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Chapter 2: First Civilizations

This chapter was interesting because I learned that the first civilizations were far more advanced than I thought. The earliest civilization started between 3500 B.C. to 3000 B.C. Although thats when the very first civilizations started I wanted to write about the Indus Valley people. The Indus Valley people first emerged in 2200 B.C.E, in Central Asia. The civilization was "distinctive and separated" and it was extremely advanced for its time. They were not just a large civilization, they were bigger. Their civilization was surrounded by walls and gates to protect themselves from invaders. Although they were cautious about attacks they also allowed visitors into their boundaries. They did not sleep in huts like most civilizations because they had developed residential compounds, creating some sort of neighborhood. Within the walls they also had workshops and commercial exchange. The Indus Valley people survived using agriculture, stock raising and had an amazing irrigation system. Using this irrigation system the Indus people were able to establish plumbing and running water. Although the Indus Valley people were ahead of their time they did not establish any sort of writing. After a few decades the civilization was abandoned for some unknown reason and was forgotten about. The Indus Valley civilization was the most interesting because go how advanced it was in many things, but lacked simple things such as writing and language. The comparison between Egypt and Mesopotamia also came up which I thought was interesting as well. Egypt had the Nile River which was extremely reliable and supplied the people with rich agriculture. It was surrounded by mountain, seas, deserts and overall was well protected. The civilization was extremely strong and stable and had a positive outlook. Mesopotamia on the other hand was unpredictable and vulnerable. The civilization had many floods from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. This caused agriculture to be unpredictable and harder to survive. The world of Mesopotamians was very unorganized. I found this interesting because its like the world today. Someone could have all the luck and prosper and another person could be struggling.

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