What do we want to know? 1. What is a Civilization? (There are 7 key

parts that determine if a region or group can be called a civilization)

2. Where would we put Mesopotamia on a timeline? (3500 BCE-500 BCE)

3. How did small villages grow into large cities in the ancient world? (Solutions to different scenarios that presented themselves led to greater success and more desire to live in the region)

4. What was Mesopotamia? (Mesopotamia was a region, not an actual place… named much later, for a group of independent city-states in the region)

EARLY CIVILIZATION?A closer look at the early

Mesopotamian region

MesopotamiaImportant to note that there were several Mesopotamian peoples living in this region… Our focus today is on Sumerian culture but understanding that it was one of many is important.

Some examples of other peoples include:

•Akkad•Amorites•Assyrians•Babylonians•Chaldeans•Hittites•Kassites

Civilization

•Seven aspects or characteristics to a civilization

•Our question is: “Is there enough evidence to determine that there were thriving civilizations in Sumer and other areas of ancient Mesopotamia?”

•Throughout the Mesopotamian region it is believed that the population ranged from a few thousand to 200,000 people!

1. Stable Food Supply

(Review)How have Sumerians already established a (SFS)? What is the key technology and how was it used?

•The next “BIG thing” Sumerians invented to prepare the land for farming was THE PLOW.

•Early Plows were first made from wood and pulled by either man-power or oxen

2. Social StructureThere were “classes” or “levels of status”

•There were FOUR major classes -Priests & Kings

-Upper Class: Land owners with nicer homes

-Middle Class: Also called the “Common Class” (merchants, crafts people, farmers, military etc.)

-Lower Class: Slaves, or captives taken from conquered towns (worked for the King or the Upper Class wealthy)

Think, Pair, Share…

Question: When we look at OUR civilization today in

the U.S; How do we maintain a SFS and what

does our “Social Structure” look like ?

3. Religion

•Ziggurats were very large religious temples built for the gods. These were sometimes places of worship and other times they were monuments at the center of a community with temples surrounding them.

•Kings and Priests would go there to ask for blessings while others would leave offerings on the steps

•Sumerians were Polytheistic: That is that they believed in many gods or multiple gods(In this case, there was a God for just about everything)

4. The Arts

•Artisans and Craftspeople created beautiful and practical items such as mirrors, carvings, jewelry, weapons, cups, tablets and architecture such as multilevel dwellings, temples and palaces.

•Music was also important in Sumerian culture. Drums, Pipes and Lyres (ancient harps) were some popular instruments

5. TECHNOLOGY Some early Sumerian inventions

include…

Questions:

1. Who would we consider our “Artisans” to be today?

2. What technologies has OUR civilization created

that has had and will have significant lasting impacts

on future civilizations?

6. Writing

•“Cuneiform” Latin word for wedge. Describing the tools used to write on clay tablets

•Based on earlier pictographs (drawings or symbols)

•Could be the earliest form of written language

•The oldest known recorded story… “Gilgamesh” (Ancient Super Hero!)

7. Government

Much more complex than you might think…

•Sumerian laws were written (by Scribes) and were among the first to have written law

•Kings enforced the laws, collected taxes, built temples and made sure property was maintained (walls, irrigation etc.)

•There were also Assemblies and elected officials such as Governors

HAMMURABI King of Babylon (1792-1750 BCE)

Conquers Mesopotamia – Makes Babylon the capital

Unites Mesopotamia in common law Codes live on… some basics of law we

have today have their origins with his code

Wrote laws for all to see on a “Stela” or “Stele” (Carvings into stone and displayed for all)