Second Wave Civilization Essay

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The first-wave, “River-Valley” civilizations had a major influence on geography of the second-wave, “Classical” civilizations. Both the first-wave and second-wave civilizations’ geography led to the formation of city-states. The geography of the first-wave civilizations led to a much more agrarian based way of living then the second-wave civilizations. Lastly, the geography of both the first and second-wave civilizations led both of them to the development of trade. The first-wave “River-Valley” civilizations geography had a major influence on the second-wave, “Classical” civilizations through formation of city-states, agriculture management, and the development of trade.
The influence of geography led to the formation of city-states for both
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One of the main reasons geography influenced agriculture had to do with the ability to produce food based on where each civilization was located. Agriculture began during the first-wave civilizations without people even realizing what they were doing, “It occurred as a result of people making thousands of minute decisions about food production without anyone being conscious that humans were 'inventing agriculture.” This development sharply contrasts the second-wave civilization because the geography for them was rocky and mountainous, making farming complicated. Since the region was rocky and mountainous there were, “very limited amounts of arable land.” This meant that the second-wave societies that were a part of Greece, did not have as major of an agriculture based society as the first-wave civilizations. In comparison, the first-wave civilizations, “emergence of societies based on agriculture, that is, agrarian societies, involved a complex interplay of plants, animals, topography, climate, and weather with human tools, techniques, social habits, and cultural understandings.” Therefore, the geography of the first-wave civilizations made agriculture much easier than the rocky, and mountain like, land of second-wave Greek

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