What civilization grew out of the farming villages in the Yellow River valley?

A. The Shang civilization

B. The Indus civilization

C. The Zhou civilization

D. The Harrapa civilization

Approximately 5000 years ago the first complex, politically centralized civilizations began to crystallize independently along a number of river valleys throughout the southern half of Asia and northern Africa. These civilizations constitute the next step in the organization and centralization of human economic, political, religious, and social institutions and practices.

Why did the first complex, politically centralized civilizations materialize along rivers? Because rivers supplied a continuous if not always dependable flow and supply of water for farming and human consumption. These rivers along with climate, vegetation, geography, and topography shaped the development of the early river valley civilizations. However, while people of these civilizations were dependent on the rivers, the rivers also inspired new technological, economic, institutional, and organizational innovations and developments.

Between 3000 and 2000 B. C. E. such river valley civilizations formed independently of each other along the Indus, the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates, and the Yellow Rivers. These civilizations shared certain characteristics that distinguished them from the collections of Neolithic communities that preceded the