1. Indus
1.1. Geography
1.1.1. Indus is present day India
1.1.2. It was formed along the Indus River Vally
1.2. Writing System
1.2.1. Markings on seals and pottery
1.2.2. Too little examples to know their writing system
1.3. Government
1.3.1. May have had a strong government
1.3.2. Unlikely they had kings
1.3.3. Had a citadel that was maybe a center for religion, government, or both
2. Egypt
2.1. Government
2.1.1. Pharaohs relied on a Bureaucracy
2.1.2. They taxed farmers who paid in crops
2.1.3. Their government is a model for government today
2.2. Writing System
2.2.1. Also developed one of the first writing systems
2.2.2. Had an form of writing by 1300 B.C.E.
2.2.3. Used hieroglyphics or pictures or drawings
2.2.4. Only scribes knew how to write
2.3. Geography
2.3.1. Formed along the Nile River
3. Sumeria
3.1. Government
3.1.1. First ruled by priests
3.1.2. Priests choose leaders for wars
3.1.3. Military leaders sometimes kept control after war
3.2. Writing System
3.2.1. First used pictographs on clay
3.2.2. Developed one of the first writing systems
3.2.3. Cuneiform is a writing system that uses triangular shaped symbols
3.3. Geography
3.3.1. Sumeria was in Mesopotamia or present day Iraq
3.3.2. Was formed between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers
4. Shang
4.1. Government
4.1.1. Was the first documented Chinese dynasty
4.1.2. Made farmers prepare new land for a larger harvest
4.2. Writing System
4.2.1. First written records from China were on oracle bones from this dynasty
4.2.2. They had carvings with characters
4.2.3. There is no alphabet
4.2.4. Had a writing system by 1300 B.C.E.
4.3. Geography
4.3.1. Shang is present day China
4.3.2. Formed along the Huang River Vally