China’s Earliest Civilizations Essay

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Historians and anthropologists have long since attempted to understand how humanity came to be. Studying where the first civilizations emerged, attempting to track down migration patterns, and analyzing the difference between settled cultures, all of these processes contribute to the current understanding of the past. With the emergence of new data, new modes of interpreting history emerge, allowing humankind as a whole to be more in touch with its roots. As it currently stands, there are a number of specific places on earth where earliest societies emerged. Be it due to a combination of favorable climate conditions, migration routes even earlier groups of people followed, or simply coincidences, early humans chose to settle in these locations, creating a foundation for what is now understood as the human civilization. The China region in particular is especially interesting in this regard, as it spans more than one civilization under its current territory.

China is considered as one of the “cradles of civilization”, a point where humankind as it is currently understood emerged. While there were a number of early civilizations, each of them were uniquely situated and uniquely organized, due to differences in territory, lifestyle and activity. Three primary early civilizations can be identified on the territory now understood as China – Yellow River civilization, Liao civilization and Yangtze civilization. All of these civilization names act as aggregates for a number of cultures found in ancient China as far back as 7000 BC. The names of the civilizations are derived from nearby rivers, that were a source of nourishment and important points of interest for early human societies.

The Yellow River civilization is among the most frequently discussed, as archeologists and ethnographers found evidence of agriculture in the Yellow River region. Signifiers of human activities such as field irrigation and water level control show that early civilizations utilized the Yellow river in order to sustain their food supplies, and had both tools and knowledge necessary to create consistent yield. While the two other civilizations are discussed less frequently, their existence still resonates within China and its culture to this day. The Yangtze River civilization is known for its cultivation of rice, black clay pottery, as well as bone tools. All of these landmarks of civilization were shown to be unique to the region and not derivative of the Yellow River civilization. Liao River Civilization, the last one of the three – was also shown to be a well-developed and important hub of social development. Researchers have concluded that Chinese, Korean Japanese and Turkish languages, among others, can be traced back to the Liao River. In addition, this civilization favored a number of different plants for cultivation. The selection included wheat, rice and millet. Pottery typical for the area and signs of human burials were also found.

Compared to the Yangtze River civilization, the Liao civilization favored other types of housing structures, likely due to a difference in soil types and material availability. The former was found to build pole-railing style houses, while the latter constructed pit-based houses. In addition, Liao River civilization has been connected with the creation of altars and temples. All of these factors show that the three early Chinese civilizations had distinct lifestyles, approaches to agriculture, house-building and worship. The presence of such factors makes them clear demonstrations of ancient civilization.

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IvyPanda. (2024, February 15). China's Earliest Civilizations. https://ivypanda.com/essays/chinas-earliest-civilizations/

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IvyPanda. 2024. "China's Earliest Civilizations." February 15, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/chinas-earliest-civilizations/.

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