It is one of four other river valley civilizations, the others being the Indus Valley Civilization, the Nile Valley in ancient Egypt, the Yellow River in ancient China. Mesopotamia lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the name means the “land between the rivers”. If we zoom in to some of the first human civilizations that started here, we will find ancient Mesopotamia, which is now in the region of present-day Iraq, and other regions like Iran, Syria, Turkey, and Kuwait. It is no wonder then that the Fertile Crescent has been regarded as a Cradle of Civilization – it has been the birthplace of development and advancements of not only human civilization but also biodiversity. It is also located between North Africa and Eurasia and has been described as a “bridge” between these two regions. Its vast biodiversity made it fit for farming and agriculture thousands of years ago when hunter-gatherers gradually transitioned to a more settled way of life. These regions include areas of present-day Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey.Īs the name suggests, it was a fertile region with arable land and fresh water sources. Other sources describe it as a “boomerang” shape, with the various regions surrounding it. “This fertile crescent is approximately a semi-circle, with the open side toward the south, having the west end at the southeast corner of the Mediterranean, the center directly north of Arabia, and the east end at the north end of the Persian Gulf”.Įgyptologist James Henry Breasted (1865-1935) Smithsonian Institution Archives, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons He described this region of the Middle East as follows: The name was introduced as the “Fertile Crescent” by the archaeologist James Henry Breasted in the publications Outlines of History (1914) and Ancient Times, A History of the Early World (1916). It is also considered a Cradle of Civilization because of the rate of evolution of farming settlements, domestication, and other technological and cultural advancements like the wheel and writing. The Fertile Crescent can be found in the Near Middle East. 5.4 What Was the Purpose of Sumerian Art?īrief Historical Overview: “The Land Between the Rivers”.5.3 What Kind of Art Was Created in Sumer?.
1.1 Earliest Ancient Civilizations: Sumer.1 Brief Historical Overview: “The Land Between the Rivers”.
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