An Overview of Ancient Cultures

In ordering to delve into antediluvian patriarch write up and understand guileless politenesss adept must source regard what characteristics mark a civilization. historiographer Chester Starr states the necessary characteristics of a civilization include, The presence of firmly make states which had definite boundaries and systematic governmental institutions, under political and unearthly leaders who directed and in addition maintained society; the trait of social classes; the economic specialisation of men as farmer, trader, artisan, apiece depended upon his fellows; and the conscious growing of the humanities and intellectual attitudes.1 solely of these fundamental characteristics are the primed(p) criteria of civilizations new and old; and when exploring old-fashioned cultures, one must set about to understand completely the various(prenominal) features. With special emphasis on the latter of the points this essay leave behind attempt to summarize the clas sical aspects of three distinct superannuated cultures; the Sumerians of Mesopotamia, the Egyptians of Egypt, and the Greeks of the Mediterranean. \nThe first of the classical ancient civilizations arose around 3000 B.C. in Mesopotamia which in Greek translates to between the rivers. This first of the ancient cultures was to be the prototypal classical culture for m whatever a(prenominal) a(prenominal) peoples and the center of human biography on earth for many centuries. With the Tigris River to the east and the Euphrates River to the west Sumerian life was in a word prosperous. This agriculture ground civilization was the first of any culture to have a wealth of excess. Advancements in agriculture such as the development of the wheel, plow, complex irrigation, and sailing shenanigan lead Sumeria into this prosperous era. in that respect was in fact replete economic and agricultural wealth for its populace to diversify and constrict creating an interdependent community. \ nThe social bodily structure of ancient Sumeria was essentially a pyramidal structure with the world power as the leader and p...