Cradle of civilization

Among the various cradles of civilization is Ancient Egypt. Pictured are the Pyramids of Giza

A cradle of civilization is a place where civilization emerged. There was no single "cradle", but several civilizations that developed independently. The Fertile Crescent (Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia), Ancient Indus Valley, and Ancient China were the first.[1][2][3][4] Whether there was influence between the early civilizations of the Near East and those of East Asia is not known.

Scholars accept that the civilizations of Mesoamerica emerged independently and later than those in Eurasia.[5] They were mainly in modern Mexico, and Norte Chico, in the north-central coastal region of Peru.

Civilization involves the use of writing, building cities, a class-based society, agriculture, animal husbandry, public buildings, metallurgy, and monumental architecture.[6][7] The term cradle of civilization has been applied to a variety of cultures and areas, in particular the Ancient Near Eastern Chalcolithic and Fertile Crescent, Ancient Indus Valley and Ancient China. It has also been applied to ancient Anatolia, the Levant and Iranian plateau, and used to refer to culture predecessors—such as Ancient Greece as the predecessor of Western civilization.

References

  1. ↑ Charles Keith Maisels (1993). The Near East: Archaeology in the "Cradle of Civilization". Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-04742-5.
  2. ↑ Ahmed, Mukhtar (2014-10-15). Ancient Pakistan - An Archaeological History: Volume II: A Prelude to Civilization. Amazon. ISBN 978-1-4959-4130-6.
  3. ↑ Singh, Upinder (2008). A history of ancient and early medieval India: from the Stone Age to the 12th century. New Delhi: Pearson Education. p. 137. ISBN 9788131711200.
  4. ↑ Cradles of Civilization-China: ancient culture, modern land. Robert E. Murowchick, gen. ed. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994
  5. ↑ Mann, Charles C. (2006) [2005]. 1491: New revelations of the Americas before Columbus. Vintage Books. pp. 199–212. ISBN 978-1-4000-3205-1.
  6. ↑ Haviland, William; et al. (2013). Cultural anthropology: the human challenge. Cengage Learning. p. 250. ISBN 978-1285675305.
  7. ↑ Understanding early civilizations: a comparative study, Trigger, Bruce G. 2007. Cambridge University Press.