Compare And Contrast Egypt And Mesopotamian Civilization

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The earliest forms of civilization date back thousands of years. This often leads to a question pertaining to what exactly civilization is. While there are many different definitions of what civilizations truly are, there were a few common denominators that held true for most of the earliest communities. Each town or village was usually built along the rivers or in the river valleys. Two of these original settlements were Mesopotamia and Egypt. When comparing the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians, it is noticed that the two civilizations held many similarities in their daily lives, yet each viewed the world in very contrasting ways. The Mesopotamian Civilization was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Mesopotamia is the namesake …show more content…
The Sumerians turned to trade in order for their civilization to thrive. The Sumerian people discovered that copper and tin together made bronze. This discovery made trade efficient because they could produce tools and weapons that were then sold to other nations. Not only were goods transported in the trade network but stories, writings, and art were also spread.
Egypt was developing around the same time as Sumer in Mesopotamia around a river as well. The Nile River was the heart of the Egyptian settlement and explained why the civilization was long and narrow. Although the Mesopotamian region was located between two rivers, the Egyptian land was much more fertile. The Egyptians did not have to respond to inconsistent flooding and hostile unfavorable conditions. This made the Egyptian view of the world around them contrary to how the Mesopotamians viewed their
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These religious temples varied from those in Mesopotamia because the pyramids were mainly for after the death of Egyptian kings and pharaohs. The pyramids often represented the status and the wealth of Egyptian society. Since the Egyptians viewed their gods in a much different fashion, they believed that they needed to give back to the gods who had provided them with the goods in their life.
The Egyptians viewed the scheduled flooding as a gift from the gods. The anticipated flooding that lasted six months allowed the Egyptians time to move elsewhere until the flood waters went down, revealing the fine silt. If crops were planted as soon as the silt was deposited, they would be ready to harvest before the flood of the next year. The Nile was a crucial landmark in the Egyptian society. It was the source of food, and a way for goods, ideas, and people to be transported. This allowed the Egyptians to be extremely successful farmers.
A majority of the Egyptians lived near the Nile River because it was the connecting force of all of Egypt. Although the region of the Egyptians was long and spread out, there were unified sections in Egypt. Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt formed due to cultural and political differences between the two and similarities within the

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