How Were Early Civilizations Affected by Geographic Features?

Early civilizations were greatly affected by geographic features. The geographic features of the land determined the daily tasks in many people's lives. Many early civilizations settled by rivers because rivers supplied people with the essentials that they needed to survive, water and food especially.

The lives of many people were affected by the geography of where they lived. Even today geography affects how people live and work. In ancient China, many people had a hard time trading with other countries. This was because the Himalaya Mountains blocked many routes to other countries. Merchants who made money by trading were hurt by this because they would have to travel extreme distances to trade with other merchants.

In Mesopotamia, many farmers benefited from the rivers overflowing. These farmers lived in the Fertile Crescent because the soil was full of silts making farming very easy. But in Mesopotamia the land was very flat making farming even simpler but created other problems. When the land in a civilization is very flat other civilizations might try to invade or conquer. Gilgamesh appreciated this possibility and built a giant wall around his city to prevent attacks. This is another example as to how a geographic feature affected civilizations. A wall provided safety and controlled access. but this can also be bad because trade with other civilizations was diminished.

The people of Egypt prayed to the Nile River. Egypt was in a desert and the people of Egypt had to use the Nile for all their basic needs. The river nourishes the cattle, supplies drinks for the people and supplies fish for food. The river also overflows so it creates silts in the soil so people could also farm.