Good Example Of The Hydraulic Civilizations And Their Most Significant Technological Innovations During 1500 BCE To 500bce Essay

The term “hydraulic” refers to waters or liquid in motion and originated from the word “hydra,” a Greek term that means water. A hydraulic civilization is an empire that controls its population through controlling the supply of water. The environment determines the kind of civilization needed in a specific geography. Climate and natural resources play a crucial role in economic processes. Thus, controlling the supply of an available resource allows monopoly and power to be established and maintaine by the government. The government in hydraulic civilizations is a distinct and permanent institution that ensures and monitors that water supply are properly distributed.
The earliest civilization arose 6000 years ago and is called as Sumerian civilization in Southern Mesopotamia. The Sumerians are example of a civilized society who has a high level of industry, science, culture and government where people are paying taxes to the state and showing respect to their leaders. The Sumerians were able to build huge cities and invent the art of writing and early mathematics. Farmers are important labor force in the society as they have to produce more food to sustain the need of the whole civilization.
The first civilizations lived in dry desert lands near rivers, swamps and lakes where there are periodic floods, as well as droughts. These floods watered the fields, while they experience drought during the hot dry season. This climate fueled a crucial activity to the early civilizations- the need for irrigation systems. They soon build reservoirs, canals and dikes where they exerted rigorous labor and teamwork. Mesopotamia’s agriculture purely depends on the water that comes from the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates. The annual flooding of these rivers have given them the idea of building the first irrigation systems.
Another civilization that emerged along rivers is Egypt. Farming along the banks of the Nile River was easier because its flooding is gradual and can be predicted. Additionally, its water was clean and does not contain salt water. Nile River serves as the source of life for the people of Egypt. However, its annual flooding brings disaster both to the crops and their villages. Yearly flooding threatens to either damage their villages or destroy their crops. Due to these losses, the early Egyptians agreed to be under one leadership that would decide on how to prevent future disasters. Thus, The Egyptian civilization is composed of different kingdoms and each kingdom maintains a “Waterhouse” that is tasked to build canals and dikes. They used different devices such as pulleys, treadmills and shadufs in lifting water. They also studied the flood cycle in order to know the proper season to plant crops. They invented a useful device called “nilometer” that is used to measure the water level of the Nile River. There are three different forms of nilometer- pillar, well and steps. These variations uses similar unit of measurement known as “cubit.” The readings from these nilometers were interpreted by Egyptian priests and early astronomers. Since the Egyptians know that the Nile River flooded annually, they also created a yearly calendar that depended on the flooding.
Egypt and Mesopotamia were not the only hydraulic civilizations that existed years ago. The Indus Valley civilization arose in the flood plain along the Indus River. However, very little is known about this society. The records from Sumerian documents suggest that people of the Indus Valley traded with Arabia. C.1700 BCE marks the decline of the civilization when taxation and trade fell out of practice since cities were completely abandoned due to a major flooding. Another hydraulic civilization existed in North East China in the banks of the Yellow River. The Yellow River is known as “Huanghe” and it is China’s second largest river. Since the fertile soil in the region is limited, the early Chinese plant millet and wheat while raising pigs and rearing silkworms. The Yellow River civilization was divided in different territories, each is supervised by aristocratic warlords.
Hydraulic Civilizations also sprung in the Americas. In C14th, the Aztecs built a city called “Tenochtitlan” in Lake Texcoco. This early Native Americans built 10-mile dikes and flood gates to avoid salt water flooding. They get fresh water by tapping springs located in hills with causeways and aqueducts that convey water to their island. They plant crops in “chinampas” or floating garden on a lake. There is also an early American civilization that arose in the highlands and foothills on the West coast of Andes mountains. They domesticated animals for food and wool and grew vegetables. They were the first to use “guano” or seabird droppings as natural fertilizer. They built terraces; one of which is the Machu Picchu- a historical sanctuary at present.
Conclusion: The type of civilization that arises depends on the region’s geography and available natural resources. The civilizations that emerged along the rivers such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Yellow River or Early Chinese, Indus Valley and the Aztecs depended on the water supply coming from rivers. These hydraulic civilizations did not only invent irrigation systems, but they built monuments, war defenses, wheels and pyramids. They also mastered pottery, metal works, and they practiced art of writing. To note, the hydraulic civilizations have a large contribution to science, arts and agriculture- innovations that are still in use today.