Mesopotamia and Egypt Civilizations - Essay Example

Many signs of progress in intellectual, cultural, arts and sciences, political and social development of the human society are generally referred to as civilization. The ancient civilizations are Mesopotamia, Egypt and India that emerged by the banks of rivers Tigris and Euphrates, Nile and Indus and are also known as river civilizations. Mesopotamia and Egypt are considered the earliest civilizations due to the development of human society before the Indus Valley Civilization.
Emerging of the Civilization
The Indus Valley civilization began later than the early civilizations that appeared during 3000 BC in the region of Sumer in southern Mesopotamia and Egypt. However, by 2500 BC, the two great cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were well established. There is no known evidence to state whether this civilization was inspired by Mesopotamia and Egypt or had the local development on its own. The changes in the environment, population and evolution of technology are the reason for the emergence of civilized societies.
Cities
The quality of the cities built by baked bricks of the same size proves the knowledge of planning and development and their priority to maintain hygienic conditions. Although the houses were of different sizes yet the city possessed remarkable egalitarianism. The streets were laid in a grid pattern with houses protected from any pollution and thieves intruding. City obtained the desired water from wells and drained the wastewater to the closed drains proving the improved drainage and sewage system. There were no temples or pyramids in the city during Indus civilization unlike Ziggurats (temple) of Mesopotamia, which were built high with houses of priests, shopkeepers and merchants in the city center and government buildings around the Ziggurats and the houses were made of mud-bricks but the pyramids, temples, palaces and tombs made of stone and rich in art and architecture in Egypt.
Geography
The Indus civilization was laid by the river Indus that played a vital role in the lives of people by Indus as it provided fertile land for agriculture purposes. The Deccan Plateau and Himalayas located around the valley protect the people of Indus civilization from invaders. While the Mesopotamia civilization lay by the rivers Tigris and Euphrates with mountains on the east and deserts on the west of Mesopotamia. Egypt civilization laid by the river Nile on the north is bound by dessert on east, west and south protecting from all influences, thus evolving on its own.
Transportation
The Indus Valley people used animals like camels, oxen and elephants as means of transportation. The carts with the wooden wheels and ships for sailing along the sea were also means of travelling. The mode of transportation during Ancient Mesopotamia was mostly through the foot, by a donkey or a carton land while using a boat to travel by water. The wheels and sailboats were first invented during the Mesopotamia civilization that is being developed and used even today while people of Ancient Egypt travelled mostly by chariots, donkeys, boats and camels.
Economy
The economy in Indus Valley Civilization is laid on two pillars of agriculture and trade facilitated by transport. The alluvial soils provided fertile grounds to cultivate various crops like grains such as wheat, barley, rice, legumes; oilseeds like mustard, sesame; and cotton. They possessed sheep and goats, while fishing supplemented their diet. Many mineral resources like ivory, gold and silver, etc. were used by craftsmen to make items for personal, public, or household use and were traded. The seals possessing pictographic scripts were found in both the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia indicate the trade between the civilizations. Ancient Mesopotamians traded almost every item used on a day-to-day basis as it was low on natural resources while Ancient Egypt also carried agriculture and trading with Nubians, Mesopotamia, etc.
Science
The people of the Indus Valley Civilization were the first to develop uniform weights and measures while possessing accuracy in measurements of length, mass and time. Engineering science made a contribution in constructing an artificial dock with water locking arrangements, inventing the compass and circular saw. The Indus people showed the benefits of standardization which are of great value to highly industrialized society. During ancient Mesopotamia sciences were at an early stage hence there were no known laws but various inventions like wheels, the plow and sailboat lead to future developments. They were first to base the numbers from 1 to 10 and had a language to use a 12-month calendar based on the lunar year. While the ancient Egyptians advanced in sciences of mathematics, medicine and astronomy along with ways to measure time and distance. Read More