Egyptian Civilization Vs Indus River Valley Civilization

While the Egyptian and Indus River Valley civilizations were two of the earliest known communities, they were also among the most influential, especially in areas like culture and social structure. Although Egypt and the Indus River Valley shared many aspects of culture like similar forms of religion and expansion, they also greatly differed in the area of social structure because of their individually unique class divisions and views of leadership. Both the Egyptian civilization and the Indus River Valley civilization depended heavily on agriculture. So much so, in fact, that the Egyptians employed slaves and the people of the Indus River Valley lived primarily outside of the cities to better tend to their land. While both civilizations …show more content…
The ruler of the Egyptians was a god-like man known as a pharaoh, and the ruler of the Indus River Valley civilizations was a political leader, like a king, or a religious leader, like a high priest. Egyptians not only viewed their pharaohs as gods on earth, but they also treated them as such. Pharaohs were given the utmost respect, even after death. This is shown in the way that large pyramids were built as burial tombs of the ruler, his family, and his possessions. However, the people of the Indus River Valley are thought to have lived as their rulers did. All of the cities belonging to this civilization are very simple and lack a tell-tale sign of class-distinction: palaces. No large palaces or fortresses have ever been found in the Indus River Valley and this leads historians to believe that kings were not revered as gods, but almost as equals. Referring back to the Indus River Valley’s lack of monuments dedicated to kings, there have also never been any other discoveries to suggest any form of social division. All of the houses have similar, if not identical, layouts, uniform bricks that make up these buildings, and even a public bath that suggests a shared idea of cleanliness. Egyptians however, had very distinct social classes. At the top of the list was an aristocracy made up of the pharaoh and his family, nobles, and priests. Further evidence can be found in paintings, where although men and women were shown working side by side, men were always depicted taking the lead. Both societies are believed to have had strong, authoritative, and well-organized governments. The proof for these theories are very different, however. Organization and control in Egypt was demonstrated through the building of architecture and the work in agriculture. Using slaves and contracted peasants for these jobs demonstrated a high level of social order. The evidence of