Why american people think that Egypt or China are the earliest known civilizations?

Question

I don t know your school programs, your books, etc. but everytime i meet people from US they ignore everything about Sumer, Babylon, etc. (except what Bible tells).
Is it due to religious fears? books you use at schools? teachers? ...

I don t know your school programs, your books, etc. but everytime i meet people from US they ignore everything about Sumer, Babylon, etc. (except what Bible tells).
Is it due to religious fears? books you use at schools? teachers? ...
MORE DETAILS:
Accoding to records, it is a fact that the earliest know civilization lived in Sumer at least since 3200 BC, 500 years before earliest settlements in Egypt (Africa) and China (Asia). I know that people in other countries learn that at school and they remember many years later. i didnt know about UK, thanks for telling that.

I respect people that believe on Atlantis or any other, even if there is no evidence.
Not easy to choose a best answer among labscimaster, Mac and a few others who gave potential reasons or answers.
Usarmors was taught "the area around Mesopotamia was the cradle of civilization". This answer makes me think that Mac is right.
This is not serious statitistical work. But it is the info we got.

Answer 1

As a social studies teacher I can assure you we teach about the civilizations of the Tigris and Euphrates such as Sumer & Babylon, which do predate Egypt. However the responses and questions I've seen on Yahoo answers should say something about the quality of the student you are seeing. Please don't judge the American education system on what you see here.

Answer 2

The answer is simple. Written history. The Egyptians and Chinese had better record keeping systems. They were prolific writers, so we know more about them, and are more sure of how they lived. The Egyptians also clashed within the Roman civilisation, making for more great historical material.
The earlier civilisations, like Babylon, Mesopotamia, Sumer etc also had records, but not as much, and most of what we know is surmised from archaeological digs and fragments of remaining texts on clay tablets etc.
This imbalance is reflected in the modern history books used in schools.

Answer 3

The civilization of Sumer and Babylon came after that of Egypt and China. And another thing they're more well-known than any other civilization in the world.

Answer 4

I'm American and I even know which civilization came before egypt, china, or even babylon. Josephus gives us a history that is far more revealing than any given by anyone poking around ruins & making guesses.

Answer 5

No, our type three are Egypt, Mesopotamia and the China. Some times India is thrown into the bunch as well, but usually not. American ancient history tends to concentrate on western history since its a caucasian dominated nation. China is mentioned , but rarely studied.

Answer 6

I can't answer for the USA, but it's not much different in the UK. A little bit of stuff about the Romans, and then history starts in 1066. That's nothing to do with religion, but to the fact that the ruling classes always saw themselves as descendants of the Norman invaders.

Answer 7

Hmmm....

I was alway taught that the area around Mesopotamia was the cradle of civilization.

Answer 8

They go by recorded history. Those civilisations tend to have the longest recorded histories.

Answer 9

The greatest civilization was that of Atlantis

Answer 10

i think its mostly because of the phrase "out of sight, out of mind". there are many civilizations that are older (sumerians, akkadians, babylonians, assyrians) but they arent called by these names anymore. china and egypt are still commonly used, so more easily remembered.