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First Civilizations/River Valleys
Why did first civilizations arise in river valleys? good farming conditions supplied
food for large numbers of people, fish and fresh water, and easy to travel and trade
Why was trade important? provided way for goods and ideas to move from place to
place
Why did governments form, and what was their purpose(s)?
Important Vocabulary
make plans and decisions about matters of common concern.
civilizations
Leaders took charge of food supplies and building projects, made
laws to keep order and assembled armies to fend off enemies.
Because people had more time (instead of worrying about basic needs), what sort
of things developed? religions and arts
What does it mean that early civilizations had a class structure? people held
different places in society depending on how what work they didi and how much wealth
or power they had.
Civilizations: complex societies that have cities, organized governments, art, religion,
class divisions, and a writing system.
City-States
Important Vocabulary
What were city-states? independent state made up of a city and
city-states
the surrounding land and villages with its own government
Why did they develop? they were isolated from each other due to
geography (mudflats and scorching desert
In what ways did city-states protect themselves, and why was this protection
needed? surrounded themselves with a wall made of river mud because they were
often went to war with one another to gain glory and control more territory
Religion
Were Sumerians monotheistic or polytheistic? polytheistic
Important Vocabulary
Explain. They believe in many gods
ziggurat
Describe ziggurats. grand temple that means “mountain of
god” or “hill of heaven.” had tiers like a square wedding cake.
The ziggurat dominated the city with a shrine or special place of
worship that only priests and priestesses could enter
Initially, who held the most power in Sumer? priests and priestesses
How did this change? power lated moved into the hands of kings who earned their
position from being a war hero and then passing power down through their family
(hereditary)
Sumerian Society
*You will need to use pages 18 and 20 to complete this section
What is the difference between Sumer and Mesopotamia?
Important Vocabulary
Mesopotamia is the whole area located in the Fertile Crescent.
Mesopotamia
Sumer is the southern region of Mesopotamia.
Fertile Crescent
Where was this civilization located? modern day southern Iraq
Sumer
between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
irrigation
Describe the climate and any efforts made to adapt to this
artisan
climate. Mesopotamia had hot, dry climate. In the spring, the
rivers flooded often, leaving rich soil, but flooding was
unpredictable. Farmed learned to adapt by building dams and channels to control the
seasonal floods.
Explain the difference in housing (what were these made out of...see p. 20)
between kings and ordinary people. Kings lived in large palaces, ordinary people
lived in small mud-brick houses.
Describe the class structure in Sumer. Upper class = kings, priests, and
government officials. Middle class = artisans, merchants, farmers, and fisherman.
Lower class = enslaved people who worked on farms or in the temples.
How were the roles of men different from roles of women?
Fertile Crescent: a curving strip of land that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to
the Persian Gulf
Writing/Literature
What is considered the Sumerians greatest contribution? writing
Why is considered to be this and why did Sumerians develop it? writing is
important because it helps people keep records and pass on their ideas. Sumerians
created writing to keep track of business deals and other events.
Describe cuneiform. consisted of hundreds of wedge shaped marks cut into damp
clay tablets with a sharp-ended reed
Who were scribes, and what were their roles? mostly boys from wealthy families
that learned how to write after years of training. Scribes were record keepers. These
positions were honored in society.
What was The Epic of Gilgamesh, and what is it about? world’s oldest know story
(poem) about the hero Gilgamesh, a king who travels around the work with a friend and
performs good deeds.
Education & Technology
Complete the following chart in your notes:
Important Vocabulary
edubba
Inventions
Purpose
irrigation
Sumerians built walls, waterways, and ditches to bring
water to their fields allowing farmers to grow plenty of
food and support a large population
wagon wheel
helped carry people and goods from place to place
plow
made farming easier
sailboat
replaced muscle power with wind power
geometry
measure fields and put up buildings
number system
based on 60, created 60-min hour, 60-sec minute, and
360-degree circle
astronomy
watched skies to learn the best times to plant crops and
to hold religious festivals.
writing
What other three things can be attributed to the Sumerians? Recorded positions of
planets and stars, developed a 12- month calendar based on cycles of the moon, and
writing (cuneiform); 60-second minute, 60-minute hour, 360-degree circle
How is education today different from that of the edubbas? Edubba’s were the
world’s first school for boys only where they studied reading, writing, and mathematics
and trained to be scribe. Today, both boys and girls go to school, to study reading,
writing, math, and many other subjects.
Sargon vs. Hammurabi
Who were the Akkadians? people who lived in northern
Important Vocabulary
Mesopotamia
Sargon
Who was the king of the Akkadians? Sargon
Akkadians
As king, what did he accomplish in 2340 BCE, and how long did
Hammurabi
this last? Conquered all of Mesopotamia and set up the world’s first
Babylon
empire that lasted for more than 200 years.
empire
When and why was Babylon built, and who became king?
Babylon was build late 1700s BC near the Euphrates River by
Hammurabi, their king, when he began conquering cities to the north and south. It
became a great city of trade.
Summarize Hammurabi’s code. collection of laws that he believed were the best
laws form each city-state he conquered and put them into one code. The codes cover
crimes, farming, and business activities, marriage, and the family. Everyone followed
the code.
Empire: a group of many different lands under one ruler