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Mesopotamia (UR)
Unlocking The Past.
George Paige
& Adrian Abbott
Introduction
 Mesopotamia
(Otherwise Know As
UR.)
 Was the worlds first
civilisation.
 It was situated in
modern day Iraq.
 Mesopotamia means
“The Land Before
Rivers.”
More About Mesopotamia……..
 6500 years ago there was a
civilization in between the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers located in
Modern day Iraq.
 The area was known as
Mesopotamia and the city was
called Ur. The southern half of
Ur was called Sumer.
 Ur was near the river Nile, and
this enabled farmers to have a
healthy crop.
The Ziggurats
 The Ziggurats was a
pyramid constructed of
sun-baked mud bricks,
which were then
colourfully decorated
with glazed firebricks. In
each Ziggurat had a
God or Goddess, and
only Priests and
Priestesses were
allowed in because of
their high status.
Cuneiform – First Writing System
 Cuneiform was the
worlds first writing
system, created of
course by the
Sumerians.
Cuneiform means
wedge shaped
because of the pen
used. The pen was
called a stylus, and
it was made of reed.
The Tablet Houses – Part One
 Cuneiform was learnt in
Sumerian schools
called eddubas or tablet
houses. The students
who went there were
usually sons of very
wealthy citizens.
 Students worked very
hard at Sumerian
schools, and the school
day started from early
morning until early
evening. Students were
taught reading, writing,
and maths. The
teachers strictly
regimented the
students. For example,
a mistake on a clay
tablet could mean a
beating.
The Tablet Houses – Part Two
 All the forfeit and schooling
was worth it. Once a student
effectively finished twelve
years of school, he was an
official scribe, or writer. This
was a important position in
Sumerian culture. Scribes
were very expensive in order
to continue and recover the
evidence keeping that the
Sumerians considered so
very necessary.
 The Sumerians also used
cylinder seals. They were
made out of stone, and they
were used as ID. For
example, in order to identify
himself, a Sumerian would
roll his cylinder seal across a
wet clay tablet. This would
make an imprint on the tablet
that would become
permanent by sun-baking or
kiln-firing. Cylinder seals
were used as signatures are
used today.
Thank You!
Adrian and Myself would like to
thank you for acknowledging our
presentation.
Thank You for being so patient.