Download Ancient Mesopotamia CBRT Script (Revised DRAFT) 1 Good

Ancient Mesopotamia CBRT Script
(Revised DRAFT)
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Good evening, time travelers!
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All
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Thank you for booking a tour with...
Back to the Past Tours! [gesture] [sound
effect]
Please fasten your seatbelts...
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All
and set your dials for 5000 BC!
Five thousand BC! [sound effect] [sound
effect]
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Tonight’s destination—
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The “cradle of civilization” [gesture]
[sound effect] Ancient Mesopotamia!
What in the world is a Mesopotamia?
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All
Mesopotamia comes from 2 Greek words.
[gesture]
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Mesos means “Middle.”
Potamos means “River.”
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Mesopotamia! The land between two
rivers! [gesture] [sound effect]
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Mesopotamia was located between the
calming waters of the Tigris and Euphrates
All
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The What? [gesture]
The Tigris and Euphrates are rivers!
All
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Oh—The Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers.
Isn’t that part of what they called the Fertile
Crescent?
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Yes, the Fertile Crescent!
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All
Why?
Because the life sustaining rivers in this
crescent-shaped region made it a great
place for growing and living!
We are now approaching the capital of
ancient Babylonia...
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Baby-low-knee-uh?
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Baby lawns?
Yup! They had babies and low knees a long
time ago!
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NO! That’s Babylon—the capital of ancient
Babylonia! [gesture] [sound effect]
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Oh, Babylon, on the Euphrates river!
Isn’t that what I said?
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Where are we now? [gesture]
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Sumer in Southern Mesopotamia.
Sorry, I was at the snack bar grabbing some
hummus. What do people call this place?
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Sumer! It was one of the first civilizations
in 4000 BC. [gesture]
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Sumerians had a form of writing called
cuneiform.
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Cunieform? A writing system? [gesture]
This writing...
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Cuneiform...
was wedge shaped indentations...
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indent . . . what? [gesture]
Indentations—notches or cut-outs.
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They were wedge-shaped markings.
This writing was done on clay tablets.
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Cuneiform on clay tablets?
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Yes!
By the Sumerians.
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The Sumerians also made up a mathematical
system.
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A mathematical what? [gesture]
A way of counting based on the number 60.
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The number 60! [gesture] That’s a big
number! [sound effect]
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And then came another invention…the wheel!
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Ooooh…the wheel [gesture]
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All
Who invented the wheel?
The Sumerians invented the wheel.
[gesture]
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Sumerians sure were great artists! Just look
at those beautiful mosaics!
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Mosaics?
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Yes, they cut out thousands of colorful tiny
pieces and glued them together in designs.
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All
Hey, they are made of clay!
Wow! Clay Mosaic patterns! [gesture]
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Archaeologists discovered many interesting
things where Sumer used to be.
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What did they find? [gesture]
Mosaics, helmets and harps, jewelry, pottery,
and decorated tables too!
[sound effect]
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Hey what time is it?
I don’t know!
All
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Time to look at our sundial!
That’s right! The ancient Mesopotamians
created the first clock...
[sound effect] ...and the first calendar!
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Hey, look over there at all those steps!
Whoa! [gesture]
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Those look like some sort of ancient temple!
What is it called?
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A ziggurat.
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What???
A ziggurat.
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Cool.
Ziggurats were holy mountains where people
could get closer to the Gods
Well, time travelers, that concludes tonight’s
trip of many thousand years back to...
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(Star Wars tune)
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Meso
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Mesopotamia! [gesture]
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Who wouldn’t blame ya
for booking today?
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All
Meso
Mesopotamia! [gesture]
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The culture sustains ya!
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It’s worth what you pay!
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Brought from modern day Iraq right here to
you today!
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For all your time travel needs [gesture]
remember to call on ...
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Back to the Past Tours! [gesture] [sound
effect]