Warm up: Be sure to include today’s date in Cuneiform!

Ancient History and Civilizations

In the next several units we are going to study the history of the first civilizations.

Some of these civilizations coexisted, or were around at the same time as one another; however, there are other ancient civilizations that existed at different times.

Civilizations

•Early man did not live in civilizations. They lived in villages or communities.

•So what is a civilization?

Civilizations consist of:

O CitiesO Organized governmentsO ArtO ReligionO Class divisionsO Writing systems

Civilizations started around rivers.Why?

Good farming conditions

Provided fish and freshwater

Easy to travel

Easy to trade (way goods and ideas moved from place to place)

Mesopotamian Civilization

Chapter 1 – Section 2

Lesson Standards:O Explain the role of agriculture in early settled communities. O Recognize the immediate and long term impacts and

influences of early agricultural communities such as Southwest Asia and the African Nile Valley.

O Understand the place of historical events in the context of past, present and future.

O Explain how different early human communities expressed their beliefs.

O Recognize major historical time periods (i.e., Early Civilizations .

O Recognize the basic components of culture (i.e., language, common values, traditions, government, art, literature, lifestyles).

O Recognize the steps that give rise to complex governmental organizations (city, city-states, and states).

Focusing on the Main Ideas

Mesopotamian Civilization

• Civilization in Mesopotamia began in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

• Sumerians invented writing and made other important contributions to later peoples.

• Sumerian city-states lost power when they were conquered by outsiders.

Civilization in Mesopotamia began in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Civilizations first began as villages.The villages gradually grew into complex societies.

O Earliest civilization started in area between Tigris River and Euphrates River.

O This area called Mesopotamia (“land between the rivers”)

O Mesopotamia located in the Fertile Crescent.O Fertile Crescent was a curved strip of land

that extended from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. The rivers in the area often flooded in the spring leaving behind rich soil for farming.

FloodingO Floods in Mesopotamia were frequent and

unpredictable. Farmers learned to control the rivers with dams and channels. They also used the rivers to irrigate, or water, their crops.

As cities formed, the people needed plans and decisions made for the city. This led to governments being formed.

O Laws - keep orderO Armies - defend themselvesO Building projects

During this time humans worried less about basic needs. Shelter Food Clothing

People could do other things. develop religions develop arts invent ways of writing create calendars

Farmers built

ODams ---to control floods

OChannels ---

OWalls *****

OWaterways ***** to water crops (irrigation)

ODitches *****

Cause Effect

Irrigation 1.plenty of food

2. support large population

SumerORegion in southern Mesopotamia that had many cities.OEach city was a city-state (had their own government

and not part of any larger government.

O Sumerian cities often fought each other. To protect themselves, the city-states built walls around themselves.

Cause Effect

City-states were separated by deserts and mud flats

no travel or communication between each city-stateCity-states fought eachother for (glory and territory)

built walls around city

ZigguratO Sumerians believed

in many gods (polytheistic) and thought their gods had power over nature and human activity.

O They wanted to please the gods.

O They built ziggurats (grand temple) in the center of each city for their chief god.

Ziggurat

• It was built like a wedding cake.• On top was a special place of worship.• Only priest or priestesses could enter.

Government

OPriests may have been the first to rule.

OKings later ran the government.

People in Sumer

O KingsO FarmersO Artisans (skilled workers that made metal

products, cloth, and pottery)O Merchants and traders (traveled to other

cities and traded tools, wheat, barley for copper, tin, timber.

Social ClassesOUpper class- King, priests, government officials

OMiddle class- artisans, merchants, farmers, fishers (largest group)

OLower class- slaves (worked on farms or in temples) Slaves may have been prisoners of war or owed debts.

Roles of Society

OMen – head of household - school

OWomen – had rights, could buy and sell property and run businesses.

Cradle of Civilization

Sumerians’ ideas and inventions were copied and improved upon by other peoples.They left a lasting mark on world history.

CuneiformOGreatest invention of SumeriansOType of writingOHelped keep records of business and eventsOPassed on their ideas to othersOMade up of wedge-shaped marks cut in damp clay tablets with sharp reeds.

OOnly males could learn to write and became scribes.

OAt first they used pictures to tell a story (pictograph)

OEach picture evolved into a symbol for a word.

Literature

O Epic of Gilgamesh :world’s oldest known story (epic- long poem that tells the story of a hero)

O Gilgamesh is a king who travels around the world with a friend performing great deeds. His friend dies, and Gilgamesh tries to find a way to live forever. He learns this is only possible for the gods.

Innovations of SumeriansO CuneiformO Irrigation systemsO Wagon wheelO PlowO SailboatO Number system based on 60 (60-minute

hour, 60-second minute, and 360-degree circle)

O 12-month calendar based on cycles of the moon.

O Mud bricks

OutsidersO King Sargon- 2340 B.C. conquered

all of Mesopotamia when city-states of Sumer fought among themselves.

O King Sargon was king of the Akkadians from northern Mesopotamia.

O He set up the world’s first empire (group of many different lands under one ruler.)

O Empire lasted for about 200 years.

HammurabiOKing Hammurabi –

1800s B.C. built the city of Babylon on the Euphrates River.

OHe united the cities of Mesopotamia under one rule and created the Babylonian Empire.

Hammurabi’s CodeOHe created a law code, or collection of laws. He took what he believed were the best laws from each city-state and put them in one code.

OHis code influenced and was a model for other civilizations.

OLaws covered crimes, farming, business activities, marriage, and family.

Assignment

O Each student will write a secret message to trade with another student.

O Your partner will have to decipher without help.