Cat's Cradle

Water, it is the foundation of life. Every single person on this earth is comprised of over two-thirds water, and you should drink at least half of your body weight in ounces every day. These are a couple of little fun facts, but, very important ones. They drive the question of “why not live near water?” I mean, it is a part of our everyday life. We need it for sustenance. We need it for cleaning. We need it for a thousand other reasons, but still not everyone lives next to it. Why is that, you…

Neolithic Age The Neolithic Age is the greatest age known to man without a doubt. About 10,000 BCE some human communities began to move in a new direction. The Neolithic Age, which means New Stone Age, began when humans made the breakthrough to more complex forms of social organization. This civilization took place near surviving bodies of water. This prompted settlements and the improvement of community. The Neolithic revolution started when individuals found agriculture and The Rivers are…

Geographic factors such as latitude determine every location’s climate. Climate controls where, when, and what a civilization can grow which then dictates their level of development. Where sufficient and nutritious crops can be grown efficiently, will have more time to advance and specialize in other activities. The Fertile Crescent is further North of the equator, which results in the semi-arid climate that supports the growth and production of the Fertile Crescents people’s main food source,…

Geographical location and climate play an important part in early civilization’s lives. Based on these two factors, these civilization’s worldviews, religious beliefs, and political structure were influenced greatly. Mesopotamia was located near the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. This is a very fertile area. Rainfall was minimal in this area, so these people were very dependent on these rivers to supply water for their irrigation systems. Agriculture was a major part in the lives of those in…

Throughout history people seem to have always come together, though certainly not all through the same means, with the most successful cultures eventually establishing civilizations. These civilizations are as different as the environments they developed in and the societies that composed them. One such civilization that is worth taking note of is one of the longest lasting and most impressive that has ever existed. Its impressive history is rivaled by few: Ancient Egypt. These were a people…

The World’s Oldest Civilizations A civilization is generally understood to be a society that has advanced culturally and technologically. Civilizations have existed for thousands of years in different locations and forms. By learning about ancient civilizations, we can better understand the human condition and avoid the mistakes that have led to the fall of these civilizations. The following is a list of some of the oldest civilizations on Earth. The Mesopotamians: 3500 B.C.E.-500 B.C.E.…

Two thriving civilizations historians often examine are the civilization of ancient Greece and the civilization of Mesopotamia. While alike in many ways, these two areas have quite a few differences as well. Ancient Greece and Mesopotamia were similar in that they both had great political leaders and citizens in both paid tribute to the government, and they differed in their treatment of women and the type of advances they had. Ancient Greece and Mesopotamia both had great political leaders…

Mesopotamia is known as the “cradle of civilization” because it was the birthplace of many diverse civilizations that arose later on. I agree that civilization originated there because the rise of complex urban centers became a foundation for political and economic stability. The abundance of food grown in the fertile crescent made it possible for large numbers of people to live together. Because of the population growth and a stable food source, more people began to specialize and trade their…

While many early societies had small systems of governing what men and women did, they lacked an overall formal government. As art, culture, and population grew in societies, there was a need for a bigger form of control over the people to keep order and drive the economy. Not only did formal government emerge from these groups, but writing, a wide variety of goods and urban centers came about as well. These aspects of society made up what we now know as a civilization. One of the earliest…

In all of the societies we have discussed thus far there seem to be a lot of similarities to their development which shows that even the societies that develop continents away aren’t really so different. The first similarity I see in most civilizations is where they choose to build their settlements. Most ancient civilizations with the exception of the Persians built their settlements around waterways or more specifically rivers. The fertile lowlands around these rivers gave settlers access to…