Ancient Civilization Of Mesopotamia

According to some archaeologists, the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia had its first settlements dating back since 10,000 BCE. Due to this, it is considered as one of the birthplace of civilizations. Mesopotamia was also known as “the country between two rivers. ” (Chilvers, 2007) These two rivers that surrounded this fertile land were the Tigris and the Euphrates. I believe that both rivers were one of the significant environmental factors that contributed to the development of the ancient civilization known as Mesopotamia. (Hollar, 2011) The Tigris and Euphrates rivers start out in the mountains of Armenia.

They are almost parallel to each other until they merge creating the Shatt al-Arab waterway which then empties to the Persian Gulf. The southern parts of these rivers are calmer, witnessed by the fertile soil that it produces. The Tigris is considerably shorter than the Euphrates, but was found to be more of importance commercially due to it being deeper. Bigger boats were able to travel here compared to the flat-bottomed ones that passed through the Euphrates. (Chilvers, 2007) The peoples of this region greatly depended and benefited from these rivers.

It produced a land for them to be able to thrive and survive. The earliest of these peoples were known as the Sumerians. The Sumerians relied heavily on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for their agriculture and irrigation needs. They created a system that included cultivating and cropping. Along with proper irrigation and organized labor, they were able to take advantage of the fertile land. By doing this, they were able to produce a surplus of food that enabled them to stay in one place rather than migrating to different regions.

They produced crops such as wheat and barley on a large scale. With the massive production of crops, not only did they have enough to feed themselves but they also had enough that enabled them to start on the domestication of animals. They raised different kinds of animals, but mainly sheep and cattle. They were able to use these animals not just a source of food, but for other survival needs as well, such as wool for clothing. Plenty of fishes were also caught from these rivers. With the surrounding waters, the land also provided clay which gave them the material to create pots and vases.

The peoples of Mesopotamia depended heavily upon these rivers. Without them, their ways of survival would have been different. (Chadwick, 2005) B. The process of diffusion of potato was very important in the early days of human societies. Different varieties of potatoes were first discovered about 14,000 years ago by early South Americans. There were originally 235 different species of potatoes. It wasn’t’ until one specific type was found that the people realized how valuable potato can be.

It was around 10,000 BCE that the S.tuberosum species of potato was discovered and domesticated by farmers from the Andes Mountains. The fertile soil and weather conditions of the Andes Mountains made it possible for the plants optimal growth. With the summer days and cold nights, they found out different ways to plant and grow potatoes. This led them to discover several varieties that ended up migrating to different societies. (Smith, 2011) By 1200 CE, the Inca Empire civilization was able to grasp the ways of the initial Andeans way of growing and planting potatoes.(Smith, 2011)

Peoples of the Andean culture were absorbed into the Inca Empire. They were able to teach the ways that their ancestors have done in the past to grow and domesticate potatoes. After the potato arrived in the Inca Empire, it became their most important crop. With vast lands, they grew and cultivated potatoes extending from what is now known as the southern part of Columbia to the central part of Chile. (Smith, 2011) Due to the massive production of potatoes, they had to find ways on how to be able to store and keep them from spoiling.

With enough searching, they were able to discover a technique of freezing and drying potatoes. These were called chuños. Because of this process, they were able to save food from the times of famine. Workers from this society were required to build storage houses to store all the chuños. In the year of 1532, the Spanish Conquistadores conquered the Inca Empire which led to further transmission and replication. (Smith, 2011) Today, the potato is a very important to our society’s diet as it was when the Andeans first discovered it.

This would have not been possible if it wasn’t for the process of diffusion. C. Throughout the centuries, there have been many geographical and environmental factors that have affected the development and expansion of the United States. Two of these factors which greatly shaped this country to what it is today are the California Gold Rush and the Dust Bowl. The California Gold Rush began in January 24, 1848, when a man named James Marshall discovered gold alongside the American River which is located at present-day Sacramento.

He then tells his boss, John Sutter, regarding his discovery. John Sutter tried to keep it as a secret, but people eventually found out and the word traveled. The word kept spreading until it reached the town of San Francisco. Reports were then published in a San Francisco based newspaper, The California Star. (California Historical Society, 2011) After some time passed, words have circulated to the eastern part of the United States. These series of events kicked off the migration of people to head west on a chance to becoming wealthy.

It wasn’t only the people of the United States that was enticed with this discovery, but people from all over the world flocked to California. They came from different nations such as China, Australia, and Mexico, which is only a few of many. In 1849, there were ninety-thousand gold seekers that have taken different routes by land or water to reach California. The population of less than 25,000 just before 1849 grew to 223, 856 coming from a special census in 1852. (Udall & Emmons, 2003) Due to this population growth, California was pronounced as the 31st state of the United States.

Before 1931, the fields of the Great Plains in the United States have always been a welcoming place for farmers. It wasn’t until that summer that a drought came leaving the land very dry. The main crop wheat that grew here started dying due to the prolonged drought. With the growing winds, the once productive Great Plains has turned into a disaster that is waiting to happen. This became known as the Dust Bowl. (Soomo, 2013, The Dust Bowl) When the Dust Bowl started, about half a million Americans were forced to stay indoors and left with no choices because breathing has become difficult.

Winds would reach up to a hundred miles per hour. (Soomo, 2013, The Dust Bowl) For the ones who went outside, especially children, they were required to wear face protection such as masks to cover their faces. This went on for years. The ones who were not able to cope up and live daily like this had to migrate and abandon what they had in the Great Plains. By 1940, about 2. 5 million people left to other parts of the United States. About 200,000 moved to California. (Worster, 1979, 2004) The Dust Bowl was considered as one of the largest migration in American history.

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