Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamie

Foundations of Civilization The last great Ice Age not only influenced our planets climate and geology but also the migration of humans and their settlement to create vast civilizations. Upon these civilizations lied Mesopotamia, known as the “cradle of civilization,” and Ancient Egypt. These two civilizations flourished in their primitive times due to their political, social, and cultural advancements. Sharing many qualities of each other as people, these two societies were also exceedingly different, as are most cultures. Both Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt became known as some of the most powerful and influential civilizations known to man. The world’s first civilization was derived from Mesopotamia and inhabited by the Sumerians. Ancient Mesopotamia was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Sumerians were intellectual people, as they discovered the use of irrigation through levees to produce a year round supply of food. This resulted in a permanent stay of the people instead of moving from place to place for food and depending on the climate. This stability formed the first Mesopotamian government, the city-state. The center of the city-state consisted of a temple and public building and they governed themselves as well as constructed social classes. Blacksmiths, farmers, politicians and priests were examples of these social classes but because of the major architectural structure, the ziggurat, in which only priests were allowed inside, priests were looked upon as a high social standing.
Arguably the most important technological advancement of the Mesopotamian civilization was the first system of writing. The city needed a way to keep records so they developed cuneiform writing. It consisted of many pie shapes that symbolized words and were written on clay tablets that once finished were left in the sun to dry becoming permanent records. The Sumerians believed in many gods and each having a particular role or activity. They