Why did civilisations originate on riverbanks?

Answer 1

The early human civilisations were usually developed along river banks. The most famous of these is ancient Egypt, which started as a simple river settlement along the River Nile, and eventually expanded into one of the largest vast empires to ever reign on the planet.

The most obvious reason settlements were developed close to rivers is because humans need water to survive. Water is needed for drinking, cooking and hygiene. In the case of Ancient Egypt, the Nile was the perfect location to begin the rise of the empire because water is very scarce in the harsh desert surroundings.

Early civilisations would get all their basic needs from the river to help them develop their settlement. Fisheries provided food, water provided drink and sanitisation/hygiene and some river beds contained silt or clay which helped build houses.

Rivers usually attract animals, particularly in warmer climates. This is also a good food source as animals were hunted for meat as well as skin for leather, horns for crafting and so on.

The land around a river is also very fertile, because it is constantly fed nutrients from the Earth by the flowing river. Therefore rivers were perfect for agriculture, another reason civilisations developed around them. Again, the most famous example is the Nile.

The River Nile flooded every season, the Egyptians knew this and used it to their advantage. After every crop harvest, the Nile usually flooded, feeding and recycling the surrounding lands, keeping them fertile, allowing the Egyptians to re-use the fields again without consequence to the fertility of the land.

Rivers also provided a means of transport between settlements. This was extremely useful in trades and diplomacy. They also provide some defence to the settlement, as an advancing army would be slowed down by the river.

As early technology improved, the civilisations learned how to use irrigation and aqueducts to keep crops fertilised and water flowing into larger populations.

It also allowed civilisations to develop basic engineering, such as water-powered mills to grind flour.

During Ancient times, it was very important to develop your settlement along a river if you wished your settlement to survive.

The foundations of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Babylon and Ancient China, for example, originated from riverbank settlements.

Answer 2

For the betterment of agriculture.