today we're looking at ancient irrigation systems
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where you'll find more resources that go with many of the bell ringer videos Agriculture
and farming are the foundation of civilization a civilization can be defined as a complex society
with social classes government specialization of Labor art and so on but civilization would
have never developed without a steady supply and surplus of food so people could focus
their efforts on other tasks rather than food production archaeologists believe that around 11
000 to 10 000 BC people first began to grow and harvest crops in areas such as the Fertile
Crescent as the Agricultural Revolution began over time Farmers develop better farming techniques and
discover new ways to grow crops that resulted in bigger Harvest that could feed more people
early on these ancient Farmers realized that crops would not grow without a steady supply of water
that is why early settlements and communities were located near sources of water however the
Fertile Crescent which today would be part of the Middle East has a very dry climate so the water
supply is not always Dependable for this reason farmers began to develop irrigation systems to
bring water to their crops these irrigation systems consisted of various ditches canals
water basins levees dams and dikes to control the flow and storage of water one of the first places
prehistoric irrigation systems have been found is in Mesopotamia which is the land between the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers that is part of the Fertile Crescent here Mesopotamians created what
is known as a basin type irrigation system Farmers would dig a small Gap in the banks of the river
that would then direct water into a basin or a low Dugout area almost like a sink for water when the
water basin was full they would quickly fill the Gap up with mud to stop the flow of water now the
water could be directed to where where the farmers needed it this could be done by digging canals or
ditches that would lead the water to their fields or in many cases it was as simple as using a
bucket to carry water to the crops one device used to move water by Mesopotamians and early Egyptians
was a swap or shadiff the swap was a long stick that had a counterweight at one end and a bucket
tied to the other the stick then sat on a v-shaped support that allowed for the bucket full of water
to be swung from side to side and dumped where the water was needed another irrigation technique
used by ancient Farmers was to harness the power of floods each year ice melt and precipitation
in mountains just to the north of the Fertile Crescent would result in the Tigris and Euphrates
breaking their Banks and flooding much of the region knowing this farmers dug canals to direct
the flood water to their fields and then gates in the canal that would block the water from receding
back the farmers would then allow the water to sit on the field for 40 to 60 days before opening the
gates to allow the water to flow off the field the flood water not only left moisture in the ground
for the crops to grow but also left a thick layer of Muddy silt full of nutrients and minerals that
would help the crops grow bigger and healthier interestingly these irrigation systems were so
important to the Mesopotamians that many of their early laws dealt with required maintenance of
canals and basins other early written laws also dealt with water rights and required citizens of
early civilizations to Aid in maintaining these irrigation systems although many of these marvels
of ancient engineering have decayed eroded and some were destroyed by Invaders in later years
many remains of these systems can still be seen today archaeologists estimate that some
of these irrigation systems were used for over a thousand years by generation upon generation of
early farmers eventually these irrigation systems first developed in Mesopotamia spread to other
civilizations the ancient Egyptians built canals running parallel to the Nile river that would hold
water to direct other crops later the Greeks and Romans developed systems harnessing and moving
water where it was needed such as long aqueducts that could stretch over 200 miles bringing water
to cities and Farms as I said before or farming and agriculture are the foundation of civilization
and civilization would not have flourished if not for the utilization and control of water
developed by ancient people so with that hopefully you learned something and thanks for watching