Mesopotamian Achievements

Chapter 3 Lesson 3

Explain how the Mesopotamians were able to achieve all they did

Describe the development of Sumerian writing

Objectives

Innovation – new ways of doing things

Almanac – writings that include information that describes the best way to plant, irrigate land, and care for crops

Ziggurat – the largest and tallest temple in every Sumerian city-state

Cuneiform – a writing system based on wedge shaped symbols

Scribe – a person who records things for others

Vocabulary

By 2500 BC, many farmers in Mesopotamia used bronze plows

Other agricultural innovations included plows that could also seed and written almanacs that described farming techniques

Agricultural Techniques

To keep records of their rapidly growing society, Sumerians developed standard measurements of land, weight and volume

Also developed a number system based on the number 60

Measured time using a 360 day calendar

Measurements

Sumerians lived in mud-brick houses

The tallest structure in each Sumerian city-state was the ziggurat, a temple that served as a center of religious and economic activity

Building

The Sumerians were the first to attach wheels to carts

Traders led caravans of

donkeys across established trade routes

Sumerians also traveled in various kinds of boats

Transportation

Sumerians developed a writing system based on cuneiform

Writing helped make new developments in government, economy, and society possible

Writing and Literature

People in Mesopotamia, especially the Sumerians, made many achievements

They created innovations in agriculture, measurements, building, and transportation

They were perhaps the first to use the wheel, the sailboat, and writing

These innovations helped the people of Mesopotamia build an early civilization

Summary