Throughout history, there have been many interesting civilizations that have helped to shape the world as we understand it today. These civilizations have distinct cultures that are worth examining, and while many of the traditions held by these cultures have fallen to the wayside, some have remained in order to contribute to modern society. Specifically, the Harappan people of the Indus Valley and the Xia Dynasty of Ancient China are two cultures that have many things different, but perhaps surprisingly, many similarities, too.
One of the most interesting similarities between these two civilizations stems from the importance of rivers in both of the societies. The Xia Dynasty is said to have been started when the Yellow River flooded in what became known as the Great Flood. What this happened, various warring tribes were forced to come together in order to solve the problem and keep themselves alive, and this is what gave rise to the dynasty in the first place. At the same time, the Harappan Civilization also focused heavily on rivers, especially in the early going. The people built towns upon the Ravi River, which essentially gave the civilization its vitality. They used the river to help in trade, and it helped to create a more stable society. People had been very nomadic during this time, but the Harappan recognized that with the help of water from the Ravi River, they could stay in one place and establish prosperity.
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"Compare and Contrast Civilizations".
Agriculture was one of the things that linked these two civilizations together. The Harappan Civilization and Xia Dynasty both depended heavily upon crops. More than that, though, these two civilizations are linked by the fact that both were able to develop and cultivate new crops. Both societies might be said to be innovators in this realm, and it was very important to the development of both. With its agricultural power, the Xia Dynasty was able to sustain itself, giving it the military power to go out and conquer competing armies.
This does give rise to one of the primary differences between the two civilizations. The Xia Dynasty was much more violent than the Harappan Civilization. While both were looking to establish power in the region, the Xia Dynasty was more willing to do so through tribal warfare. This, apparently, was the way of the world during that particular time, as tribes had to fight off other tribes in order to take more territory and protect their territory from threats. This became a norm for the Xia Dynasty. While the Harappan people were certainly not strangers to defending themselves against threats, they did not go out looking for this kind of trouble nearly as often. Instead, it seems that they were more focused on things like trade, which allowed them to establish power in a different way.
Another primary difference between the two was the ability of the Harappan to establish cities, while the Xia Dynasty never got that far. The Harappan spread out over an expansive bit of land, and this meant that they needed to establish cultural and economic centers. Likewise, the focus of the Harappan on trade made it so that cities were more than necessary. Their cities allowed for more cultural diffusion, as well, meaning that they transferred their culture more and they also picked up more elements of cultures around. The Xia Dynasty, because it was isolated in the expansive Chinese mainland, was much more isolated. This meant that very little cultural diffusion took place among the people who made up that particular group of individuals.
