Download History begins in Sumer…

History begins in Sumer…
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Geographers examine the ways people use their
environment, how and why they change it, and what
consequences result from these changes.
For example, humans altered the environment of
the Fertile Crescent by introducing irrigation, thus
enabling the development of Mesopotamia as a
rich agricultural region. The Fertile Crescent
extended in an arc from the Mediterranean Sea
through what is now Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria,
and Iraq.
Urban Revolution: The Birth of the City
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Around 3500 B.C.E. large villages like Eridu,
Erech, Lagash, Kish, and later Ur and
Babylon built irrigation systems that allowed
populations to swell to 10,000 people. They
were productive enough to even allow 10%
of the people to engage in other activities
besides farming.
The changes were profound.
Now, read pages 14-15.
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What does the word Mesopotamia mean?
Describe the physical characteristics of
Mesopotamia (at least three).
Who created the first civilization in the region?
Now, read pages 15-16.
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Religion and Rulers
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Sumerian religion was polytheistic (it involved a
belief in many gods).
Temples built atop large stepped towers called
ziggurats were the most important buildings.
Temple priests and priestesses held a great deal
of power, and kings were believed to derive their
power from deities, making the government a
theocracy. Human beings in general were
considered inferior and were obliged to serve and
obey the gods.
Now read pages 16-17.
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Society of Mesopotamia
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Sumerian social structure consisted of nobles,
commoners, and slaves.
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Nobles included members of the royalty and priests.
Commoners were mostly farmers, (perhaps as much as 90%
of society) and a few were craftspeople.
Enslaved persons worked mainly for the royalty and temple
priests and were used primarily for building projects,
craftwork, and farming.
Farming was the primary economic activity. Sumerians
traded woolen textiles, pottery, dried fish, wheat, and metal
goods for copper, tin, and timber.
Now, read page 17.
Sumerian Civilization
How were the six basic characteristics of a civilization
displayed by Sumer?
• Cities: The Sumerians learned to control the
flow of the Tigris and Euphrates and grow
regular crops, which allowed people to live
together in cities.
• Government: Independent city-states wielded
political and economic control over the
surrounding countryside.
Sumerian Civilization
• Religion: Sumerian religion provided
answers to questions about life and the
universe.
• Social structure: The economy was based
on farming, barter, trade and industry. The
three major social groups were nobles,
commoners, and slaves.
Sumerian Civilization
• Writing: Sumerians created a cuneiform
system of writing.
• Art: Sumerians produced epic poems,
fine metalwork, and elaborate
architecture.
The Standard of Ur
Height: 7.5 inches
Length: 23 inches
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/t/the_standard_of_ur.aspx
Where could we look to try and discover
this time period – beyond the textbook?
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Artifacts (Standard of Ur)
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Read together from Human Adventure, Volume I,
pages 21-22.
Laws (Code of Hammurabi)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/cVczEWH0RVm_dFZtJBAjRw
Stories (Epic of Gilgamesh)
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BBC:
Later read pages 19-20.
All of these examples offer insight – reveal
aspects - of what is explained in the text.
Characteristics of Mesopotamia
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Physical landscape: Geography is destiny!
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Flat, easy to invade. Few resources.
Unpredictable – must be controlled – flooded in
April (before winter crops were harvested, after
summer sowing of crops – therefore the floods
were destructive.)
Cuneiform: “wedge-shaped”
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Preservation of documents on clay
Uses: Trade, Astronomy, Mathematics, Calculation of
time (12-month year, 24-hour day, 60-minute hour)
Political Structure
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Old Akkadian (ca.
2340-2200 BC)
Ruling classes based often on military prowess
Social Structure
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Patriarchy: “rule of the father”
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Right to sell wives, children
Social classes based on accumulation of wealth.
http://cdli.ucla.edu/collections/oi/oi.html