Geography of Ancient China

Ancient China & Mesopotamia

How is the geography different?

Mesopotamia was surrounded by deserts and hills, led to be attacked repetedly. Ancient China on the other hand, was surrounded by mountains, isolating them from other countries. It was hard to attack because of the Himalayas Mountains that stood in the attacker's way. Although both countries had domisticated animals, Ancient China was the first to think of it. Ancient China had longer rivers. Mesopotamia had many lakes and ponds, but there was barely 10 in. of rain in the Mesopotamia deserts. Ancient China's geography supplied more resources for them than Mesopotamia's did.

Ancient China & Mesopotamia

Fact!!: Mesopotamia means "between two rivers"

How is the geography alike?

Geography

Both Ancient China and Mesopotamia has two main rivers. The Yellow River and the Yangzi River supplied resources for Ancient China, while the Tigris and the Euphrates River supplied them for Mesopotamia. In fact, the two countries had started their civilization between those two rivers. In the history of both countries, there were many floods. So the people there both dug canals to keep the rivers from flooding. Both countries had great farming land because of the two rivers. The soil had plenty of silt and that fertilized the crops.

The northern part of Ancient China was mostly covered in desert, where the temperature could drop down to -50 degrees celsius. In the southern part of Ancient China it was wet and more tropical with some rainforest coverage. They also have the Himalayas Mountains, which are some of the highest mountains in the world.

The Himalayas Mountains

Ancient China & Mesopotamia

Impact of Floods

How they met their needs

Using the fertile soil to grow crops supplied them lots of food. Later, when they had domistic animals, that supplied them more meat than when they hunting for them. Ancient China used their water sources to fish and grow millet and rice crops, also allowing them to harvest and eat water plants. They built shelter out of mud bricks and sometimes wood. Mesopotamia grew wheat, barley, peas, beans and lentils, vegetables like cucumbers, leeks, lettuces, garlic, and fruit such as grapes, apples, melons and figs. Their early houses were made out of reeds, but as the civilization grew, they started using sandstone blocks and mud bricks.

Because of heavy rainfall, Ancient China had annual floods. Although the floods deposited rich soil, loess, and bringing extensive silt in the river's lower reach, the floods flooded most of the farming fields, causing the people to dig canals to protect the fields from flooding.

Resources

Ancient China had lots of water sources. The Pacific Ocean, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, the Xi River, the Chang Jiang(Yangzi River), and the Huang He (Yellow River). There were two main rivers. The Yellow River was the center of the civilization. The Yangzi River was the big water source for Southern China, allowing several different types of crops to grow. All that water also allowed them to catch fish and harvest water plants.

Thank

you!!

Impact from Climate

The Yangzi River

The Yellow River

The seasonal monsoon winds that blow north over Asia produce lots of rainfall in the Himalayan Mountains and the Tibetan Plateau. Some of the water, along with rich sediments, flows across the Chinese Plain, creating fertile farmland.The fertile areas of Eastern China are surrounded by deserts, vast steppes, high mountains, and impassable jungles.

Climate and Food Growth

In Ancient China it was hot,humid, and rainy in the summer, but dry and freezing cold in the winter. Southern China received more rainfall than Northern China, so farmers would grow several crops of rice a year. Northern China harvested wild millet and sorghum.

Impact of the Rivers

Resources

• World Hisory Ancient Civilizations Through the Renaissance By Holt McDougal
• ancientchina.co.uk
• worldtravelguide.net
• yourchildlearns.com
• slideshare.net
• http://www.ancient.eu/Mesopotamia/
• http://quatr.us/china/architecture/chinesehouses.htm
• www.ancientmesopotamians.com/ancient-mesopotamia-houses.html

Ancient China was built along two main rivers. The effect of living there was good for farming. Settlements along the Yellow River grew millet rich, easily working loess soil. People along the Yangzi River grew rice, ate a good deal of fish together with vegtables, especialy water plants such as water chestnuts and lotus.

Geography of Ancient China

By: Stella Hung