Unit 2, Ancient Civilizations & the 6 Elements of Civilization:

MESOPOTAMIA

Mr. PagliaroSeymour High School

Part 1 Main Ideas

• Geography: The Land between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers was a good region for agriculture.

• Geography: The environment of Mesopotamia presented challenges to the people that lived there.

• Geography: Mesopotamians changed their environment to improve life.

Part 1 Goals

• Describe how the earliest civilization in Asia arose in Mesopotamia, organized into city-states, and developed into the world's first empire.

Vocabulary

Terms• flood-plain• silt• semi-arid

Names• Fertile Crescent• Mesopotamia• Euphrates River• Tigris River• Sumerians

Ancient Fertile Crescent Area

The Middle East: “The Cradle of Civilization”

The Tigris & Euphrates River Valley

Mesopotamia: ”Land Between the Two Rivers”

Marsh Arabs, So. Iraq

Rivers provided water, transportation

Dead Sea: Lowest Point on Earth

HighestSalt

Content(33%)

2,300’ below sea level

How did the region support agriculture?

Fertile Soil• Irregular floods

• Flood-plain overflowed• Silt deposits

Climate• Semi-arid

• Warm• Dry

How did the geography affect farming?

• c. 6000 BC – Irrigation• Controlled floods• Diverted water to fields

• c. 4000 BC – Many Sumerian farming villages, cities like Ur

How did Mesopotamians cope with a lack of resources?

• Mud bricks• Homes• Walls

• No natural defenses from other peoples

• Surplus crops• Traded outside

region

Part 1 Summary

• The floods of the Tigris & Euphrates rivers left rsilt in Mesopotamia for growing crops.

• People developed irrigation to control floods and water crops.

• With few resources, Mesopotamians traded surplus crops

Why it matters now…

• Mesopotamians 8000 years ago through today have worked to overcome a lack of natural resources and natural barriers.

SUMERIANS: THE FIRST CIVILIZATION

Part 2

Part 2 Main Ideas

Government: A new type of government developed in Sumer (southern Mesopotamia) that included the city and the surrounding lands.

Government: Religion dominated life in Sumer, but eventually men who were not priests became political rulers.

Culture: Sumerian society was divided into several classesScience & Technology: Sumerians invented tools and

developed special knowledge to improve their lives.

Part 2 Goals

• Describe and analyze Sumerian city-states and how other cultures learned about them.

• Apply the 6 elements of civilization to Sumerian religious beliefs, artistic activity, social classes, writing, and examine the technology

Part 2 Key Vocabulary

Terms• city-state• cuneiform• scribes• ziggurat• priest-kings

Names• Sumer• Sumerians• The Epic of Gilgamesh

Sumerian Civilization

• World’s 1st civilization-Sumerians: c. 3300 BC• What are the 6 elements of civilization?

1. Cities2. Government3. Written records4. Artistic activity5. Religious Activity6. Social Classes Sumerian farmers

Emerging civilization

Examples of Cities

Features of Cities

• Places for:• storage & trade of surplus grain• specialized jobs & markets• home to ziggurats

Government

• City-states• Who ruled early Sumerian city-states?

Why may priests have been able to take power?

Priest-kings or Ensi

Religion

• Polytheism (polytheistic)• Many gods

• anthropomorphic

Other institutions

• Schools for scribes• military

Writing

• Cuneiform• Wedge-shaped

• Reed stylus• Clay tablets

Writing as art…

• Literature-The Epic of Gilgamesh

Artistic Achievements

Harp: music & art

Royal Game of Ur – Try to play?

Harp: music & artJewelry: fashion & art

Social Classes

• Complex, unequal• Upper class

• Kings, priests, landowners, royal officials

• Middle class• soldiers, scribes, merchants, artisans,

farmers• Lowest class

• laborers, slavesWhy were the kings and priests in the highest class?

Sumerian Technology

• Wheel• Sailboats• Plows• Calendar• Irrigation

Why was Sumer a good example of a civilization?

Let’s see…

Lesson Summary

• Sumerians were the first civilization to include all 6 elements

• Sumerian society had several classes: kings at the top, slaves at the bottom

• The Sumerians created the first organized religion, governments, and writing system

Why it matters now…

• The governments of Mesopotamia set examples for later civilizations.

• Writing makes it easier to pass knowledge from one generation to the next.

AKKADIANS & BABYLONIANSPart 3

Part 3 Main Ideas

Government: Empires emerged in Mesopotamia, combining multiple cultures.

Government: Law codes help organize people within a society.

Part 3 Goals

• Identify the contributions of the Akkadians and Babylonians.

• Identify Sargon I and Hammurabi.• Evaluate Hammurabi’s Code

Part 3 Key Vocabulary

Terms• empire• dynasty• retribution

Names• Akkadians• Babylonians• Sargon• Hammurabi• Hammurabi’s Code

Sargon of Akkad:The World’s First Empire

[Akkadians]

The Babylonian Empires

Hammurabi

• Babylonian Emperor• Ammorite dynasty

• Hammurabi’s Code• World’s 1st uniform law code

• retribution• “An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooh.”

• Applied to all classes, all cultures

Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 BC] Code

Hammurabi, the Judge

Babylonian MathInvented Geometry

Babylonian NumbersBase 60 number system