VocabularyIrrigation: To supply water to land or crops through water channels or similar methods.
Channel: A physical landform that is relatively shallow that allows water to be transported easily (Think of a gutter of a sidewalk) Agriculture: The science and art of producing plants and livestock. Society: A society is a large group of people who work together in an organized way and make decisions together on how work should be distributed. |
Today's Target: Understand the various different roles water played for the ancient River Valley peoples.
|
Ancient Civilizations - River Valley Civilizations
These four civilizations are considered the "River Valley Civilizations." They are considered some of the oldest civilizations of our world history. These four civilizations all started near a river, a water supply.
It is no coincidence that these civilizations all started their society near water. Water is an important resource that helps us survive. The Four River Valley Civilizations were
|
Water and Civilization
What was the role water played? Water was not just about drinking and hygiene. Below are the ways water shaped their civilizations.
Drinking Water |
Transportation |
Hygiene |
Being near water allowed the early civilizations a steady access to drinking water. Being able to have a water supply nearby helped keep people hydrated. By creating channels to carry water around their society, access to water was very convenient.
|
For Ancient Egypt, the Nile River provided a safe reliable method of transportation between upper and lower Egypt. Boats going south would drift down the Nile, and boats going north would let loose a sail to catch the wind.
For other civilizations, their rivers still provided a way to trade for goods and wares. |
Being clean was important, as getting sick could be quite dangerous. One of the best ways to stay healthy was proper bathing. Many of the civilizations utilized water in a public bathhouse. People would go to this bathhouse and bathe themselves in the water that had been brought there.
Through the use of channels, dirty water was able to be drained, and this maintained the effectiveness of these bathhouses. |
Fishing/HuntingBeing close to a water supply meant that other animals would have to come to the water to drink as well. This allowed many of the river civilizations to hunt without having to go far from their society.
In addition, thanks to the river, they were able to fish and have another food resource easily available to them. |
PlumbingNot many river civilizations had complex plumbing. This was usually for the rich and wealthy. Many people had to carry water from the river to clean out dirty water or waste.
However, the Indus River Valley civilization had an extensive plumbing system. Almost every home had a private toilet and bathroom. Each house also had sewage channels that carried dirty water and waste away easily. |
Irrigation
Irrigation is an important part of what helped these river civilizations grow. Irrigation is the moving of water through channels and moving it to areas that need it more. By doing this, the River Civilizations were able to bring water to their farms and grow crops more steadily and easily, an early form of agriculture. With more crops led to more food, and more food led to healthier people, which led to a growing and thriving population, a society.
Today, we use many different types of irrigation, however we are using more advanced methods today. Hoses, pipes, and sprinklers are all forms of irrigation, all ways to move water from one area to another.
Today, we use many different types of irrigation, however we are using more advanced methods today. Hoses, pipes, and sprinklers are all forms of irrigation, all ways to move water from one area to another.
Water played a crucial role for health, wealth, food/drink, and creating a society for the River Valley civilizations.
Questions
- The moving of water from one place to another is called?
- Name 3 ways water helped these civilizations
- How is their usage of water different?
- How is their usage of water similar?
- If you time traveled in this era, what do you think it would look like?