The First Civilizations

In the beginning of our species, life was simple. Small societies of around 4 - 8 people traveled around certain continents, following and migrating with their food sources in order to survive. There was no time for recreation, there was always work to be done, food to be gathered, animals to hunt, food to cook. Yet, later in our species’ existence, a few societies changed everything. These societies would be know as the First Civilizations, changing the path of history forever. Though it was ultimately successful, civilized life was not easy, and took many steps to perfect and instigate a new way of life. These steps include, but are not selective to: a steady source of food, or agriculture; a stable economy and government; social classes,

In hunter/gather societies, people were forced to follow their food, such as migrating with bison or having to move on when plant food is no longer in season or has all been harvested. With the domestication of animals and crops, people were able to settle down and think more. A civilization that was created from this was a fairly popular peoples who created Mesopotamia, one of the oldest civilizations ever recorded. They grew crops like wheat and barley, and domesticated animals like sheep and goats. Another prime example of a civilization that practiced this was the Indus River Valley tribe, called the Harappan. Since they were fit in between two rivers, water was heavily accessible, meaning agriculture flourished. There was a surplus of food, and life was much calmer, giving them the capability to stay in one place for extended periods of time. With that came many other societal improvements, such as having time to create a government and social

After the agricultural revolution when people didn’t have to migrate with their food anymore, there was room for other advancements, such as better technology and a new way of thinking. Jobs like toolmaking, structure building, teaching, and many others were a progressive step the human race was ready for. In Mesopotamia, reading and writing were important factors in the development of the Sumerian civilization. It was them who first created the idea of using symbols to convey information, which involved using a small, flat stick being pressed into wet clay in patterns, called cuneiform. The first letters were what is described as “wedge-shaped,” based on the markings the stylus made. Ancient Egyptians are heavily and most commonly known for having a unique writing system, called hieroglyphics, made out of small characters that represent a specific letter, such as the letter “d” is characterized as a hand. Writing was, and still is, important because is a major contributor to why we know so much about ancient societies, unlike the Harappan tribe, in which there are little to no documents recorded, only sculptures and other forms of