Title: Rise of Civilisations - Raffles History Notes
Headings: Rise of Civilisations
Rise of Civilisations
Content: Normally, people settled somewhere with the favourable environment (constant supply of water and fertile soil) to start agriculture (e.g. river valleys near the tropics, etc.). Also, such favourable environment provided people with other resources like metals and minerals. Settling near a permanent source of water provided people with several things. Water could be used for consumption and irrigation. Also, people could get seafood from water bodies like rivers and oceans. Water was needed in metal-working and water was used as a means of transport. And, they also developed stone-working technology to develop tools for agriculture (e.g. plough) and to kill domesticated animals for food (e.g. spears). The stone-working technology marked a great technological shift from using wooden tools because stone is a harder material and allows greater efficiency. So, with agriculture and domestication of animals, people were able to get stable supply of food and hence they did not have to move from place to place searching for food. Finally, they were able to settle in one place and started forming a settlement/community.