City-states in Lower Mesopotamia
Factors that contributed to the emergence of city-states in Lower Mesopotamia and the influence the landscape played in the formation of the civilization which emerged.For this essay I considered the question of what factors contributed to the emergence of city-states in Lower Mesopotamia and the influence the landscape played in the formation of the civilization which emerged. Through my research on this topic I found that there is much evidence to support the claim that landscape was a very large influence on the emergence of civilization and that most of the contributing factors were, in some way, linked to geography.In order to fully understand the topic, I first explored what the definition of civilization is. The first criterion for civilization, that I could think of, is domestication and an agricultural economy capable of producing a stored surplus. From this, I felt the need to examine the origins of Mesopotamian agriculture. With the glacial retreat after the last ice-age (roughly 10000 BC) the Mesopotamian climate improved and many modern plants and animals began to become concentrated in specific areas. Around 9000 BC the vast majority of Mesopotamian peoples were hunter-gatherers. With the concentrations o
It also seems that settling might have been a choice not a necessity of domestication. It also began an economic change that altered social and political institutions, religion, etc. However around 9000 BC the vast majority of hunter-gatherers did not have sufficient numbers to exceed the carrying capacity of the land so population pressure was probably just a minor factor. This flooding provided necessary minerals to the Mesopotamian soil so that staple foods, such as wheat and barley could take root and flourish. In the southern lowlands of Mesopotamia fertile silts are deposited by the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Located at junction of Asia and Africa, movement of crustal plates has produced a varied topography of mountain ranges, plateaus, rift valleys and basins. This process sometimes even includes changes in the genetics of the domesticated plant or animal. As people began to domesticate the land there was a need to stem the destructive power of the Tigris and Euphrates floods. In conjunction with geography and domestication, an argument for population pressure as a factor towards the beginnings of civilization can also be made. This would have meant that Mesopotamia would not be seen as the cradle of civilization and perhaps society as we know it would not have even evolved to what we see today. This may have forced some nomadic tribes to begin to settle and domesticate plants and animals. Domestication is the process of altering plants and animals so that they are no longer bound to the natural habitats of their wild ancestors. Dikes and irrigation ditches had to be constructed in an organized way by many people. In conclusion I strongly believe that because of the fertile soil in the Mesopotamian basin early domestication and agriculture was made much easier for peoples indigenous to that area and that was the defining reason as to why civilization first began in Mesopotamia. Since there was vast domestication and agricultural advancement in Mesopotamia permanent housing soon evolved and with that came the need for a governing body.
Common topics in this essay:
BC Mesopotamian,
Tigris Euphrates,
Euphrates Rivers,
Lower Mesopotamia,
Asia Africa,
Persian Gulf,
plants animals,
,
permanent housing,
tigris euphrates,
mesopotamian basin,
population pressure,
9000 bc vast,
formation civilization emerged,
exceed carrying,
9000 bc,
bc vast,
tigris euphrates rivers,
euphrates rivers,
played formation civilization,
exceed carrying capacity,
domestication agricultural,
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