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The First Civilizations
The Mesopotamians, 3000-1000 B.C.
The Sumerian and Akkadian Period,
2800-2150 B.C.
Mesopotamians, 3000-1000
B.C.
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Mesopotamia originally not
suited for human settlement
Humans must modifications
to the region
Mesopotamia means
between “the two rivers”
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
120° summers and only 10
inches of rainfall a year
Mesopotamians, 3000-1000
B.C.
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The region that was located
along the waterways in
Mesopotamia was called the
Fertile Crescent
Fertile Crescent had yearly
deposit of fertile silt that
provided rich topsoil
Rivers provided abundance of
fish and attracted animals
Mesopotamians, 3000-1000
B.C.
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Bronze Age born with
smelting of copper and
tin
Swamp marshes around
rivers produced reeds for
fuel and swamp mud
made bricks
Abundance of plants
provide food for domestic
animals
Mesopotamians, 3000-1000
B.C.
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Mesopotamia lacked resources like stone, lumber and
minerals
Humans adapted to region by using river ways to
move natural resources
The development of sailed boats and the wheel
helped in movement of resources across water and
land
Villages settled along river ways and lead to the
development of urban areas around 3,000 B.C.
Region in constant struggle because of water ways
and location
Mesopotamians, 3000-1000
B.C.
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Religion
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Polytheistic any religion that
recognizes more than one
god
Ziggurat an ancient
Mesopotamian temple which
served as a temple,
government offices, and a
storehouse for grain
Worshipped gods for
protection, help and no
hope for an afterlife
Mesopotamians, 3000-1000
B.C.
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Social structure developed
in city states
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Military and religious
leaders became social and
political elites
Skilled workers
Slaves and peasants
worked for elites
Male dominance in family
Mesopotamians, 3000-1000
B.C.
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Economy
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Trade routes developed
along the water ways
Both the Tigris and the
Euphrates reached
different markets because
of their locations
Cities along river ways
became heavily involved
in commerce
The Sumerians
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Modified environment by draining swamps,
irrigation and building drainage canals
Floods and droughts still devastated region
Introduce cuneiform, a system of writing using
reeds to make impressions
Cuneiform introduced management of
government, communication and record
keeping
The Sumerians
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Sumerian Religion
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Worshipped at a ziggurat, a
large temple complex
where daily government
business was addressed
Government and religious
beliefs replace loyalty to
one’s tribe or clan
Ziggurat size was attempt
to reach gods
Statue of god was
worshipped there and it
served a symbolic purpose
The Sumerians
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City Life in Sumeria
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Mud brick houses
40% of grain used to
make ale
Vegetables, fish, figs,
dates and cheese
part of diet
Parents arranged
marriages
Adultery a punishable
crime
The Sumerians
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Women’s Roles
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Women worked as
tavern owners,
merchants and wine
sellers
Laws distinguished
between respectable
women and prostitutes
Slave women clothes
distinguished them as
slaves
The Sumerians
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Large city states
develop like Ur, Uruk
and Kish
They were constantly at
war for water, trade
routes and influence
Developed a large
trade in textiles,
animals, stone and
bronze
Sumerians considered
the earliest civilization
The Sumerians
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Sumerian Religion
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Polytheistic – any
religion that
recognizes more than
one god
Natural disasters act of
gods
Devotion to gods
would spare them
disasters not an
afterlife
Akkadian Period, 2800-2150
B.C.
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Sargon I (2300 B.C.)
conquered Sumerians
and saw an empire that
stretched from Persian
Gulf to Mediterranean
Used religion to unify
Sumerians and
Akkadians
Sargon places daughter,
Enheduanna as high
priestess of Sumerian
and Akkadian gods
Akkadian Period, 2800-2150
B.C.
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Enheduanna successfully
linked the two religions and
set a tradition of daughters
serving as high priestess
Gods are ranked by
importance (powerful to
weak)
People believe that their
world reflects the ranking
of peoples (king, nobles
and peasants)
Akkadian Period, 2800-2150
B.C.
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Cuneiform, earliest written
language, developed by
accountants which was
created by using a reed
on a clay tablet
Scribes were the only
people that knew how to
read and write cuneiform
Used for inventory, payroll
of soldiers, property
ownership and
correspondence between
monarchs