The Rise of Civilization in ChinaThis is a featured page

Identify the significance of the dates below for the rise of Chinese civilization:

What happened?
  • 600,000 years ago: first evidence of human. About a 2 million people population without a civilization, survived by hunting and gathering.
  • 10,000 years ago: Agriculture invented in Middle East (Mesopotamia)First settlements
  • 4,800 years ago: China invented agriculture along the Yellow River. (reinvented due to the fact that China had no clue that Mesopotamia even existed - no communication between the two locations because of the mountain ranges along the borders of west china.) People were freed from finding food, and started inventing and trading. First Chinese settlements.
  • approximately 4000 years ago: formed the first chinese dynasty, the Xia.
  • Rise civilization

Using bullet points, identify the impact that each of the following geographical features had on the development of Chinese civilization.
  • Rivers: (three most important: Yellow River, Yangtze River, and Zhu Jiang/Pearl River) helped with transportation, trade, fishing, irrigation, fertility, energy, and communication. Around the Yellow and Yangtze River are fertilized land and soil. Pearl River produced 50% of China's grain, 20% of its jute, rubber, oil, palm, coffee, and sisal hemp. But, Huang He often flooded and affected areas around it. Floods from these rivers oftenly destroyed large plantations of crops, therefore causing famine and eventually leading to starvation and death.)
  • Mountains: (Highest mountains: Altai, Tianshan, Qilian, Kunlun, Karakorum, Tanggula, Gangdise, Hengduan, and the Himalayas) Most mountains are located in the west of China. 9/14 of them are on the borders of China. The Mounatins surrounding China, because of there high altitude, made it difficult for all types of travel across the Mountains. In the past, when technology was not as developed, people (such as ) Merchants or enemies of China often got sick from the lack of basic human needs (insufficient oxygen, water, shelter). These mounatins providing such protection from attacks on China, also hindered the industrial growth of the nation because it was isolated from the outside world. Also, because the mountains provided as a barrier between China and Mesopotamia, it delayed China's discovery of Agriculture by 5200 years. Had the mountains not been there, the Chinese may have met the Mesopotamians and discovered agriculture earlier.
  • Deserts, steppes and plains: Mongolians used steppes as grazing land for their sheep and ponies. The sheeps have many uses. You can use them for wool during winter to keep warm, and cows for milk. Manchurian plain has large deposits of coal and iron, making it the leading industrial area of China. North China plain is covered in loess (the yellow soil is carried by wind from Gobi), making it a rich farming area. Most people do not live in deserts due to the harsh living conditions, but deserts also provide many minerals and sources.These minerals and sources (mainly coal, oil, and iron) greatly boost China's economy, providing them with power as well.




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CasieM 		Latest page update: made by CasieM , Sep 5 2007, 9:22 AM EDT (about this update About This Update CasieM Mountains - CasieM

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