Chapter 1 DBQ The role of the physical environment in the development of early civilization in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley led to societies flourishing, construction of complex buildings, and the development of a set of belief systems. Physical environment helped with the development of early civilization in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley by helping societies to flourish. Excerpt from the story of Gilgamesh states how the people of Sumer depend on the grain that they grow. The environment provides Sumer their grain thus allowing them to feed themselves and continuing to grow.

The increase in population allows the society to flourish. One could say that document 1 is unreliable because it only describes how Sumer depends on grain. It does not state if their population flourishes or not due to the grain. An additional document that would be helpful for document 1 would be a record of Sumer’s grain and population. This will help judge whether or not the physical environment of grain helped increase population thus allowing us to know if it helped with early civilization. Doc1) A map of the River-Valley Civilization, 3500-1500 B. C. E. shows how civilizations flourished around rivers. The rivers played as physical environments and helped civilizations flourish by providing water for irrigation, travel, and trade. All of these led to complex societies. An additional document that will be helpful for document 2 would be a written excerpt by a villager describing how the rivers helped his or her village. It would help understand if the physical environments which were the rivers helped with early civilizations. Doc2) A map of Ancient Egypt shows civilizations growing along the Nile. The physical factor is the Nile and it is used for irrigation, transportation, and for its water. The societies along the Nile flourished which helped develop early civilizations. An additional document that would be helpful with document 6 would be a written account of someone who lived along the Nile. It will determine if the Nile did help with the development of early civilization. Doc6) Physical environment helped with the development of early civilization in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley by the construction of complex buildings. A photograph shows reed huts in the marshes of Southern Iraq. Reeds grow along riverbanks or swampy lands and they are the physical environment used to help with the development of early civilization. The reeds are used for housing and other purposes as well, such as materials for baskets. (Doc3) Due to the Indus Valley being wet earlier in its time it allowed many trees to grow.

This helped with the construction of complex buildings, thus helping with the development of early civilizations. It helped because a lot of timber was needed to bake the many mud bricks used for the fortification of walls and buildings. The complex buildings then allowed with the development of early civilization. (Doc7) Physical environment helped with the development of early civilization in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley by allowing a set of belief systems to occur. Document 4 describes ceremonies and rituals performed for the gods and goddesses.

There was a god and a goddess for each element such as weather, crops, and water conditions. The people devoted themselves to the god or goddess of the physical environment so that thing could thrive. One could say that this is unreliable because we are not certain they came up with the rituals and ceremonies or if it was migrated by others. An additional document that would be helpful for this would be a written account of their religious experts describing how the religion came to be. Doc4) A Mesopotamian cylinder seal shows the gods and goddesses of some physical environmental factors. The people developed gods and goddesses so they can pray for the physical environmental factors to thrive. This is unreliable because a Mesopotamian cylinder seal shows Egyptian gods and goddesses which proves that the religions were passes from civilization to civilization. An additional document that would be helpful for document 5 would be some sort of evidence that proves the Mesopotamians come up with the gods and goddesses themselves.