How do rivers or bodies of water contribute to the birth of civilizations?
444036
Water is essential to life, so any people, like wandering tribes, are likely to start to congregate round water sources. Civilisations then can start to grow.
86362
Nothing. The river just flows from it. If it has multiple sources or headwaters, however, then the actual river flows from the largest or main source, and is connected to the other headwaters through tributaries.
149801
Well as far as I can remember, the first civilization in the world is Mesopotamia and now it is called Iraq which is in the Middle East.
727669
Where and when did human civilization begin? The origin of human civilization is a great mystery presently clouded by the myths of historians. A date is half-heartedly pointed to, 8000 BC, referring to Sumeria, which is only ten thousand years ago. Actually, our modern historians are like the chickadees, which live only for one day and cannot journey outside of that narrow framework. Putting a ten thousand-year cap on human civilization is cramping an ancient, far-reaching heritage into a little box. All human civilization has come from a universal source, whose pre-eminence antedates Sumeria by tens of thousands of years. Like a puzzle, the ancient records and traditions of the offspring cultures can piece this remarkable civilization's illustrious origins, growth, and decay together. Secondly, the cutting edge of archaeological research is proving beyond the shadow of a doubt the existence of the original source of all human civilization. With all of this evidence resurfacing from the depths of time, human history is about to be rewritten.
940617
The name "Mesopotamia" comes from the Greek words μέσος "between" and ποταμός "river", referring to the basins of the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers and the area in between. The Arabic name is بين نهرين Bayn Nahrain "between two rivers" and referrs to the geographical area watered by those two rivers. It is often referred to as the "Cradle of Civilization", since it was here that the first literate societies developed in the late 4th millennium BCE.\n\nThe capital city of the region changed over time with whomever was in charge.  Also, the boundaries changed with time, too, so parts of Mesopotamia were always in the hands of people nopt thought to be Mesopotamians.\n\nWith that intro...\n\nca. 5000–4000 B.C. Ubaid culture arises in the southern plains between the two great rivers.  As the culture gets more and more sophisticated, a sequence of ever more massive mud-brick temples is constructed at the site of Eridu. Some think this was the first capital of Mesopotamia.\n\nca. 3500–3000 B.C. Cities emerge throughout the region, with the largest concentration in the south, and Uruk is the largest of them all, and the capital.\n\nca. 2350–2150 B.C. From his capital city of Akkad, King Sargon unifies much of Mesopotamia and northern Syria through conquest.\n\nca. 2100–2000 B.C. After nearly two centuries of rule, the Akkadian empire disintegrates and local kings in southern Mesopotamia reassert their independence.\n\nMesopotamia is reunited under the kings of Ur, in the city of Ur, peacefully ruled the city states of the alluvial plain between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris for more than a century.  An agricultural crisis scattered the people and shattered the peace.\n\nca. 2000–897 B.C. From their capital city of Ashur on the Tigris, the Assyrians rule the whole of Mesopotamia.\n\n879 B.C. Ashurnasirpal II moves the Assyrian capital from Ashur to Nimrud (ancient Kalhu, biblical Calah). \n\n722/1–705 B.C. Sargon II initiates his reign with the deportation of the population of Samaria, the capital of Israel. His new capital at Khorsabad (ancient Dur Sharrukin) takes seven years to build and is decorated in a manner similar to Nimrud. \n\n704–681 B.C. Sargon is killed while campaigning in Anatolia, and is succeeded by his son Sennacherib, who rebuilds the ancient site of Nineveh as his new capital.\n\n604–562 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar II rules the new Babylonian empire, and Babylon, the capital, is rebuilt on a grand scale. \n\n331–138 B.C. The armies of Alexander of Macedon defeat the Persians. Upon Alexander's death in Babylon in 323 B.C., his successors divide the empire. \n\nSyria, Mesopotamia, and Iran fall under the rule of Seleucus, who founds the Seleucid dynasty. The empire is governed from two capitals, Antioch in Syria and Seleucia in southern Mesopotamia. \n\nUnder Mithradates I (r. ca. 171–138 B.C.), the Parthians from Iran seize Mesopotamia from Seleucid control and establish their capital on the Tigris River at Ctesiphon, across the river from Seleucia.\n\nca. 139 B.C.–1 A.D. Under the Parthians, Mesopotamia is now the center of the Silk and Spice Route linking China in the east with Rome in the west, and Uruk is its capital.\n\n224–636/37 A.D. From southwest Iran, Ardashir I (r. 224–40) founds the Sasanian dynasty and ends Parthian rule. He and his successors establish their administrative and economic center at Ctesiphon.\n\n634–644 In the seventh century, this area is conquered by Arab armies and transformed into the center of Islamic civilization. Under them, the newly founded capital, Baghdad, becomes the cultural and commercial capital of the Islamic world.\n\nSo it is.  Mesopotamia, then, encompasses all of Iraq and northeastern Syria, now.
450444
Rivers empty into major bodies of water...tributaries empty into rivers
756085
A waterway is any navigable body of water. These include rivers, lakes, oceans, and canals.\n\nAn aqueduct is an artificial (man-made) channel that is constructed to convey water from one location to another. The word is derived from the Latin aqua, "water," and ducere, "to lead." Many aqueducts are raised above the landscape, resembling bridges rather than rivers. Sufficiently large aqueducts (water bridges) may also be usable by ships. They are similar to viaducts, though they carry water instead of a road or railway. While a road bridge often carries the roadway at a more elevated level than the rest of the road, such a variation of height is not possible for an aqueduct.\n\nreform question
1138304
Dams close up a river so the water stays in one place and forms an artificial lake. Canals are water passageways that boats carrying cargo can use to move around.
813560
Eons ago there were rivers\n\nTh
63593
When it rains and the rain hits mountains or other materials it cannot sink through small trickles appear in the direction of the downslope. The trickles come together eventually and pour looser materials with them (such as sand or loose earth for example). Eventually they can form a big enough stream to be a river. When a river runs with high speed it tends to have a straighter path, but if it becomes wide and slow it starts bend like a serpentine.
379305
Civilization begins with cities and writing.  Most historians agree that the first civilization began in Mesopotamia, often called "the cradle of civilization".\n\nAccording to recent archeological findings this early civilization began to florish around around 6000 BC.
57902
It can be very disruptive of fish species that depend on free-flowing rivers.  The hydropower dams in the Pacific Northwest of the United States have long been a source of controversy because of their impacts on salmon spawning.\n\nThe construction of dams to develop hydropwer can also flood archaeological treasures.  For example, the Glenn Canyon Dam flooded out many Native American artifacts.
11755
very.. they had running water, heated water.. a system of aqueducts to transport water from far away.  They bathed daily and had a very well established military and political system.
576376
The water in the Great Lakes came from the end of the last major ice age. That entire regions was covered in thick, deep glaciers and when they all melted the Great Lakes were formed. Glacial ice was obviously frozen fresh water. I imagine rain keeps the water levels up.
442402
The mouth.\nLakes,streams from mountains.The ice from mountains melt,causing tiny streams of water running down the mountain.As it goes along,more water is collected(rain etc.),and it becomes a small river.There are three stages of a river.First,the valley is narrow,second,it gets wider,and third, it is almost flat and very wide.it ends at the sea. \nHope this helps :)
69879
They built pyramids and invented the river.
717976
boats.\n\n\nAnd water.  Lots of water.