizations.
Monotheism was practiced by the Hebrews.
First

monotheistic religion *before Christianity

and Islam

Origins of Judaism
Abraham Founder
Moses Led Jews out of slavery, received 10
Commandments
Jerusalem Site of destroyed temple, now
Western or Wailing Wall

Judaism | Beliefs
Belief in one God (monotheism)
Torah Holy Book
Ten Commandments moral and religious
rules

Spread of Judaism

Some Hebrews lived in exile, or forced

separation from their homeland.
Jews settling outside of the Holy Land is
called diaspora.