Download Name________________________ Ms. Trout

Name________________________
Ms. Trout
Unit 3 Fertile/Coastal Crescent Part 1: Chapter 3 Mesopotamia (p. 54-64)
Lesson Essential Question 1 – Where are the important features/bodies of water
located on a map of Mesopotamia?
A. Locate and label items on the Mesopotamia map. (See maps we
practiced)
Chapter Focus (p. 55)
Why Its Important
B. Where did the earliest civilization develop? The earliest known
civilization developed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
C. What was the “land between the rivers” called in ancient times? Today?
In ancient times, it was called Mesopotamia. Today, it is called Iraq.
D. Why was Mesopotamia called the “cradle of civilization”? The people
of Mesopotamia developed so many new ideas.
Section 1: The Rise of Sumer (p. 55)
Lesson Essential Question 2 – How did the Sumerians control the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers?
Lesson Essential Question 3 – What uses did the Sumerians have for the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers?
E. Who were the Sumerians? They were a short, stocky, black-haired
people who settled in southern Mesopotamia.
F. The Sumerians were the first people to do what? The Sumerians were
the first people to control their environment.
G. What did the Tigris and Euphrates do each spring? The rivers would
flood.
H. How did the Sumerians control their environment?
1. When the floodwaters went down, natural levees remained behind.
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2. Define levee: Raised areas of soil
3. The Sumerians built the levees higher and used them to keep back
the floodwaters.
4. When the land became dry in the summer, they poked holes in the
levees.
5. The river water that ran through the holes made channels in the
soil.
6. The Sumerians made the channels larger until they became canals.
7. They used water in the canals to water their crops. (Irrigation)
I. How did the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers make the
Sumerians more organized? The irrigation system took much planning.
People had to learn how to work together. The Sumerians set up
governments to make laws so they would know what was expected of
them.
J. What building materials did the Sumerians use to build their cities?
Why? They used sun-dried, mud-brick because there was little stone and
timber to build with.
City-States (p. 57)
Lesson Essential Question 4 – What was government, religion, and family life
like in Sumer?
K. Define city-state: a city and the surrounding farmland
L. Describe a Sumerian city-state:
 Walls – Each city was surrounded by a wall of sun-dried brick
 Gates – The wall had bronze gates. Gates were open during the day
and closed at night.
 Streets – Narrow, winding streets led to the city center.
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 Upper Class – Priests and merchants; lived near the city center; twostory homes
 Middle Class – government officials, artisans, shopkeepers; onestory homes
 Lower Class – farmers, unskilled workers, and people who made
their living by fishing; smaller one-story homes
M. Define artisan: skilled worker
Religious and Family Life (p. 57-58)
N. Define ziggurat: Mesopotamian temple
O. Where was the ziggurat located? They were located at the center of each
city.
P. Describe what a ziggurat looked like: It consisted of a series of square
levels. Each level was smaller than the one below.
Q. The courts and ziggurat were the center of Sumerian life. List what
activities took place at the ziggurat and courts.
1. Artisans worked there.
2. Children went to school there.
3. Farmers, artisans, and traders stored their goods there.
4. The poor were fed there.
5. All great events were celebrated there.
R. Describe Sumerian religion.
1. The Sumerians believed that all the forces of nature, like rain and
flooding, were alive.
2. Since they could not control these forces, the Sumerians viewed
them as gods.
S. Define polytheism: The belief in many gods
T. Describe Sumerian priests.
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1. The Sumerians thought that only the priests knew the will of the
gods.
2. Sumerian priests were very powerful.
3. The priests controlled and administered all the land, and they ran
the schools.
U. Describe Sumerian schools.
1. They were only for the sons of the rich.
2. Poorer boys either learned a trade, like pottery or metal working,
or worked in the fields.
3. They were located near the ziggurat and courts.
4. They were known as tablet houses because their main purpose was
to teach students how to write.
V. Define cuneiform: Sumerian writing
W. Why was writing developed?
1. People had to keep track of business deals.
2. When people lived in villages, people could remember business
transactions.
3. As cities grew, there were too many people and goods to
remember.
X. Define scribe: writer
Y. What was life like for Sumerian women?
1. Women did have some rights.
2. They could buy and sell property.
3. They could run businesses and own and sell enslaved people.
Priest-Kings (p. 59)
Z. Define priest-king: a combination of Sumerian priests and kings
AA. Who was Gilgamesh?
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1. One of the most famous priest-kings
2. Tales about Gilgamesh are the oldest in the world
3. One tale is similar to the story of Noah and the ark
Section 2: Later Mesopotamian Empires (p. 61, 63)
Sargon I (p. 61)
BB. What did Sargon I create? He created the world’s first empire.
CC. Define empire: group of states under one ruler
Hammurabi of Babylon (p. 61, 63)
Lesson Essential Question 5 – Why was Hammurabi and his Code of Law
important?
DD. Who was Hammurabi? He was a Babylonian king. He conquered
Akkad and Sumer and became ruler of a great new empire.
EE.
What changes, or reforms, did Hammurabi make that were important?
1. He improved irrigation systems by building and repairing canals.
2. He changed religion by raising the god of Babylon above all other
gods. This is going to unite the people.
3. He reorganized the tax system.
4. Hammurabi began a government housing program.
FF. Define reform: improvements or changes
GG. What reform was Hammurabi best known for? Code of Law or Code
of Hammurabi
HH. How did Hammurabi create his code of law? At first, each city-state
had its own code. Hammurabi took what he felt were the best laws from
each code, and created one code that everyone in the empire was to live.
II.
What were some of the main points of Hammurabi’s code of law?
1. Judges and witnesses who were not honest were punished.
2. A person was believed innocent until proven guilty.
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3. Once proven guilty, a person was punished.
4. Punishments ranged from fines to death.
5. Members of the upper class generally were punished more severely.
6. An eye for an eye was one law.
JJ. What was Hammurabi’s reign known as? It was known as the Golden
Age of Babylon
Section 3: Contributions (p. 63-64)
Lesson Essential Question 6 – What were the major contributions of
Mesopotamia and what were their effects?
KK. What was the result of Mesopotamia’s influence on other
civilizations? Inventions, customs, and ideas of the Sumerian and
Babylonian cultures were copied and improved upon by other peoples.
1. Writing – The oldest written records known are Sumerian. The
Sumerians were the first people to write down their laws.
Sumerian cuneiform became the model for other people’s writing.
2. Wheel – Helped transportation
3. Plow – Made it possible for farmers to grow more food with less
effort
4. Sailboat – Replaced muscle power with wind power
5. Calendar – The people of Mesopotamia developed a 12-month
calendar based on the cycles of the moon. The calendar marked
the times for religious festivals and planting.
6. Math – The people developed a number system based on 60. From
this came the 60-minute hour, 60-second minute, and the 360degree circle.
7. Water Clock – A clock that was operated by controlled drops of
water.
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