Dbq Essay on Geographies Affects on the World

Geography DBQ The ancient world is very unique, and in some ways tough to figure out. The hardest part of solving the mysteries of ancient times is getting in the minds of the people living back then. No one can completely understand the full effect of a regions geography on the shaping of civilization. The only way we can fully comprehend a civilizations reliance on geography is by reading into it. Through documents and maps we can start to understand the impact geography had on a civilizations economical, spiritual and agriculture development.

Agricultural is the easiest thing to crack when trying to figure out the development of a city in ancient times. Maps provide the best information on a regions geography, it gives knowledge of possible places where humans could’ve used certain skills to their advantage or to invent new techniques to use against the downfalls of a certain area. An informative map of present day china educates the general public on the physical qualities of a region (2). This document is unprejudiced because it is a map, it was created to simply show people what China looks like, it’s facts. he reason for The Legend of Yu was to entertain the public by creatively explaining how rivers and seas were created in China (4). This is a fictional story, therefore it is biased. Spodek’s map in The World’s History is informing readers on where some of the most abundant crops and animals could be located around the world (8). Although nothing can be proven completely, this map is a very good piece of work present-day historians can use. The map in document 9 is very informative and educates the public about the fertile crescent, the mesopotamian area, located in the middle east (9).

Unbiased and proven, this document, along with the three other ones mentioned are just a few examples of ways scholars may be able to investigate further into the agriculture of ancient times. Economy of cities in ancient times is a little tougher to figure out. Since everyone from those times is dead, the only way to even get any information is by reading saved documents from those specific times. Although the economies of cities have changed drastically through times, some current systems were used back then. The tough part is figuring out how those systems were created. Proven, informative statistics such as those in doc. ne, reveal to the public some of the ways people back then survived when it came to gathering food and figuring out ways to make everyday living a little simpler (1). People back then had to create some type of tools in order to get dinner and survive everyday. In the Epic of Gilgamesh the author attempts to entertain his readers by telling a story about a leader who forces is people to build a wall in order to protect them from attacks (3). Nobody wanted their city to be taken under control by someone else, even in present day we do everything we can to protect where we live. eography can really influence the successfulness of keeping your city under control and safe from others. Building new structures such as temples and houses was greatly affected by geography. The picture of Mohenjo daro displays the structures built there and educates the public on what common buildings looked like (6). Mountains, rivers, land, all these can affect the success of an economy. You never know what could happen and although ancient people didn’t have all the technology we do to predict disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, their ability to manage without it is very inspiring.

One bad thing and a whole city could be destroyed. Figuring out the geographical impact on spirituality is by far the most difficult thing to figure out. Ancient people could only pray to Gods to protect their land. The author of “Hymn of the Nile” is thanking the Nile river for doing all the wonderful things it has done, although this document is biased it is still very appreciative (5). People believed and still do believe that praying and thanking gods will result in good things happening to them. Praying for rain, or good crops, or many animals was not something new.

In a criticizing tone, followers of Jesus accused the public of taking advantage of God’s generosity of gifts that don’t even belong to them (7). Because of the fact they can’t prove people are taking advantage and they’re just basing these accusations off of their beliefs, this document is biased. I’m not sure if we will ever be able to have a complete understanding of the affects geography can have on the development of a civilizations economical, agriculture and spiritual lives, it won’t stop historians from investigating. There is so much out there to learn about and the deeper you dig, the more you find.