Was Ancient Sumer a Civilization? By studying artifacts, archeologists have learned a lot about...
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![Page 1: Was Ancient Sumer a Civilization? By studying artifacts, archeologists have learned a lot about Sumer.](https://reader033.fdocuments.net/reader033/viewer/2022050908/56649e795503460f94b78c91/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Was Ancient Sumer a Civilization?
By studying artifacts, archeologists have learned a lot about Sumer.
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Characteristics of Civilizations
Characteristics of Civilization
Characteristics of CivilizationTechnologyTechnology
The ArtsThe Arts
WritingWriting
Stable Food Supply
Stable Food Supply
Social CultureSocial Culture
GovernmentGovernment
ReligionReligion
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Characteristics of Civilization• Stable Food Supply-People of a society have the
food they need to survive• Social Structure-Different social levels and jobs• System of Government-Life in the society is
orderly• Religious System-Set of beliefs and forms of
worship• Highly developed culture-Includes arts (painting),
architecture, music and literature• Advances in technology• Highly developed written language
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Stable Food Supply
• Sumerians invented two things to help them create a stable food supply
• Irrigation system-System of canals and reservoirs allowed Sumerian farmers to regularly water their crops
• Plow-The plow helped farmers prepare the soil for planting, making farming faster and producing more food
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Social Structure
• A social structure includes different jobs and social levels
• People at higher levels have greater status than others
• Upper class: Priests, landowners, and government officials had the nicest homes and lived in the center of the city
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Social Structure
• Middle: Merchants and artisans made and sold tools and luxury items. Farmers and fishers lived in small houses at the edge of the city, and farmers served in the army
• Bottom: Slaves had no property and lived with their owners
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Government
• All civilizations have a system of government to direct people’s behaviors and make life orderly.
• Sumerians believed that their kings were chosen by the gods.
• King & Government duties: recording and enforcing laws, collecting taxes, building temples, maintaining and patrolling irrigation canals, and leading the army
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Government
• Leading the army=King’s most important job• Army=professional soldiers, temporary citizen
soldiers. Some were foot soldiers, some drove chariots
• Kings had governors to help• Scribes helped record laws• Sumerians-1st to develop a system of written
laws
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Religion
• A religious system includes worship practices and a set of beliefs
• Religion was important in Sumer because it influenced every part of daily life
• Ziggurats-Religious towers, made of mud bricks, believed gods lived in ziggurats
• Sumerians had many religious statues and had many kinds of religious ceremonies
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The Arts
• Metalworkers-Created practical and decorative items
• Architects-Designed temples and ziggurats• Musicians-played instruments and sang during
ceremonies
• Sumerians believed music brought joy to the people and to the gods
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Technology
• Sumerians made several technological advances
• Most important invention: Wheel.• Wheeled carts made it easier to move goods
over long distances• Arch-added strength and beauty to Sumerian
buildings. Great architectural achievement
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Writing
• Cuneiform-writing that uses wedge shaped characters
• Cuneiform developed around 2400 BCE• Cuneiform was based on pictographs• Pictograph-A symbol that stands for an object