Civilization in Sumer

Vocabulary Words

•  innovation • division of

labor •  surplus • monarchy • absolute

authority

• bureaucracy • pictograph • cuneiform •  social class • merchant

INNOVATION •  A new way of doing things.

Division of Labor •  The sharing of large jobs so that

each worker does only part of the work.

Surplus •  Amount of product that is left after

needs are met.

Monarchy •  The system of government in which a

king or queen rules.

Absolute Authority •  A system of government in which

one person has complete control.

Bureaucracy •  A governing group made up of

non-elected officials.

Pictograph •  A drawing or symbol used to

represent a word or idea.

Cuneiform    

•  A form of writing that uses symbols to stand for words.

• Social Class

Social Class •  Group of people in the same level

of importance in a society.

Merchant •  Someone who buys or sells

goods.

Vocabulary Review

1.  ____  Merchant  2.  ____  Division  of  labor  3.  _____  Social  Class  4.  _____  Monarchy  5.  ______  Absolute  

authority  6.  _____  Bureaucracy    

A.  A  system  of  government  in  which  a  king  or  queen  rules.  

B.  A  governing  group  made  up  of  non  elected  officials.  

C.  Having  complete  control.  

• One of the world’s first civilization formed in Mesopotamia in an area called Sumer.

•  Sumerians are known for several achievements and innovations.

•  Mesopotamia is known as an area between two rivers. •  The rivers are Tigris and Euphrates. •  Sumerians were able to grow

food because of the rich soil on the banks of the rivers.

Advances in Farming

•  Sumer got little rainfall so the people had to find ways to use the river water for their crops. •  They also had to find ways to

protect their crops from flooding (too much water) and drought (not enough water). •  They found ways to change the

rivers.

Advances in Farming • Sumerians built dikes and

dams to control the flooding of the rivers.

Advances in Farming  •  They filled reservoirs to help them store

water during the drought, and canals to bring water during the dry season.

Advances in Farming  •  They were one of the first people

to use wheeled carts to carry crops and other heavy loads.  

 

Advances in Farming  

•  Sumerians  used  division  of  labor  in  farming.  

Advances in Farming  •  Sumerians knew that they had to

produce enough food or else there would be disaster. •  They learned to be organized and

cooperate with each other.

1.  What 5 innovations did Sumerians use to help them in farming?

2.  Why was division of labor important in farming?

3.  How did wheeled carts help Sumerians in farming?

Government in Sumer • Sumerians had a monarchy. • Each city- state had a ruler

called en. • The en had absolute

authority.

The  en  held  an  absolute  power  

Each  city  state  had  the  en  -­‐  king  

Leading  the  military   Arranging  trade  

SeLling  arguments  

DirecMng  public  events  

Government in Sumer  

• Sumerian monarchs were considered to be great men that were chosen by gods.

Government in Sumer  •  Sumerians needed help to rule

over several lands and large areas so they created a bureaucracy. •  The officials were priests or

religious leaders.

Sumerian  rulers  created  first  known  

bureaucracy  

Religious  leaders  

priests  

Sumerian monarchs were called “great

men”

Governing  group  made  up  of  

appointed  officials  

Government in Sumer  

Bureaucratic officials

Choosing and marking lands

for farming

Distribute food to people

Keep track of food brought from the farm to the store.  

Record  amount  of  

food  given  to  people.  

List any surpluses used for trading

• The desire to keep records of FOOD led to Sumerian greatest contribution to world history -WRITING.

1.  What form of government did Sumerians have?

2.  Give two ways bureaucracy helped the Sumerian en (king).

3.  What led the Sumerians to invent writing?

Writing and Other Innovations

• The first form of Sumerian writing was Pictographs.

Cuneiform – using symbols

instead of words

They improved their writing by using symbols to stand for words.

•  Sumerians had three innovations for measuring.

1. Iku (acre)- used to measure land.

2. Quart- used to measure volume.

3. Calendar- used to measure time.

Other  invenMons  

Measuring  systems  

A standard unit for measuring an area of land – crop field – iku, now called

acre

A standard unit for volume – the

quart

Sumerian  calendar  Divided  into  12  months  based  on  the  28-­‐day  cycle  of  the  moon  

Made  up  of  12  lunar  months;  every  three  years  extra  

month  was  added  

sailboats  Mixed  copper  and  

Mn  to  make  bronze  tools  

Potter’s wheel

1.  What are three Sumerian innovations for measuring?

2.  How did Sumerians improve their greatest invention: Writing?

Divisions in Society •  People in Sumer belonged to

different Social Classes. •  There were three Social classes in

Sumer: 1. Ruling Class 2. Middle Class 3. Working Class  

SUMERIAN SOCIAL CLASS

RULING CLASS King, government officials,

priests, religious leaders warriors

MIDDLE CLASS Less important government

officials, merchants, carpenters, craft workers, doctors, potters

WORKING OR LOWEST CLASS Slaves, farm workers

Divisions in Society  •  In all Sumerian societies, men held

more authority and independence than women. •  Men held all the leadership roles,

though some women were religious leaders.

Divisions in Society •  Sumerian women held more rights than

women of other ancient civilizations. 1.  Sumerian women could own a

property. 2.  Sumerian women could run a business. 3.  Sumerian women were taught how to

read and write in Cuneiform.

                 Men  •  Had more rights than women •  Held all the

leadership positions

•  Had more independence

         Women  •  Ruled family life •  Important religious

leaders •  Had more rights than

other ancient women •  Could own property

and run businesses -  Some were taught to

read and write

1.  What are the social classes in Sumer?

2.  What class has the most members?

3.  How are women in Sumer different from women of other ancient civilizations?