Four River Valley Civilizations in the World:

1. Mesopotamian Civilization: Tigris & Euphrates

2. Egyptian Civilization: Nile River
3. Indus Valley Civilization: Indus
4. Chinese Civilization: Yellow River

Mesopotamia:
Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning 'between two rivers'. The rivers are the Tigris and
Euphrates which flow through modern Iraq. The Euphrates also flows through much of Syria.
It was an ancient region in the eastern Mediterranean bounded in the northeast by the Zagros
Mountains and in the southeast by the Arabian highland, corresponding to today's Iraq,
mostly, but also parts of modern-day Iran, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Turkey.
Its North or northwest part is Baghdad, in modern Iraq. Babylonia lies in its South which was
named after the city of Babylon. Mesopotamia is a region, not a country.

Refer to the individual Peoples that made up Mesopotamia;

The Sumerians,
The Akkadians,
The Babylonians,
The Assyrians,
The Chaldeans, and to some degree the Hittites, Phoenicians and Persians

Contribution to the Civilization:

1. First Writing System in the world: Cuneiform

2. Monumental Architecture for Religious purpose & other: Ziggurat/ Hanging Garden of
Babylon
3. First Law Codes in the World: Law codes of Hammurabi
4. Astrology/ Mathematics
5. Literary Works and the first Epic: Epic of Gilgamesh
Egypt:

Location: Egypt is located in the northeastern fringes of Africa and shares international
boundaries with Libya to the west (692 miles), Sudan to the south (791 miles), and Israel to
the north-east (165 miles). The Mediterranean Sea to the north of Egypt and the Red Sea,
the Gulf of Suez, and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east endow the country with a coastline
stretching over 1820 miles in all. Egypt covers an area of 386,660 sqm and is the 30th
largest country in the world.

The ancient Egyptians thought of Egypt as being divided into two types of land, the 'black
land' and the 'red land'. The 'black land' was the fertile land on the banks of the Nile. The
ancient Egyptians used this land for growing their crops. This was the only land in ancient
Egypt that could be farmed because a layer of rich, black silt was deposited there every
year after the Nile flooded. The 'red land' was the barren desert that protected Egypt on two
sides. These deserts separated ancient Egypt from neighboring countries and invading
armies. They also provided the ancient Egyptians with a source for precious metals and
semi-precious stones.
The geography of Egypt is very much related to the Nile and the direction of its flow. In
fact, ancient Egypt's other name is "The Nile Valley". The ancient Egyptian name for
Egypt, or the Nile Valley, is "Kemet", which means the black land. Since ancient times and
until today, the most inhabitable place in Egypt is along the banks of the Nile. The
population has always been concentrated there. The ancient name of Kemet comes from the
black silt that made up the fertile soil along the banks of the Nile - the product of the yearly
Nile flooding that was so essential for agriculture, and therefore for life.
The Nile River runs vertically through the middle and splits the land in two. The geography
of ancient Egypt is divided into 4 main parts, though there are many other subdivisions.
First there is the north and south. Lower Egypt is the northern part of the land and Upper
Egypt is the southern part.
The Nile runs from the source (which is to the south) up to the north and flows into the
Mediterranean Sea. The ancient Egyptians thought of the east bank as "the land of the
living" since that's where the sun rose every morning. They built their temples and homes
on that side.
They thought of the west bank as "the land of the dead" since that's where the sun sets.
Many of the tombs and funerary temples lay there.
Contribution to the Civilization:

1. Alphabet for Sacred Writing (Pictographic): Hieroglyphics

2. Monumental Architecture for Religious purpose & other: Pyramids and Palaces
3. Astrology/ Mathematics/ physics/Biology etc
4. Development of Biological Science: Mummification
5. Science of Irrigation: Aswan dam
6. Others: Papyrus/Paper
 Indus Valley:

The Indus Valley Civilization (the Harappan Civilization or the Indus Civilization or the Indus
River Valley Civilization) is one of the earliest civilizations in the world. The civilization
flourished around the Indus River basin and its tributaries consisting of present day Pakistan and
northwest India. In India the largest Harappan site is located in Haryana Rakhigarhi, and the
second largest is in Dholavira, Gujarat. Construction of well-planned cities by using bricks, and
proper drainage system are the main features of this civilization. At the time of its height, the
Indus Valley Civilization geographically extended to Egypt or Mesopotamia. On the basis
of archaeological research and radio carbon dating, origin of the Indus Valley Civilization lies
between 3300 – 1300 BCE. Though people used to live on the banks of the Indus River before
this period but it was only during a Bronze Age when they actually started living as civilized and
urban societies. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro were the two prominent cities of Indus Valley
Civilization.

• Mohenjo-daro is the largest site and Allahdino is the smallest city of the Indus Valley
Civilization.
• The Indus Valley Civilization had a total population of over five million. Most of its
people were artisans and traders. Merchants were very wealthy and given extra
political powers.
• Towns were laid down in a rectangular pattern. Most of the houses were two-storey
and very spacious. Town planning is a unique feature of the Indus Valley Civilization.
There were well built granaries, citadels, burial grounds and bathing platforms.
• The towns used to have great baths. Though the exact purpose of baths is not clear but
it is believed that these might be used for religious bathing.
• Brick lined sewers is another very prominent feature of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Mohenjo-daro is the most prominent of all cities of the civilization with respect to
sewerage system. Bricks used in construction were built in the ratio of 4:2:1 having 11
inches length, 5.5 inches width and 2.75 inches depth.
• Length, mass and time was accurately measured by the people of the Indus Valley
Civilization. Also the system of uniform weights and measures were developed by
them.
• People were familiar with certain new techniques in metallurgy. They used these
techniques to produce lead, copper, tin and bronze.
• Art was in its full form during the Indus Valley Civilization. At the time of excavation
many bronze, copper and pottery products along with terra-cotta toys have been
excavated. Steatite seals engraved with animal figures is however the most notable
among all these. The most common of all animals that was used on seals was
Humpless bull or unicorn.
• Lothal, Balakot, Suktagendor and Allahdino (Pakistan) are the cities were the major
ports of that time.
• Engineering skills were at its heights and it is clear from the construction of docks
especially at Lothal.
• Roads especially in Mohenjo - daro were as wide as 10.5 m. Harappa also had wider
roads having width of 30 foot.
 Contribution to the Civilization:

1. Development of Urban Planning: First Planned City in the World

2. Architectural Development: Brick Built Two stories Buildings and Planned Road with
drainage and Sewerage System
3. Water Reservoir
4. Administrative: Development of Central Authority, Uniformed Seal for Administrative
works.
5. Development of Craftsmanship: Manufacturing Boat and Ship for Trading, Skill in
Metallurgy, Pottery etc.

Chinese Civilization:

The people of ancient China were free from external influence. They contributed for the growth
of a civilization which was indigenous. The people of China developed their own system of
writing. At first, they drew small pictures on bamboo slips to express their idea. These pictures
were known as ‘Pictogram’. With the progress of time, further improvement was made on
pictures. Now pictures expend the idea regarding an object like fruit, serpent, river etc. or time
like the dawn, noon, night etc. The Chinese people first invented bamboo pens for writing. They
wrote on bamboo plates by these pens. Later on they began to write on silk cloth by using brush
and ink. The brush was made of camel-hair. They prepared one type of coloured liquid and used
it as ink. In this way, the Chinese people learnt to use pen and brush.

Contribution to the Civilization:

1. Art of Writing-- called Hanzi in Mandarin

2. Pen and Brush
3. Paper
4. Medicine and Surgery
5. Art and Architecture:
6. Glass, Pottery and Silk
7. Mariner’s Compass, Gun powder and Tea
8. System of Administration
9. Trade and Commerce:
10. Philosophy & Moral principles