Which trio of rivers and their associated civilizations is correctly matched?

• A. Nile with Mesopotamia; Yangtze with India; Indus with Persia
• B. Amazon with Egypt; Nile with India; Yangtze with Korea
• C. Nile with Egypt; Indus with Indus Valley; Yangtze with China
• D. Congo with Egypt; Nile with India; Yangtze with Japan

Answer: (C)

Rivers and the civilizations that grew along them is a classic pattern in ancient history. The Nile flows through Egypt, and Egyptian civilization developed right along its banks, with a centralized state, monumental building projects, and hieroglyphic writing shaped by predictable floods and irrigation. The Indus River basin gave rise to the Indus Valley civilization, notable for its carefully planned cities, advanced drainage, and urban planning. The Yangtze River valley supported Chinese civilizations over a long span, contributing to the development of early dynastic states in what is now China. Together, these river-civilization pairings line up with where these early societies actually formed.

Other options misplace civilizations relative to their rivers: Mesopotamia is tied to the Tigris and Euphrates, not the Nile; India is linked to the Indus or Ganges rather than the Nile; Persia is in a region unrelated to the Indus; Korea and Japan are not correctly paired with the Yangtze.