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MESOPOTAMIAN GEOGRAPHY & SUMER Ms. Engelberth Do Now ◦What do you know about the geography of Mesopotamia? ◦Who were the Sumerians? What are they remembered for? Geography leads to Civilization ◦ Mesopotamia located in Southwest Asia, stretching from modern day Turkey to Iraq to the Persian Gulf ◦ Also known as the Fertile Crescent; why? ◦ Mesopotamia=“Land between Rivers” ◦ Tigris and Euphrates Geography leads to Civilization ◦ Flooding rivers produced fertile soil ◦ Fertile soil allowed people to settle and develop ◦ Flooding also swept away animals, crops, and homes ◦ Flooding and drought had to be controlled ◦ Basins (collected rainfall) ◦ Irrigation canals (carried water) ◦ Dikes, aka dams (controlled flooding) ◦ Building these projects required organization which led to the first governments and civilizations Sumer ◦First Civilization in Mesopotamia ◦Lasted for over 1,000 years ◦Responsible for many cultural achievements that still impact our lives today ◦Such as…? Polytheism Technology Built Cities Sumerian Achievements Mathematics First Writing System Sumerian Achievements, Part 1 ◦Polytheistic Religion ◦Built Ziggurats, temples with shrines on top to honor the gods Sumerian Achievements ◦City-States ◦“city-state”: an independent entity made up of a single city and surrounding territory ◦ Modern examples include Singapore, Monaco, and Vatican City ◦Sumerian cities did not unite under one ruler ◦12-18 separate cities, each with own ruler, own government, and own god/goddess Sumerian Achievements ◦Technology ◦Invented the wheel and the plow ◦Metal working, glass and lamp making, textile weaving, flood control, water storage, and irrigation ◦Developed from use of copper, bronze, and gold to iron Sumerian acheivements ◦Mathematics ◦Numerical system based on the number 60 ◦ 60-minute hour, the 24hour day, 360-degree circle ◦ Sumerian calendar was based on the 7-day week ◦What are some everyday expressions we owe to Sumerian (and Babylonian) mathematics? Sumerian Achievements ◦Writing ◦To record business accounts, laws, literature (Gilgamesh) ◦Scribes=professional writers ◦Cuneiform—wedge-shaped symbols on clay tablets ◦Earliest known system of writing