Characteristics Of Ancient Civilizations
Were ancient cultures actually considered civilizations? Four of the most important ancient
civilizations were Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, ancient India, and ancient China. In order to be
considered a civilization a culture must have seven different characteristics. These seven
characteristics of a civilization are writing system, social classes, organized government, public works,
arts and architecture, job specialization, and complex religions.
Mesopotamia was a region in the fertile crescent that was located within the Tigris Euphrates river
system. In modern day geography it is roughly located in Iraq, the eastern parts of Syria, and
Southeastern Turkey. First, mesopotamia used a writing system known as cuneiform. This writing
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For example, the king could create a law and the assembly could overturn it. To our knowledge the
Sumerians did not write down their laws. When the king passed a new law everyone was expected to
learn and obey it. Fourth, ancient Mesopotamia people did build public works. Mesopotamia s public
works consisted of dikes, dams, city walls, warehouses, canals and ziggurats. Canals were one of the
most important public works because they were built to bring water to the cropping fields. Fifth, arts
and architecture definitely existed in Mesopotamia. For example, the Hanging Gardens, one of the
seven wonders of the ancient world, is located in Mesopotamia. The people of Mesopotamia also built
ziggurats and made elaborate designs on their pottery. Sixth, job specialization was very important in
Mesopotamia since not one person could master all the skills. Some of the many jobs in Mesopotamia
are farmers, weavers, potters, scribes, astronomers, and musicians. Scribes were very important since
they were the only people the knew how to write. Finally, Mesopotamia did have a complex religion.
They had a polytheistic belief which means that the people of Mesopotamia believed in many gods.
They also believed that the gods were associated with and controlled various forces of nature.
Whenever a bad thing happened, such as a flood, the Mesopotamians believed that they were getting
punished. Overall, it can be concluded that mesopotamia was a civilization.
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