Sumer ppt2

Sumer- Ancient Civilization

A part of the Mesopotamia region

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Mesopatamia

Mesopotamia is part of a larger area of rich farmland called the Fertile Crescent.

Mesopotamia means “between the rivers” in Greek.


What?

The first civilization (defined by sheer size and population density, sedentary life-style)

See archeologist’s Gordon Childe’s list of ancient civilizations’ features


Prior to the Agricultural

How did people survive?

Where did their food come from?


Where?

Between these two rivers:

In modern day:


•Why here? (Geography/Politics= Geo-politics)

Annual floods on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers brought silt that made the land ideal for farming.

(Silt is a mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks.)

Plentiful food led to population growth and the formation of villages.

Villages later developed into the world’s first civilizations.


Cause and effect

Farmers used irrigation and canals as a way to control river flow.

>>>Increased amounts of food led to surpluses, which meant that fewer people needed to farm.

>>>As a result, new occupations developed (later slide).


Agriculture in SumerThe water levels of the Tigris and Euphrates would rise or fall, depending on the amount of rainfall. Irrigation and canals helped solve flooding and drought problems.

Irrigation= A way of supplying water to an area of land

Canals=Human-made waterways

Irrigation canals=

Other ways humans manipulated the land in Sumer was by farmers also built up the banks of the rivers to hold back the floodwaters.

What is this called? Where is this used today?


More major advancements

Development of the wheel:

Used for carts and wagonsPotter’s wheelThe plow increased farm production.Sewers under city streets


Religion and Government

Was Sumer ruled as a:

theocracy=

monarchy=

democracy=

republic=


City-states

The basic political units were called city-states:

Consisted of a city and all the countryside surrounding it

The amount of countryside in each city-state depended on its military strength.


Military

Each city-state had large armies

Gained and lost power over time

Fought each other to gain more farmland

Quote from reading (second to last paragraph)


Religious beliefs

Was the Sumerian religion:

polytheistic =

monotheistic=


Polytheism in Sumer

Sumerian polytheism was the basis for all Sumerian society.

Gods had enormous powers.

Priests had great statues built in Sumer.

Priests were people who performed religious ceremonies.

Priests were the first to be educated-->


Education in Sumer


The First Known Writing

Cuneiform/context:

When people lived in villages, the population group was smaller and it was easier to memorize their names, who herds belonged to, the size and amount of the crops, etc. But when cities grew, it became necessary to control and keep the data which interested the king and his government: taxes, trade transactions, contracts, wills, etc.

Soon other affairs and events began to be recorded in writing. This way the first holy books, science books and literary works appeared (we will look at literature soon!).


Hierarchy in Sumer

Social hierarchy:

Kings were at the top of the order because they claimed to be chosen to rule by the gods.

Social orderKingsPriestsSkilled craftspeople, merchants, and tradersLarge working class of farmers and laborersSlaves


More on social orderThe king kept control of everything, from politics to religion. He passed laws to rule his country. The king was also in charge of the army which he created to protect his possessions and many times the king had religious functions. There were also civil servants who helped the king to manage his possessions (we will look at Hammarabi, the first law-maker in more depth).

Land ownership: Most of the lands and riches belonged to the first ones, the privileged people.

Concentration of power: The landowners were also in charge of the main public offices.

How does this compare to today!!!?


Specialization of labor

Privileged groups were a minority who had all the rights and possessed most of the wealth.

The aristocracy consisted of the king, his family and the nobility. They owned a great part of the land and were in charge of the highest positions in the army and government.

The priests, who lived in the temples, led the religious rituals. They possessed part of the land and craft workshops and co-operated with the government.

The scribes stood out among the civil servants. They came from noble families and had great power. They were assigned other tasks such as being couriers, managers, cup-bearers, etc.


ContinuedThe rest of the population was divided into either free people who had rights, or slaves who had not rights and were treated as objects.

Peasants, who rented the lands that surrounded the city. These lands belonged to the king or the temple. To keep them the peasants had to give the temple or the king part of the harvest they obtained.

Peasants usually cultivated barley, wheat, beans, chickpeas, cucumbers, etc. with rudimentary ploughs.

Craftsmen, who worked in workshops. There were different craftsmen according to their specific work: weavers, carpenters, goldsmiths, perfumers, etc.


Art in Sumer

In Sumer there was great artistic development.

Through art kings magnified their power so they encouraged all kinds of art!

-What was depicted on the vases from the film?

*What’s the government’s relationship to art today?

--In the U.S. and around the world

--In modern day Middle Eastern countries?


Trade

Cities were not self-sufficient , not all the necessities could be obtained there and people had to buy some food, raw materials and luxury products in far away regions.

This process is called:


Sumer ppt2

Documents

Transcript of Sumer ppt2