SOCIAL STUDIES FACT CARDS
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS
Copyright © by Toucan Valley Publications, Inc. | Source Citation


EARLY CIVILIZATIONS DATABASE
Number of Cards
32
Card Description
One card each on 3 civilizations of Mesopotamia; One card each on 7 civilizations of the Mediterranean; One card each on 6 civilizations of Asia; One card each on 3 civilizations of Africa; One card each on 3 civilizations of Europe; One card each on 8 civilizations of the Americas; One card each on 2 of the first cities

EARLY CIVILIZATIONS
An Introduction

WHAT IS A CIVILIZATION?
Long ago, people wandered the earth, gathering nuts and berries and hunting wild animals.  In time, some groups of people stopped wandering and settled down in one place.  They discovered that if they planted and tended crops, they would not have to travel to find food.  They also began to domesticate animals such as sheep and goats and raise them for food.    

The beginning of farming meant that everyone did not have to spend all of their time searching for food.  Since they stayed in one place, people began to build more permanent houses, and some people may have become professional house builders.  Others became artisans or merchants.  A form of trade developed so that these specialized workers could pay the farmers for food.   

As society became more complex, some system of government was necessary to maintain order.  Rulers were chosen and sometimes laws were developed.  A system of writing was often invented for use in trade and business.  People also had more time to devote to leisure activities such as arts, music and literature.   

Thus, civilizations were born.  They were characterized by complexity, by specialization of labor, by permanent settlements, and by leisure activities. 

THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS   

The very first civilizations began in the area known as Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq.  This area is called the Cradle (or Birthplace) of Civilization.  People sometimes think that because these were the first civilizations, they were the forerunners of all civilizations.  This is not true.  Civilizations developed at different times in many parts of the world.  Some had contact with one another, some grew on their own.      

Early Civilizations Fact Cards tell about the earliest civilizations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.  Those in the Cradle of Civilization came into being as long as 5000 years ago.   Civilizations in the Americas began about 3000 years ago (still long before Europeans came to the Americas).  Some African civilizations came into being about 2000 years ago, although Egypt, in the northern part of Africa, was one of the earliest civilizations after those in Mesopotamia. 

HOW DO WE LEARN ABOUT EARLY CIVILIZATIONS?   

People in some early civilizations invented methods of writing to keep records and to write down stories and histories.  Many of these writings have been destroyed over time, but some still exist.  They are all in languages that no one speaks today, so scholars have to study and compare the languages to learn how to decipher them.  Then they can read what these people said about themselves and learn about the records that they kept of their business trades, their conquests in war, their religion, and their stories.    

We can also learn about early people through archaeology.  Archaeologists learn about the lives of ancient people by going to the places where they lived and looking through what they left behind.  Many times a city has been covered over by layers of dirt; often other cities have been built on top of old ones.  Archaeologists must carefully dig through these layers, making notes of everything they find.  They discover many things such as buildings, artwork, pottery, jewelry, and gravesites.  They use all these to understand how people lived, what they looked like, what they wore, what they ate, what their religion was like, and what they believed about death.   

Archaeologists have been working seriously at this study for less than 200 years, and there is still much to learn.  Even today, archaeologists are learning new things about people who lived long ago.  They are still discovering cities that have been buried for thousands of years, and that may teach us about civilizations that have been forgotten.  The known history of early civilizations continues to be rewritten as new evidence is uncovered about the past. 

MEASURING TIME   

Ancient people developed different ways of keeping track of time, using the movements of the sun and the moon.  Today, most people use the Gregorian calendar which was set up in AD 1582 by Pope Gregory VIII.  It was originally a Christian calendar and uses the birth of Christ as a starting point.  The year 0 was assigned as the year Christ was born.  Years after that time area designated by the abbreviation "AD," which stands for the Latin words anno domini or year of the Lord.  Years before the birth of Christ are counted backwards, beginning at 0, and are designated by the abbreviation "BC," before Christ.  So the year 300 BC was 100 years before the year 200 BC.   

Since some ancient people used a different calendar and others did not leave a written record of their calendar, we do not always have a way to determine the exact dates for ancient events.  Scientists use archaeological discoveries and whatever written records they find to make a close guess, but they do not always agree on the results.  Many of the dates for early civilizations are only approximate.  

WHAT DO CIVILIZATIONS HAVE IN COMMON?   

All-Important Water
Most early civilizations developed near the banks of rivers.  Most rivers flood seasonally, and the floodwaters leave behind a fertile soil for planting.  People learned to predict the floods and thus developed calendars.  They learned to harness the waters, thus inventing irrigation.  They constructed boats and ships, using the rivers as means of transportation.  The rivers also provided water for cleansing and drinking, and fish for eating.   

Four great river valleys in four parts of the world were important centers of early civilizations:  the Tigris and Euphrates river valley in Mesopotamia, the Indus River Valley in India, the Nile River valley in Africa, and the Huang He River valley in China. 

Arts & Architecture
A common element found everywhere in the world is earth, or mud.  People everywhere learned that they could form it into shapes and then dry it by leaving it in the sun or by warming it in a fire.  They made pottery vessels of all shapes and sizes to hold and carry things.  They also mixed the clay with straw or grass to make bricks for building houses and other structures.  Stones were available almost everywhere and they, too, became building material. 

Bronze & Iron
People also learned that they could make things using metals, which they found or mined.  When a civilization discovered that they could mix two of these metals, tin and copper, to make bronze, we say that they entered the Bronze Age.  Bronze was important because it was much stronger than any other metal available to them.  With it, they could make better tools and weapons.   

Sometime after they had been using bronze, people also discovered that iron, found as iron ore in its natural state, became flexible when it was heated.  It could be bent or pounded into any shape and would hold that shape when it cooled.  Iron was even stronger than bronze and made even better tools and weapons.  When people discovered iron, we say that they entered the Iron Age.   

Bronze and iron were discovered at different times in different parts of the world.  Both made the work of obtaining food much easier, and therefore allowed more time for other activities.  People who possessed bronze or iron weapons were better able to defend themselves and expand their territory. 

The Desire to Reach the Sky
Many ancient peoples built structures reaching high into the sky.  Most of them believed that this would help them to get closer to the gods.  People as far apart as Egypt and Mexico built tall pyramids as temples or as places to bury their dead. 

HOW WERE THEY DIFFERENT?   

Even though ancient civilizations had many things in common, each group was also individual and unique, and each contributed something special to the world.  Some were skilled in the arts and left behind beautiful pottery, textiles, paintings, and sculptures.  Some invented alphabets and methods of writing.  Some studied the movements of the stars and planets and used them to make calendars.  Some were good at business, and helped goods to travel around the world.  Some gave us stories, ideas, and religious beliefs.  Some were skilled architects and builders.   

None of them knew, of course, how much they were giving to those who came after them.  They did not know that thousands of years later people would be studying their lives to learn about them and how they lived.


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