River Valley Civilizations Compare And Contrast

Comparing and Contrasting River Valley Civilizations Four of the major river valley civilizations are Sumer, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China. All of these civilizations have revolutionary discoveries and inventions. They each have invented something or come up with a custom we still use today. For example, Sumer invented the wheel, and China used coins when trading. Each civilization also has their advancements in technology, but I believe that Egypt was the most advanced of these four civilizations. For example, the Egyptians figured out many things about human anatomy, and built pyramids that still stand today. Each of these civilizations have many similarities, but they also have their differences. All these civilizations followed many of the same patterns. For example, they all settled near a river, and depended on it to flood. When those rivers flooded, they left behind fertile silt that farmers …show more content…
One difference, is between China and Egypt, with their rulers. In China, they believed in the Mandate of Heaven, the belief that the ruler had divine approval. This meant that the emperor spoke for god, but wasn’t considered a god. With Egypt, it was the opposite. To the Egyptians, the pharaoh was a god. They believed that the king ruled even after death, as a god. Another difference between two civilizations, is between Egypt and Sumer. In Egypt, it was possible to move between social classes. You could move by marriage, or by earning it. However, in Sumer, it was not possible to move social classes, or at least very hard. For example, if you were born poor, then you would likely not be able to move up in your lifetime. If your family was poor, that was how you were going to be as well. India was the neutral ground because they didn’t have any great social divisions. This shows that each civilization had its own unique way of life, and that they each had their own