The emergence of Civilization in River Valleys

The emergence of Civilization in River Valleys

A river culture or a river valley civilization entails an agricultural nation or a civilization located alongside and drawing sustenance from a river (Paine, 2014). The notion of civilization involves a society with extended perpetual settlement featuring specialization of labor, urban development, centralized organization, social satisfaction, and written or another proper way of communication. The presence of a river offers the residents a reliable water source for agriculture and domestic use. Moreover, a stream presents additional advantages such as the opportunity for fishing, increased fertility of soil as a result of annual flooding, and ease of transportation. Notably, most of the first civilizations occurred in river banks. The most common examples include the ancient Egyptians that were found along the Nile, the Mesopotamians in the fertile crescent of Euphrates/Tigris rivers, the Ancient India of the Indus, and the Ancient Chinese of the Yellow River. Specifically, Mesopotamia emerged to be one of the eldest major ancient civilizations having states that had exceedingly developed social complexity. The essay investigates why Tigris and the Euphrates rivers facilitated the emergence of civilization in Mesopotamia.

As defined by Thomason (2017), Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning ‘between two rivers’ referred to an ancient location in the eastern Mediterranean that currently corresponds to Iran, Syria, and Turkey. The region is considered as the wellspring from which civilization emerged. Mesopotamia was composed of varied cultures that had real bonds associated with their gods, scripts, and attitude towards women. Also, the region valued the aspect of literacy and widely shared the pantheon of their gods across the region. As a result of such values, Mesopotamia is considered to be a region that produced different civilizations and empires rather than a single civilization. Concisely, the area is regarded as the “cradle of civilization” mainly because of two developments that happened in the region around the 4^th millennium BC. One of the events is the growth of cities recognized to date and the invention of writing.

The presence of Tigris and Euphrates rivers facilitated civilization in Mesopotamia. First, civilization was initially assisted with agricultural production. Availability of water and silk deposits that could occur after the flooding of the region encouraged crop production without the risk of failure (Brevik, Homburg & Sandor, 2018). The production escalated in the 10^th millennium, especially at the high borders of Mesopotamia. After that, there was the invention of artificial agriculture that further facilitated early civilization. With artificial production, water could extend to more extensive territories through the use of canals. The ground is extremely fertile, and with improved irrigation and farming practices, the region could produce enough food to feed the population across the region.

Whiting (2017) suggests that the availability of raw materials along river Tigris and Euphrates also facilitated civilization in Mesopotamia. Raw materials are considered as one of the critical factors necessary for the culture and growth of traditional and modern industries. In Mesopotamia, the availability of agricultural products and those drawn from leather, wool, meat, grains, horn, fish, plant-fiber, reed, and date products facilitated civilization in different ways. The products were available in plenty and could be exported across different regions. Trade became one of the essential aspects of civilization in Mesopotamia. People in the area could also obtain products from trading partners who could facilitate more production. Thus, the availability of varied raw materials across the region due to the presence of the two rivers encouraged civilization.

One aspect that epitomized civilization in Mesopotamia is the availability of clay. River Tigris and the Euphrates ensured the availability of clay deposits in the region. Mesopotamia bears the stamp of clay as compared to other civilizations that happened in different areas (Uchida, Niikuma & Watanabe, 2015). Clay was mainly used as a tool for writing. In this sense, writing formed an essential part of the civilization process. The use of clay in Mesopotamia led to the emergence of phrases such as cuneiform literature, cuneiform civilization, and cuneiform law. People in this region did not only use clay for construction and making of bricks but also as a tool of making signs and assigning meaning to the symbols that were created. Specifically, clay was used as a tool that later led to the invention of writing in Mesopotamia. Therefore, the presence of the rivers and subsequent clay deposits can be linked to the invention of writing, a significant aspect of civilization across the world.

Finally, the existence of the rivers facilitated civilization as they were used to transport goods to different locations and the generation of electricity, among other useful purposes. Transport was an essential aspect of civilization since various products were to be transported from places of production to regions where they were being needed. Specifically, the Euphrates river has been of vital importance to the people living around since the emergence of early civilization. Other than the development of irrigation schemes facilitated by water from the rivers, Euphrates encouraged the construction of hydropower stations, and pipelines that enabled transportation of water across long distances. Notably, copper ores were being transported using rafts along the river providing raw materials that enabled civilization. Until today, the two streams have allows people to get access to basic amenities such as drinking water and electricity, among other essential products. Concisely, civilization at Mesopotamia was facilitated by the presence of river Euphrates and Tigris.