Civilizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Civilizations - Essay Example The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, which is largely known as modern-day Iraq, Egypt, India, and China were the first to qualify as classical civilizations of the axial age. According to the majority of famous historians, a civilization is basically a process in which people belonging to a specific area shape their cultural and religious beliefs. By the same definition, the ancient Greeks qualified themselves as a unique civilization with one remarkable difference, which was the dominating priesthood that claimed a control on the sole lines of communication with the powers of mystery. In this paper, we will discuss the environmental, economic, and socio-political attributes of Greece, Roman Civilization, India, and China and compare them in order to highlight similarities and differences, which influenced the development in human history. Along with the discussion on similarities and differences, we will also discuss the decline of these famous civilizations in order to get a b etter understanding of the causes of their decline. The Axial Age The period from 800 B.C. to 200 B.C.E. is generally known as the Axial Age. It was the period when a large number of today’s most famous religions were introduced to the people of that time. Modern day Iraq, Greece, and Persia are some of the most prominent civilizations of the Axial Age. At this time, the politics of the whole world mostly revolved around the area of the Middle East, which was the most stable area of that time. In that age, the civilization of Greece was reaching its peak in all aspects of life whether it was philosophy, politics, culture, or any other aspect of a good civilization. Muesse found that the rise of Zoroastrianism in Persia, emergence of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism on the Indian subcontinent, and the introduction of Daoism and Confucianism in China are some of main religious development s related to the Axial Age.1 Major Ancient River-Valley Civilizations Let us now discuss th e environmental, economic, and socio-political attributes of the ancient civilizations of Greece, Roman Empire, India, and China in detail. There are remarkable coincidences which allowed these ancient societies to attain a high degree of development which qualified them to be called as civilizations. It was a coincidence that all of these ancient civilizations were located in highly fertile geographical regions of the world. This was a strategic similarity because without the fertility of the soil, these ancient civilizations would not be able to develop further from their previous precarious existence. The locations of Greece, China, India, and Rome allowed the people to develop quickly from a hunting or gathering way of life to a more peaceful and respectable way of life. Mesopotamia itself lied between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates that encompassed parts of northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran. Gunnell states, â€Å"They developed in the valley betwee n the Tigris and Euphrates, along the Nile, the Indus and Ganges, and Yellow Rivers respectively†.2 Both rivers had origins in the Armenian region of modern-day Turkey fed by tributaries from the Zagros mountains. The early people of Mesopotamia used to harness the fertility of soil only if they had

Significance of Chaco Canyon Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Significance of Chaco Canyon - Research Paper Example Archeological explorations began at Chaco Canyon at the end of the 19th century by the archeologists Richard Wetherill and George H. Pepper. Since then, increasing interest in the site led to the undertaking of several excavation projects in both small and large sites in the region under the sponsorship of national organizations like the American Museum of Natural History, the National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian Institution. Further, the imminent southwestern archeologists who have conducted projects at Chaco Canyon include Stephen Lekson, Jim Judge, Neil Judd, Gwinn Vivian, and Thomas Windes (Fagan, 2005). Chaco Canyon was a multi-site community dating from A.D. 900-1150, and believed to originate from earlier times. The archeology of the canyon has been interpreted in different ways by various archeologists and investigators. Taking into consideration the limited arable land in the region of Chaco Canyon, its population size and the consequent implications on Puebloan s elf-sufficiency have been debated. According to Nelson (1995), arguments related to local socio-political organization and the extent to which Chaco Canyon settlements played a dominant role in the region are based on the archeology of the ancient historic site. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significance of Chaco Canyon, the ancient archeological site which had dominated the region at that time. The Significance of Chaco Canyon Chaco Canyon is a circular, saucer-shaped depression approximately one hundred miles in diameter. The canyon’s relatively flat landscape inclines at the mountains bordering the region on the north, east, and west, while the south did not have a well-defined edge to the San Juan Basin and has a series of uplifts. â€Å"The San Juan River and its tributaries carry runoff from the basin to the Colorado River to the west† (Lister & Lister, 1981, p.179). Chaco Canyon: Unique Features Chaco Canyon is one of Americaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s richest archeological zones. The region is subjected to great extremes in temperature, it is devoid of trees and year-round running water, and the canyon’s sandy bases are cut deep by an arroyo or rift. At present, the terraces above have saltbrush, snakeweed, prickly pear cactus, and stunted grasses. In this forlorn region the canyons have walls of â€Å"treacherously spalling tawny sandstone† (Lister & Lister, 1981, p.3) apparently uninviting to farmers from settling down in the canyon. This is reiterated by Roberts (1929), who states that the canyon itself is quite narrow, less than a mile wide at its widest point. Its walls are of red sandstone, and the mesa tops above are almost barren, with a few stunted cedar and pinon trees, sagebrush, and scanty grass; but with pines smaller trees near its upper end. â€Å"In all directions, the region is marked by shifting sand, great dry washes, deep arroyos, and a lack of vegetation† (Roberts, 1929, p.9). Re markably, this was the chosen site for the early Puebloan people, as indicated by the eleven large pueblo ruins and the countless numbers of small houses spread over the canyon. Although today there is no settlement in Chaco Canyon, Navajo herdsmen eke out a bare living in the perimeters of the area.