Download Aim #4: What were the characteristics of the world`s first civilization?

An artwork showing a Sumerian man playing a lyre
• Which feature of civilization includes music?
• What can we learn about early civilizations from musical instruments?
Terms, People, and Places
Fertile Crescent:
Mesopotamia:
Sumer:
The Epic of Gilgamesh:
Hierarchy:
Ziggurat:
Cuneiform:
Lesson Objectives:
• Understand how geography influenced the development of
civilization in the Fertile Crescent.
• Outline the main features of Sumerian civilization.
• Explain how the advances in learning made by the
Sumerians left a lasting legacy for later peoples to build on.
Summary
“City-States of Ancient Sumer”
Independent Sumerian city-states developed in Mesopotamia,
an area of fertile land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Sumerians invented the earliest form of writing, known as
cuneiform, and made great strides in mathematics and
astronomy.
Aim #5: How did the civilization of the Ancient
Near East develop?
Geography Influences Fertile Crescent Civilization
• early civilizations arose in Fertile
Crescent, a region in ME named
for
• problem:
• As a result, FC became
• Mesopotamia (“bet. the Rivers”Tigris & Euphrates) is a region in
the FC
• 3300 B.C.E. world’s first
civilization developed in S.E.
Mesopotamia-
Developing Along the Rivers
• Controlling 2 Rivers brought
• rivers, however, brought
• “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, Sumerian
• In order to survive & protect farmland,
villagers had
built
Sumerians (3300BCE-2270 BCE) Build Thriving Cities
• lacked many natural resources
(timber & stone), had to make most
of what they had
• Traded along rivers & through
desert to distant lands of Egypt &
India brought great wealth to
Sumer
might have had world’s first
wheeled vehicles, metal plow, &
12-month calendar
Checkpoint
What geographic characteristics made the Fertile Crescent a
good place for civilization to develop?
Sumerian Religion
• polytheistic, gods
• Gods favored truth & justice –
• highest duty was to
• Built Ziggurats to
Sumerians Invent Writing
• first
Created in 3200 B.C.E. – later called
used to
scribes had to go through years of
difficult schooling to acquire their skills
Lasting Legacy of Sumer
• 2500-1900 B.C.E., neighboring armies
replaced Sumerian civilization, but
• Sumerian oral narratives were written
down
The Epic of Gilgamesh began as an oral story,
but Akkadians & Babylonians wrote it down
Babylonians used
created calendars (Sumerian study of
constellation), developed basic Algebra &
Geometry from Sumerians
invented the 60 minute hour, 360 degree circle
(a numbering system based on 6)
• Newcomers
Akkadians, Babylonians, & Assyrians
Checkpoint
What legacy did Sumer leave behind?