Why Did Early Civilizations Begin Near Rivers? A Different Perspective

Where there’s water, there’s life. If may sound intuitive to say that civilizations started around rivers because they offer humans the abundance of water they need for drinking and irrigation.

But that’s not exactly true…

To begin with, it’s obvious that humans need water. It’s an essential reason for survival, let alone civilization. But let’s take a look at the three earliest civilizations: Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, and Indus valley. You can find a pattern here…

These civilization did not exactly start in water-rich rainforests or areas where finding water is not a concern.

They all started around rivers surrounded by deserts.

If it was for the abundance of water, it would’ve started in central Africa, south-east Asia or South America – areas where there’s an abundance of water, plants and wildlife.

But the real reason, among other factors, is that civilization does not merely due to the abundance of water, but rather because the lack of water nearby forces people to live together.

They have to mingle, to interact, exchange resources, and eventually build communities.

That interaction adds another factor, which is that the limitation of resources increases competitiveness, which may in turn force people to work harder to survive, building new skills and technologies on the way.