Settlement Around Water

From the first major formation of civilizations, water has always been a central body around which civilization gathers.  Before methods of transporting water were developed, the physical locations of bodies of water were the basic motivators of determining where civilizations would develop.  The importance of water to safeguard an abundant and stable food supply, due to favourable conditions for hunting, fishing and gathering resources provided an initial wide spectrum economy that triggered the creation of permanent villages.  Such as Mesopatamia, which is often cited as “the cradle of civilization”.  Its location was centered around the convergence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which produced rich fertile soil and a supply of water for irrigation. The civilizations that emerged around these rivers are among the earliest known attempts humanity made at establishing non-nomadic agrarian societies.  The fact that this location also lead to the emerging of other strong civilizations, such as  Ubaid, Sumer,Akkad, Assyria, and Babylon is also strong support for the theory that Mesopotamia is the cradle of civilizations.  These concentrated developments around water also affect the societies themselves and how they function.  A clear example of this is settlement around the Nile around 2500 BC.  From around 7000 BC to 3000 BC the climate of the Sahara had been much moister, offering good grazing land even in areas that are now very arid. However natural climate change after 3000 BC led to progressive arification of the region. It has been suggested that as a result of these changes, around 2500 BC early tribes from the Sahara were forced to concentrate along the Nile river where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. Another example of water settlement influencing the society itself is demonstrated through the cities of Italy during the Renaissance.  The cities of Italy prospered during the late Middle Ages, serving as trading posts connecting Europe to the Byzantine Empire and the Moslem world via the Mediterranean Sea. Commerce enriched and empowered regions in which the feudal system had not taken a strong hold, especially in northern Italy.  The atmosphere that was developed through this water development turned out to be what even lead to the Enlightment, a pivotal development that has shaped our world today.

Caitlin Pibus

08/11/2010

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"Cradle of Civilization." Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization (accessed November 8, 2010). 
Eder, James M., and Seth A. Roberts. Barron's AP European history . 4th ed. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barron's Educational Series, 2008.