The Hittites were able to thrive due to their technology while the Bantu peoples were negatively impacted by their technology. Geography had a positive impact on the ancient Egyptians but hurt the ancient Chinese civilization.
Iron smelting technology helped the Hittites grow and thrive because it provided them with a major military advantage against other civilizations. Iron smelting is the process of applying heat to iron ore to extract the base metal, using wood and lumber as fuel to provide the heat energy needed.
The Hittites were able to prosper with the use of iron smelting technology because they used this technique to develop iron weapons and “fighting machine” chariots from their natural resources found in their area, which allowed for stronger effects compared to bronze. Having iron weapons and chariots was critical to the Hittites’ success because it allowed them to develop a giant, standing army that was prepared to conquer other civilizations and expand their territory into an empire.
127 our experts are availableright now
The slash and burn farming technique negatively impacted the Bantu people because it harmed their surrounding environment, which created an unstable civilization. Slash and burn farming is a technique where forested land is cleared then burned, and the remaining ashes are used to fertilize the new, nutrient-filled field. This farming method was ineffective because the cleared fields took a long time to recover and regain its fertility, which demoted agriculture and caused the Bantu peoples to frequently move. Because they were always on the move, the Bantu peoples were incapable of settling in an area to grow and develop a stable civilization or crop production.
The Nile River helped the civilization of ancient Egypt adapt to their environment by providing the Egyptians with a sustainable water source for agriculture and harvest. Every July, melted snow and rain from the mountains of East Africa flowed into the Nile River, causing the river to flood and spill over the banks and leave behind deposits of fertile soil and silt.
Despite the dry deserts and extreme climates, the Nile River helped promote Egypt’s agricultural growth because the silt from the floods provided them with fertile land to grow and harvest a steady surplus of crops, such as wheat, barley, and papyrus. These predictable flood patterns of the Nile River not only helped the Egyptians prepare themselves, but also helped them develop one of the first calendar systems.
Unlike the ancient Egyptian civilization, the ancient Chinese civilization faced many geographical challenges, such as dangers of floods from the river systems. The Chinese civilization was mostly surrounded by mountain ranges like the Himalayas and rivers, such as the Yellow River, also known as “China’s Sorrow”, which brought catastrophic floods that destroyed many villages.
The Yellow River had a negative impact on the Chinese civilization because the Chinese could not prepare themselves for the unforeseeable floods that took place when the river banks overflowed. Since the Chinese had no way to tell when the floods would occur, their villages were constantly ruined and needing to be restored, which left the civilization in a vulnerable position and susceptible to possible invasions.
