Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Ancient Mesopotamia ca. 3500-550 BC (Sumer, Babylonia, Ur) Geographic Characteristics This civilization lived in the Fertile Crescent. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers would flood and leave silt deposits. Sumer is the ancient region of Mesopotamia Theocracy Ruled by priest-kings. Government Each city or city-state had its own ruler. King Hammurabi created Hammurabi’s Code (laws). Polytheistic Religion Each city had its own god. At the center of the city was built a temple or ziggurat built to that god. Traded mainly with other cities. Economic System Social Structures: Job Specialization Used a system of barter. They used barley for local trade but because it was so heavy they used lead, copper, bronze, tin, silver, and gold to “buy” things outside of their area. Priest, Scribes, Merchants, Farmers, Fishermen, Soldiers, Civil Servants, Laborers, Craftsmen Social Structures: Social Classes Technologies Agricultural Practices and Products Enduring Influence Upper Class: Kings, Priests/Priestesses, Scribes Middle Class: Craftsman, Merchants and Civil Servants Lower Class: Laborers and Farmers Bottom: Slaves First to use the concept of zero in numbers. Used a decimal system and place value Used the arch and wheel First chemists to make soap, herbal remedies, Writing on clay tablets using symbols, later called Cuneiform. Used a number system with the base 60 (60 minute hour, 60 second minute) Divided a circle into 360 degrees. Silt Irrigation: small basins and system of dikes Crops: wheat, barley Domesticated: sheep, pigs, goats Modern day code of law, wheels, plows and sailboats. We live in cities. Our use of a twelve-month calendar Advanced ideas in mathematics (zero, place value)