First Civilizations

There were many intricate first civilizations that emerged into the world. We have all have heard of Sumer or Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Indus Valley. But other civilizations that appeared were Nubia that was just south of Egypt, Norte Chico located on the central coast of Peru, early Chinese dynasties, and the Oxus  that was located nearby a river valley in the Middle East thrived during some of the earliest times of history. Scholars typically use the word civilization to represent a new and specific type of human society which was made possible by tremendous productivity of the Agricultural Revolution.

Notre Chico appeared in 3000 BCE was actually a desert region that received little rainfall that has many snowmelt rivers from the Andes that led to the Pacific Ocean. I'm sure the people that inhabited this area used the rivers to travel to other city-states. There were 25 urban centers that sprang up and the largest one was Caral in the Supe River valley. Unlike Mesopotamia, Notre Chico's cities were much smaller and evidence shows they didn't have much of economic specialization. Knowing that now, it makes me believe that there weren't much people that lived in Notre Chico and there wasn't much need for the people to have money or trade. One of the things that made this civilization unique is that they relied heavily on their fishing industry that exchanged anchovies and sardines for cotton, squash, beans, and guava.

Another group of early civilized people were the first Chinese dynasties: the first were the Xia that appeared in 2070 BCE, Shang in 1600 BCE, and Zhou 1046 BCE. Just like the Egyptians, the Chinese built elaborated tombs for their rulers and even buried thousands of human sacrifice victims to accompany them in their next life. I thought this was very extreme. The only other early civilization that I'm aware that did human sacrifices in the past were the Mayans. The thing that fascinated me the most about the Chinese is that a ruler known as the Son of Heaven and he served as the intermediary between heaven and earth, ruled by the Mandate of Heaven who's job was to keep social harmony between the people.

An additional "first" civilization that existed were the Oxus in Central Asia which I have never heard before. These people lived also lived by desert oases. I think that is remarkable since living in the desert, especially before a lot of modern technology, is very difficult because it is heard to find water and come up with ways to store it without it evaporating. It is also hard to grow crops since the soil in the desert is very tough and not fertile. The Oxus civilization was actually constructed very quickly and very distinct. In 200 years they built many fortified centers, temples, and artist compounds that were surrounded by intricate walls and gates. The Oxus culture had specific that is shown in their architecture, ceramics, burial techniques and seals along with an aristocratical hierarchy. Their economic system was also based on irrigation and stock raising, which is different from a lot of other civilizations at this time who relied on agriculture for their economy.