B-Notes #1

Here are the notes I took:


Key terms:
1. What rivers helped sustain the four river valley civilization?
2. In which empire and river valley area was the first code of laws discovered?
3. Which river valley civilization was the most isolated? What factors contributed to that isolation?

The law of the Babylonian Empire is the Hammurabi's Code--which holds people responsible for their actions. (e.g. someone who steals should repay thirty times the cost of the stolen item; otherwise, sentenced to death).

What should be the main purpose of laws: to promote good behavior or to punish bad behavior?

Mesopotamia is Greek for "land between the rivers" (Tigris and Euphrates) that is also in the Fertile Crescent. At least once a year, the rivers Tigris and Euphrates flooded Mesopotamia, leaving behind a thick bed of mud called silt. Silt was used to farm grains because it was very rich soil. The good soil attracted settlers. However, there were disadvantages, such as unpredictable flooding accompanied by little to no rainfall.

Problem-solving took organization, cooperation, and leadership. These leaders and laws were the start of organized government, later resulting in civilization.





And here are the notes that actually matter:


Early River Valley Civilizations (3500 BC - 450 BC)

China (3950 - 1000 BC)
Mesopotamia (3500 - 1600 BC)
Ancient Egypt (3000 - 2000 BC)
Indus Valley (2500 - 1700 BC)

3000 BC
City-states form in Sumer, Mesopotamia.
2660 BC
Egypt's Old Kingdom develops
1792 BC
Hammurabi develops a code of laws for the Babylonian Empire
1750 BC
Indus Valley civilization declines.
1027 BC
Zhou Dynasty forms in China.

Hammurabi's Code--holds people responsible for their actions.

What should be the purpose of laws: to praise good behavior or to punish bad behavior?




Here are (also) some notes that I took from the board:

The earliest civilizations formed on fertile river plains, facing challenges such as seasonal flooding, and a limited growing area.
Projects such as irrigation systems required leadership and LAWS (which are the pillars of organized government). They were controlled by priests, military leaders, and/or kings.
Early civilizations developed bronze tools, the wheel, the sail, the plow, writing and mathematics. These spread through trade, wars, and the movement of people.