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Early Civilizations Bellwork
 What were the 5 characteristics
of civilizations discussed class?
Objective
 WWBAT: Discuss the
emergence of Mesopotamian
Civilization and the
contributions of the Sumerians
Interactive Notebook Setup
 8/17/2015
 Development of Mesopotamia
 This will be one page
Emergence of Civilization
Development of Economy
Rise of the Cities
Sumerian Civilization
Agricultural Revolution
 Invented plow and trained oxen
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to pull it
Used fertilizer
Invented the loom (to make
cloth)
Invented the wheel, bricks,
calendars
Warfare began as people
competed for land and water
Believed in gods and
goddesses
Emergence of Civilization
 Early farming villages developed into
complex societies known as
civilizations
Emergence of Civilization
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Earliest civilizations were in
river valleys
1) Nile River in northeastern
Africa
2) Tigris & Euphrates rivers in
Middle East
3) Indus River in India
4) Huang He in China
Men & women did specific
jobs
There was a form of
government
Had values and beliefs
Emergence of Civilization
 Economy = the way people
use the environment to meet
their material needs
 Economy of early civilizations
depended on farmers growing
surplus food
 Built irrigation systems for
crops (dug ditches & canals)
 Let farmers grow more food
because they didn’t have to
wait for rain
Development of Economy
 Artisans (workers
skilled in a craft)
became more
productive & creative
 Metalworkers
created bronze, a
very strong metal
Development of Economy
 Started to trade over long distances
 Was the greatest cause of cultural
interaction
 Led to cultural diffusion
The exchange of goods, ideas, and
customs between different cultures
The Rise of Cities
 Government officials oversaw
the collection & distribution of
crops
 Professional soldiers were
hired to guard the territory &
trade routes
 Led by a king
The Rise of Cities
 Craft specialization led to
inventions and developments
 Writing system was first invented by
priests as a way of recording
religious gifts
Systems of Values
 Priests recorded
myths
Explained how the
world was formed
Told of how people
came into being
Mesopotamia means
The the
Tigris
and Euphrates
Rivers
“land between
rivers”
& is
flooded
once
per year, leaving
often called the
“Fertile
Crescent”
behindof
fertile
soil ideal for farming
or as the “Cradle
Civilization”
The first civilization developed
in the Fertile Crescent: Sumer
But, surrounding deserts & the lack of natural
barriers attracted outsiders to Mesopotamia
made the Sumerians vulnerable to attack
Tigris River
Euphrates River
The Sumerian Civilization
 People from Asia
arrived in Mesopotamia
 Formed 12 city-states =
the city and the land
surrounding it
Considered the world’s
1st cities
The Sumerian Civilization
 Created
ziggurats
 Stepped
pyramids with a
temple at the top
The Great Ziggurat of Ur
The Sumerian Civilization
 Sumerians
shared common
culture, language,
and religion
 City-states
governed
themselves
The Sumerian Civilization
 City-states were theocracies
Kings served as both government
leaders AND high priests
 Laws regulated the roles of
women & men
 Men had far more rights
The Sumerian Civilization
–At the top of society were priests, and
then kings
–In the middle were skilled workers, like
merchants
–At the bottom, were common farmers
& slaves
The Sumerian
Civilization
 Practiced polytheism belief
in more than one god
 Each city-state had its own
god
 Negative outlook on life
and the afterlife
 Believed gods were selfish
and had no regard for
humans
The Sumerian
Civilization
 Cuneiform was
Sumerian
system of
writing
The symbols
represented
complex ideas
The Sumerian
Civilization
 Scribes were
trained to read &
write documents
and stories
Epic of
Gilgamesh =
oldest story in
the world
Cuneiform: “Wedge-Shaped” Writing
Deciphering Cuneiform
Mesopotamian Trade
“The Cuneiform
World”
Sumerian Inventions
1. Wagon Wheel
2. Arch
3. Potter’s Wheel
4. Sundial
5. 12-month
Calendar
6. Metal Plow
 Sumerians (ancient people from
Mesopotamia) wrote their myths
on 7 clay tablets
Mesopotamia Bellwork
 True/False: Sumer was a series of
unified City-States with common
language, religion, ect
 FALSE
 What were the first things recorded in
cuneiform?
 Religions Gifts and offers
Objective
 WWBAT: Go to the
computer lab to gather info
about Mesopotamian culture
and economy
First Empires
 Cycle of Civilization in Mesopotamia
 Nomads come in and conquer sedentary
people
 Conquerors assimilate local sedentary
culture
 New civilization blends cultures, thrives
for a while
 “New” civilization grows old, invaded by
nomads
 Akkad Empire
 First Empire
 Sargon conquered all of Sumer and
First Empires
 After about 200 years the Akkad
Empire began collapsing
Circa 2334 B.C. — Circa 2154
B.C.
 Two major groups emerged the
Assyrians in the North and the
Babylonians in the South
The Babylonians
 In the mid 18th
Century BCE
Hammurabi, King
of Babylon
conquered most of
Mesopotamia
Who was Hammurabi?
• Member of the
Amorite dynasty
• King of Babylon
from 1792-1750
BCE
• United all of
Mesopotamia under
the Babylonian
Empire
Relief of Hammurabi and the god
Shamash
Hammurabi’s Code
 Laws for Babylonian society
 Tool to unify expanding empire
 “That the strong might not injure
the weak”
 Allowed everyone to know the
rules
What does it look like?