Answer: Civilizations developed around rivers because their waters provided places to hunt and fish. Also, as the rivers flooded, the lands around them became fertile. This allowed them to support farming. This is especially true of the Nile River, which flooded at the same time each year.
Why Early Civilizations Develop In River Valleys Why civilization developed around them. First and foremost, the answer is food! To explain, the first civilizations came to life in the river valleys of Asia and Africa because they provided great places to get meat.