How geography played a role in shaping the different "personalities" of Sumerians, Egyptians, and Chinese
First, it is important to clarify that every culture was built in a different geographical area and this is why every community is different from the other. For example, Sumerians and Babylonians grew up in the Mesopotamian area by the Persian Gulf; were weather was always different. Egyptians had their nation in the desertic area of Egypt where their only source of water was the Nile. Romans and Greeks bloomed in the area of the eastern Mediterranean Sea and also in big part of what is Europe today (Spain, France, Italy). Ancient cultures such as Sumerians, Hebrews, Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and the Qin Dynasty were very successful and rich communities. These old cultures were extraordinary developers regarding culture, architect, education, religion, technology and many more. Even nowadays, we still use some of these ideas, for example the Chinese alphabet or the numeric system created by the Indus Valley. We also kept some architectural ideas, which are still used today in high-class buildings such as the Louvre Pyramid in France. These are just a few examples of how smart and ambitious these communities were at the moment. There is one thing that made these communities act the way they did, build the way they built, and think the way they thought. Geography played an important role in the developing of these ancient cultures by shaping its personalities according to the natural resources, weather, and geographic location.
Some of the old civilizations had the trend to link gods and goddesses to the powers of nature such as the Sun, the Moon, A river or even animals. For example, Egyptians had a very strong connection with the River Nile and The Sun, which they named Hapi and Ra in that order. These two were very important sources of water and energy for the lands that needed to be fertile in order to produce food. Given these conditions Egyptians built their cities and communities alongside the Nile in order to be able to take advantage of its characteristics. Thanks to Egypt's lack of enemies, they had a lot of time to build these amazing structures called Pyramids, which took a lot of effort and time, yet since they did not have much to do they were able to do it. Because of the fact that time was a surplus, Egyptians were able to shape their architecture that way and build these incredible structures.
In addition to the geographic characteristics, another factor that played a big role in shaping these cultures' characteristics was the fact that every time something good or bad happened to them it was also linked the gods. For example, in old Mesopotamia the weather changed all the time giving them floods due to the location in between the two rivers Euphrates and Tigris or droughts due to long periods of no rain. This led Sumerians think that gods were angry or against them all the time. Events like these made religion different in every civilization.
Not only natural resources and natural disasters shaped the way that these old nations behaved, but also geographic location had a lot to do in this process. As an example, the old Chinese Empire of Qin was surrounded by many enemies, including the Mongols, and nomadic people that invaded China's territory many times. Due to these situations, Chinese rules were forced to do something about it. Therefore, they commissioned the construction of the 3000-mile-long Great Wall, which stretched from northeast to northwest China. Also, it is well known that china is located in a seismic area, which encouraged Zhang Heng to invent the first seismometer that detects the direction of earthquakes. Characteristics like these shaped the way in which Chinese science and technology was developed.
There is no doubt that every single culture discussed before was very successful in its period of time and thanks to the diversity of the geographic circumstances they developed fantastic creations that are still used today. It is amazing how rapidly and how much a whole community can change its beliefs, technology, and architecture just based on the characteristics that surrounded the people who live in there.
First, it is important to clarify that every culture was built in a different geographical area and this is why every community is different from the other. For example, Sumerians and Babylonians grew up in the Mesopotamian area by the Persian Gulf; were weather was always different. Egyptians had their nation in the desertic area of Egypt where their only source of water was the Nile. Romans and Greeks bloomed in the area of the eastern Mediterranean Sea and also in big part of what is Europe today (Spain, France, Italy). Ancient cultures such as Sumerians, Hebrews, Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and the Qin Dynasty were very successful and rich communities. These old cultures were extraordinary developers regarding culture, architect, education, religion, technology and many more. Even nowadays, we still use some of these ideas, for example the Chinese alphabet or the numeric system created by the Indus Valley. We also kept some architectural ideas, which are still used today in high-class buildings such as the Louvre Pyramid in France. These are just a few examples of how smart and ambitious these communities were at the moment. There is one thing that made these communities act the way they did, build the way they built, and think the way they thought. Geography played an important role in the developing of these ancient cultures by shaping its personalities according to the natural resources, weather, and geographic location.
Some of the old civilizations had the trend to link gods and goddesses to the powers of nature such as the Sun, the Moon, A river or even animals. For example, Egyptians had a very strong connection with the River Nile and The Sun, which they named Hapi and Ra in that order. These two were very important sources of water and energy for the lands that needed to be fertile in order to produce food. Given these conditions Egyptians built their cities and communities alongside the Nile in order to be able to take advantage of its characteristics. Thanks to Egypt's lack of enemies, they had a lot of time to build these amazing structures called Pyramids, which took a lot of effort and time, yet since they did not have much to do they were able to do it. Because of the fact that time was a surplus, Egyptians were able to shape their architecture that way and build these incredible structures.
In addition to the geographic characteristics, another factor that played a big role in shaping these cultures' characteristics was the fact that every time something good or bad happened to them it was also linked the gods. For example, in old Mesopotamia the weather changed all the time giving them floods due to the location in between the two rivers Euphrates and Tigris or droughts due to long periods of no rain. This led Sumerians think that gods were angry or against them all the time. Events like these made religion different in every civilization.
Not only natural resources and natural disasters shaped the way that these old nations behaved, but also geographic location had a lot to do in this process. As an example, the old Chinese Empire of Qin was surrounded by many enemies, including the Mongols, and nomadic people that invaded China's territory many times. Due to these situations, Chinese rules were forced to do something about it. Therefore, they commissioned the construction of the 3000-mile-long Great Wall, which stretched from northeast to northwest China. Also, it is well known that china is located in a seismic area, which encouraged Zhang Heng to invent the first seismometer that detects the direction of earthquakes. Characteristics like these shaped the way in which Chinese science and technology was developed.
There is no doubt that every single culture discussed before was very successful in its period of time and thanks to the diversity of the geographic circumstances they developed fantastic creations that are still used today. It is amazing how rapidly and how much a whole community can change its beliefs, technology, and architecture just based on the characteristics that surrounded the people who live in there.