Civilizations in the past developed many of their own characteristics and traits. New religions were brought about, as well as cultural behavior. Inventions were created and practices were discovered to help in daily life. People also fashioned ways to communicate with each other. As these societies grew, they exchanged much of this knowledge with later civilizations. The people of Sumer, Egypt, and India had individual beliefs on culture and religion, technology, and language; they exchanged this knowledge with each other as their civilizations evolved.In the "Land between the rivers," known as Mesopotamia, the Sumerians, who emerged south of the Fertile Crescent, were the first to show signs of civilization. By 3200 BCE, this population had developed to the point where people were living in cities and showing some of the major characteristics of a civilization. These signs include a highly organized society with advanced signs of farming, science, art, and indications of an organized government. The Sumerians settled in the lower part of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and were able to take advantage of these waterways for irrigation. Although these rivers did not continuously supply copious amounts of water, springtime brought floods of rainwater and melted snow that helped to fertilize the soil. The Sumerians were forced to work together to build dams and canals to control the flow of water to irrigate their farmland ."Their harsh environment fostered a grim, even pessimistic, spirit among the Mesopotamians. The Sumerians sought to please and calm the gods, especially the patron deity of the city." The best way to honor the gods was by constructing large shrines, called Ziggurats, in the center of their cities. The Sumerians believed that by making these shrines grand and impressive, the gods would be less likely to destroy the cities with floodwaters. The Sumerians feared that humans had little control over daily l...
