Download Scrapbook text from Block II

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Sumerians invented the 12 month
calendar, the wheel, and the 7 day
week.
Sumerians invented geometry,
multiplication and division and the
360 degree circle.
Irrigation canals invented by
Mesopotamians are still used
today in Eastern Washington to
grow wheat.
The wheel was invented and used
by Mesopotamians for
transportation and traveling like
we do today.
The Mesopotamians lived between
two great rivers called the Tigris
and Euphrates in a fertile land with
lots of water and good soil.
Floods brought fertile soil into the
farmlands so there were good
crops and enough surplus so they
could specialize.
There was a god for every element
on the earth like the wind, earth,
sun gods.
To honor gods they had a ziggurat
in the middle of the city-state
which served as a temple.
Mesopotamians created many inventions
that we still use today. For example, the 12
month calendar, the seven day week, the
wheel, the 360 degree circle, geometry to
measure land, multiplication and division
tables, irrigation and pottery. The most
important invention was writing, which they
called cuneiform. All civilizations that came
after the Mesopotamians base their own
writing system on theirs. This creative
thinking lead to many other inventions that
we still use today.
Religion was one of the most important
parts of Mesopotamian life. The priests,
who climbed to the top of the ziggurat,
would spend their day worshipping the
gods. Each city-state worshipped a
specific god that was thought to control
one of the earth’s elements such as fire or
water. This made them polytheistic,
which means worshipping many gods.
They created art and did sacred dances for
to please the gods. The king was
supposedly chosen by the gods to rule the
city-state. Religious beliefs made an
impact on all areas of Mesopotamian life.
The land between two rivers was
Mesopotamia. This land had rich soil so it
was easier to grow crops. When the rivers
flooded it brought fertile soil called silt to
deposit in the valleys for the crops to grow.
The sunny weather was helpful for farming
too. Since there were so many crops, people
could start specializing. Not everyone had to
farm so there could be artisans and
merchants, scribes and musicians. Irrigation
made it possible to get water out to the dry,
hot desert so it seems that geography did not
stop the Mesopotamians for creating a
powerful civilization.
LAND OF THE
FERTILE CRESCENT