Download Was Ancient Sumner a Civilization?

•By
studying
artifacts that were
found in the mid
1800’s,
archaeologists have
discovered tablets,
pottery, and
artifacts in
Mesopotamia.
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One artifact the Standard of Ur was found where the
ancient city of Ur stood. It was made from wood,
lapis lazuli (Semi Precious Blue Stone) , and shell
which probably was traded because it is not found
close by.
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Historians have stated that
these characteristics make a
culture a civilization:
Stable Food Supply
Social Structure
System of Government
Religious System
Highly developed culture
including arts such as painting,
architecture, music, and
literature.
Advances in technology
Highly developed Written
language
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The Plow
A society has a stable food
supply if they have
enough food for its people
to survive.
The Sumerians invented a
plow to till the soil to
prepare it for planting and
this invention most
affected the food supply.
The Sumerians made the
plow out of wood and
used animals such as the
Ox to pull it, which are still
used today.
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Ancient city of Uruk
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Civilizations need a social
structure with different jobs
and social levels.
Archaeologists have found
that the Sumner had an
upper class made up of
priests, landowners, and
government officials.
They lived near the center of
the city with two story
houses.
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Upper Class Sumerian
House
The Middle Class was the
common class, which included
merchants, craftspeople,
farmers, fisherman, and the
army. They lived in small brick
houses at the edge of the city.
At the bottom of the social
structure were slaves who had
no property and lived in their
owners homes.
Sumerian King
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The Sumerian city states were
ruled by kings and the
Sumerians believed that those
kings were chosen by the gods to
rule in their place.
The Kings has the responsibilities
of leading army, enforcing laws,
and having temples built
Scribes were a person who
helped record laws.
The Sumerians were the first
people to develop a system of
written laws.
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In Sumner religious beliefs influenced every
part of social life.
Sumerians expressed their religious beliefs by
building temples and religious towers called
ziggurats.
Ziggurats
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Sumerian Lyre
The arts began to thrive in
Sumner, with Sumerian
metalworkers making
weapons, cups, jewelry,
and decorative items.
Music also began to surface
with drums, pipes, and
Lyres (harp) paying tribute
to the gods.
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Sumerian Arch
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Technology began to advance
with the Sumerians and
discovered the wheel and
with that invention invented
wheeled carts, and chariots
for warfare.
Another technological
advance was the Arch in
architecture, which added
strength Sumerian buildings.
Cuneiform
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Archaeologists also
discovered a written
language called
cuneiform, which also
showed that the
Sumerians were not
prehistoric.
Sumerians produced
cuneiform with a wedge
shaped stylus (pointed
tool) on clay tablets.
Cuneiform used as many
as 2,000 symbols, but
eventually reduced the
number for 700 for their
written language.