Only four ancient civilizations—Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus valley, and China—provided the basis for continuous cultural developments in the same location.

The four river valley civilizations were the Tigris & Euphrates Valleys, the Nile River Valley, the Indus River Valley, and the Yellow River Valley. Civilizations developed around rivers because their waters provided places to hunt and fish. Also, as the rivers flooded, the lands around them became fertile.

The most notable examples are the Ancient Egyptians, who were based on the Nile, the Mesopotamians in the Fertile Crescent on the Tigris/Euphrates rivers, the Ancient Chinese on the Yellow River, and the Ancient India on the Indus.

How did the Neolithic Revolution contribute to the rise of early river valley civilizations? A. It forced human societies to band together to protect themselves from warlike civilizations. It led to the creation of permanent farming communities that grew into the first civilizations.

The Neolithic Revolution changed the way humans lived. The use of agriculture allowed humans to develop permanent settlements, social classes, and new technologies. Some of these early groups settled in the fertile valleys of the Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, Yellow, and Indus Rivers.

According to Harland, there are three main reasons why the Neolithic revolution happened:

• Domestication for religious reasons. There was a revolution of symbols; religious beliefs changed as well.
• Domestication because of crowding and stress.
• Domestication from discovery from the food-gatherers.

What was the impact of the Neolithic Revolution on humans? the Neolithic Revolution involved the shift of ancient people from a hunting and gathering society to one that was focused on agriculture which led to permanent settlements, the establishment of social classes, and the eventual rise of civilizations.