5. continuity

Back to *History 8 Mesopotamia Vocabulary

Continuity defined by Merriam Webster is the quality of something that does not stop or change as time passes : a continuous quality. A historical continuity is a long term pattern which shapes a region's history. The landscape and climate, two continuities, of the Fertile Crescent had lasting effects on the rise and fall of civilizations. As populations expanded more food, resources and space were needed. People began to cut down and burn more trees and cleared brushwood which decreased forests sizes. Without trees to hold the soil in place the soil eroded and washed into the nearby rivers revealing a source of alluvium which extended the southern plain of Iraq. Mankind began changing the balance of nature before the first city states and empires were founded. Mankind's lasting effects on the landscape and climate shaped the region's history.

Manual: page 94 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/continuity

picture from: http://theconversation.com/eats-shoots-and-leaves-what-the-movie-industry-does-to-location-42417

- Sara Doyle