Download Mesopotamia Review

Mesopotamia Review
Geography of Mesopotamia
Objective- I can identify the geographic features of Mesopotamia and explain how humans adapted to them
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6
Grade Social Studies
1- Euphrates River
2- Tigris River
Mesopotamia
• Mesopotamia means: “The Land Between Two Rivers”
• This area is referred to as the “Cradle of Civilization”
– This is where the world’s first civilizations began because of the
discovery of agriculture
9- Fertile Crescent
The Fertile Crescent
• Outside of the Fertile Crescent, the land is
very dry and not good for growing crops
• The world’s first farmers started in the Fertile
Crescent, and that led to the world’s first
civilizations
• What the Ancients Left Us
Cuneiform
• The Sumerians developed the first system of
writing around 3300 BCE, called Cuneiform
• Sumerians wrote on clay tablets
– For the first time ever, humans were able to keep
written records
• Scribe- A professional writer
Impact of Cuneiform
• Cuneiform allowed the citizens of
Mesopotamia to keep records:
– Farmers could keep detailed records of crops
– Merchants could keep detailed records of
transactions
– Laws could be recorded and posted where
everyone could see
• Children went to school to learn how to read
and write cuneiform
Calendar
• The Mesopotamian people were able to create
a calendar in order to know when the floods
would arrive:
– As a result, farmers were able to harvest more food.
– This food surplus enabled the cities to support
larger populations.
– Having surplus food, which could be traded for
other goods, also helped Mesopotamians establish
trade with other civilizations.
Calendar
• These ancient calendars were lunar
(based on the cycle of the moon)
– Today, our calendar is based on the Earth's
movement around the sun.
• Over time, most kingdoms adopted the
Babylonian calendar
– Months were around 30 days long and
were named after the 12 constellations in
the zodiac
– The basis of the our modern calendar can
be seen in these divisions
The Plow
• The plow made it easier to break up the soil
for planting.
– Plows were made of iron and were pulled by oxen.
– By using these new tools farmers could do more
work and produce more food
The Wheel
• Before the wheel, people had to carry their
items by hand
• The wheel allowed humans to use carts
– This allowed people to carry more goods and
supplies
• Wheels allowed for quicker and easier
transportation
– Animals could also pull the carts
Irrigation Systems
• Irrigation systems were created to get water
to crops
• The people of Mesopotamia would dig a ditch
that brought water from the source to the
fields
– This allowed for more crops to be grown at once
The Ziggurat
The Ziggurat
• At the center of each city in Mesopotamia was
the Ziggurat.
• The Ziggurat was built to honor the main god
of the city.
• Ziggurats looked like step pyramids and at the
top was a shrine to the god.
Hammurabi’s Code
• This is considered to be the first set of laws.
• It was written by King Hammurabi.
• Some laws were harsh and penalties severe.
Time Period
• Sumer begins to form the first cities and
towns around 5000 BCE.
• Mesopotamia falls around 539 BCE.
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