ABSTRACT
Civilization is generally equated with a literate tradition preserved by organized groups, or societies, living in permanently fixed clusters rather than in small, scattered units. Historically the first cities began to appear with the emergence of a division of labor. The flood plain of Yellow River in North China was probably in historical terms the third major center of urbanization to develop. It and the Indus plain shared the same set of physical characteristics as had earlier favored rise of Mesopotamian and Egyptian cities, exotic river systems flowing across an arid but level and largely treeless plain where fertile alluvial soils and water for irrigation were combined with high transferability. The coming of the industrial revolution reinforced the growth of most of the earlier-established commercial cities, for they were centers of investment capital and of cheap access for the assembly of raw materials and the distribution of finished goods.
