chapter 3 key terms
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Chapter 3 Key Terms. Fertile Crescent Mesopotamia i rrigate c ity-state b arter p olytheism z iggurat c uneiform e mpire a lly c ultural trait Hammurabi’s Code r ule of law. c avalry s tanding army t ribute c urrency s tele i mport e xport n avigation c olony - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Chapter 3 Key Terms1. Fertile Crescent2. Mesopotamia3. irrigate4. city-state5. barter6. polytheism7. ziggurat8. cuneiform9. empire 10. ally11. cultural trait12. Hammurabi’s Code13. rule of law
14. cavalry15. standing army16. tribute17. currency18. stele19. import20. export21. navigation22. colony23. cultural diffusion24. alphabet
Chapter 3 Section 1: The Civilization of Sumer
• The Fertile Crescent– Located in the Middle East– Includes Mesopotamia
• Lies between two rivers (Tigris and Euphrates)• “land between two rivers”• Cradle of civilization
Agriculture in Mesopotamia• Rich soil• Grew many grains and vegetables• Raised sheep, goats, and cattleGeography of Mesopotamia• Contains the foothills of the Taurus and Zagros mountain chains in the North• In the South…
– Foothills flatten into plains– Hot, dry region with little rainfall– Soil is rich with nutrients because of the two rivers
• Two rivers could be harmful if the floods were too high and caused damageFarming the Land• Used technology to irrigate, or supply water to, their crops.• Created funnels to automatically drop seeds into the ground
City-States of Sumer• Better agricultural techniques= produce more food=
population grew• 3400 BCE cities started to formCities Emerge• First city was Uruk- population 40,000• Others were Ur, Lagash, and Nippur• World’s first city-states
– An independent state that includes a city and its surrounding territory
Trade• Most trade done by barter
– A trading system in which people exchange goods directly without using money
• Used rivers and canals to transport goods• Then, used new technologies (the sail and wheel) to
make trade easierSocial Classes• Each class had distinct roles
– Upper class- ruler, his top officials, powerful priests, wealthy merchants, owners of large plots of land
– Middle class- farmers and skilled workers– Lower class- slaves
Sumerian Religion• Practiced polytheism– Belief in more than one god– Gods controlled every aspect of life-
rain, wind, and other elements of nature
– Behaved much like people- ate drank, slept, married
– Gods lived forever– Needed to keep the gods happy– Only priests communicated with the
gods– Built pyramid-shaped brick tower
temples called ziggurats• Filled with beautiful paintings and
statues
Sumerian Writing• At first they drew pictographs– Simple pictures that represent
objectsCuneiform• Created by 3400 BCE• Uses triangular-shaped
symbols to stand for ideas or things
Epic of Gilgamesh• 2000 BCE- first story• Stories are myths- made-up
tales of gods and heroes
Sumerian Government• First leaders were priests• When conflicts arose the way cities were ruled
began to changeDevelopment of Kingship• Conflicts over land and water led to wars• Priests chose military leaders that would
sometimes continue to control city-states- became first kings
Kings and Priests• Kings needed support of the priests • Priests supported the kings by declaring that the
gods had chosen themWritten Laws• Earliest known law code written around 2100 BCE
by Ur-Nammu- the King of Ur– Laws about marriage, slavery, causing harm to others
Achievements• Trade spread the Sumerian’s achievements• One of the first cultures to make bronze by mixing
copper and tin
Section 1 Quiz1. The term Mesopotamia refers to which two rivers?
a) Danube and Euphratesb) Nile and Danubec) Mississippi and Tigrisd) Tigris and Euphrates
2. Another term for a city and the surrounding land it controls is…a) city-stateb) empirec) kingdomd) nation-state
3. The laws written by Ur-Nammu are an example ofa) a law codeb) national controlc) a priestly textd) a religious text
4. Which of the following is a type of building?a) Gilgameshb) pictographsc) polytheismd) ziggurat
5. Cuneiform is a type of…a) clay tabletb) mathematicsc) writingd) wedge