Download City States of Ancient Sumer - Warrior Run School District

City States of Ancient Sumer
Section 1 Vocab
Fertile Crescent
Mesopotamia
Sumer
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Hierarchy
Ziggurat
Cuneiform
Evolved
LEQ: What were the characteristics of the world’s first civilizations?
Geography Influences Fertile Crescent Civilization (pages 30-31)
Given the physical environment in which the Fertile Crescent lies, why would Mesopotamia be a
reasonable place for civilizations to arise?
◦ The rivers and nearness of the Persian Gulf made it more favorable to sustaining large
populations than the mountains and deserts nearby
Geographic Challenges
What geographic challenges do you think the early Sumerians may have faced?
◦ They had to learn to control the flooding waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; they had
to build with clay because they lacked timber or stone
Sumerian Civilization Takes Shape (pages 32-33)
In Sumer, which group was larger- artisans or peasant farmers? What does this indicate about how
the society supported itself?
◦ Peasant farmers made up the majority of the population because the society was largely
dependent on agriculture
Complex Government Unfolds
◦ One Ruler:
maintained the city, led the army and enforced laws, employed scribes to collect
taxes and keep records
Chief ceremony of the gods and performed ceremonies to please them
Sumerians Structure Their Society
Social Hierarchy (system of ranking groups)
o Highest Class
 Ruling family, leading officials, and high priests
o Middle Class
 Lesser priest, scribes, merchants, and artisans
o Lowest level
 Peasant farmers
Sumerians Practice Religion
How did religion shape the daily activities of Sumerians
◦ They focused on pleasing the many gods they worshiped (Polytheistic: worshipping many
gods), they built them Ziggurats
◦ Believed the gods controlled every aspect of life, especially forces of nature
◦ All people lived in a grim underworld after death
◦ Cuneiform (earliest form of writing)
Lasting Legacy of Sumer (page34)
Sumerian Society was replaced by 1900 B.C
◦ Later societies adopted cuneiform, astronomy, and mathematics