Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt

Unit 9 - 1º ESO

Possible answers

Activity timeACTIVITY: In your notebooks:

Make up a story containing at least 10 of these words:

PYRAMID

SLAVE

PHARAOH

RIVER

DESERT

COLD

HOT

Advice: try to make short and easy sentences but correct!

CAMEL

OASIS

CHILD

TO BUILD

TO WORK

STONE

SAND

TO CRY

The first great civilizations appeared around 5,000 years ago. They were

in:

-China

-India

-Mesopotamia

-Egypt

They were river civilizations so

they had fertile land around.

Their rivers were:

-China: the Yellow and Blue rivers.

-India: the Indus river.

-Mesopotamia: the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

-Egypt: the Nile river.

1- River civilizations

The first civilizations

1- River civilizations

1- River civilizations

THE INVENTION OF WRITING

The invention of writing marks the beginning of History, so the end of

Prehistory.

Writing appeared in Mesopotamia over 5,000 years ago.

Writing was a way of storing information about taxes, trade and population in

the towns.

WritingMesopotamian civilization was

the first in using writing about

5,000 years ago.

Cuneiform writing was

essential.

Writing made it possible to

organize the state, for

example, by recording how

much grain there was.

It was also used to record

stories of important heroes or

divinities, that’s the beginning

of written literature.

Cuneiform writing

Characteristics of river civilizations:

Political power:

.Very powerful ruler (king, emperor, pharaoh).

.He made laws.

.He led the army.

.He had religious functions.

.He was served by civil servants or state officials.

-SOCIETY:

.It was hierarchical.

.Privileged people owned most of the land and wealth.

.Most of the population were poor.

- There were large-scale building works, such as palaces, temples, tombs

and canals.

Activities

Exercises 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 on page 145.

2- Mesopotamia: environment and history

Mesopotamia means between the rivers. It was the territory

between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates.

Mesopotamian first cities

The first urban civilization appeared in

the low area of Mesopotamia. In Sumer,

a fertile land between the Tigris and

Euphrates rivers, the first cities emerged

(Ur, Uruk, Lagash and Eridu). They were

independent cities.

They were surrounded by walls. Outside

the walls there were farmland crossed

by irrigation canals. Most of the

population were peasants.

Agricultural prosperity made it possible

for some inhabitants could work in other

jobs, such as trade or craftsmanship.

Traders began to use coins in their

exchanges.

City-states and empires

City-states in Mesopotamia were ruled by kings.

Some kings expanded their territories through

conquests and alliances until they became empires:

After Sumer (3000 BC, Uruk, Ur), there were: the

Akkadians (2300 BC), the Babylonians (after 1800

BC), the Assyrians (afteR 1350 BC), and finally the

Neo-Babylonian Empire (late 7th c. BC).

In the 6th c.BC the Persians conquered the region.

Activities Full

sentences!!!!

Exercises 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 on page 143.

3- Society and Art in Mesopotamia

Ancient Mesopotamia had a complex society. It was hierarchical. There were

three social classes: nobility, free citizens, and slaves. The king was in the top.

The nobility or aristocracy included priests, and priest-kings. The priest-kings

were believed to be the representative of the city’s patron God or Goddess. They

lived in temples and were the city's tax collectors. All people of the nobility class

were in charge of maintenance, construction, and organization of the canals. It

included also the family of the king.

The free people class was a combination of a modern day middle and lower

classes: merchants, craftsmen, and anyone who was involved in trade. They lived

in the city. Farmers, fishermen, shepherds, and hunters made up the lower class.

These people lived on the outskirts of the city and were responsible for the food

supply.

The slave class was the lowest class, made up of prisoners of war, and these

slaves could be bought or sold. The slaves were allowed to marry and have a family

if they wished.

Women in Mesopotamia.

In ancient Mesopotamia, women were not

considered equal to men.

They had some rights but not all rights.

Women could go out of their houses and go to the market. They

were allowed to own their own property and even own

businesses. They could become involved in court cases. If their

parents were so inclined, they could learn to read and write and

even get a paid job. But they were not allowed a vote in the

assembly, so they had no voice in making laws.

Family life in Mesopotamia

In ancient Mesopotamia families were very important. The family was the

basic unit of society and there were certain things that could and couldn`t be

done.

For example, a woman living in Mesopotamia could do or go anywhere she

wanted as long as she had her husband's permission. In the case of a divorce,

both man and woman would pay a fine, and if there were no children, the divorce

was easy. If the couple did have children, the woman faced severe penalties.

The children in a family had to respect their parents because disrespecting

parental figures was considered a grave sin.

If the family was in an incredibly bad financial situation, then the children

would be sold even though selling children was considered a bad omen. Males

were the prefered gender in ancient Mesopotamia and the men in Mesopotamia

were far more powerful than the women.

Activities

Exercises 1 to 3 on page 144.

What was Mesopotamian

culture like?

Religion and Food

Mesopotamian religion and food were closely connected. Food was often

offered to the Gods as a sacrifice.

The everyday food that people ate included beef, lamb, pork, goat, duck,

and geese. Bread was also very popular. All Mesopotamians enjoyed eating, and

the richer the family was, the more food they had.

Religion in Mesopotamia was rather complex. They believed that the world

was a flat disk that was surrounded by hollow space. They also believed that the

ocean surrounded them. Ancient Mesopotamians were polytheistic and relied

on spiritual remedies to stay healthy. Mesopotamians believed that the Gods

must be treated with respect, because they were the providers for the

Mesopotamian civilization. The Mesopotamian also built structures called

ziggurats. Ziggurats were believed to be the stairways of the Gods.

Religion in Mesopotamia

Ziggurats (temples) were

placed in the city center. They

were devoted to the city God

or Goddess. Priests lived

there. They controlled crops,

trade and imposed taxes. the

priest-king was the city

leader, he had civil servants

to help him.

The Code of Hammurabi

Some examples of laws:

- If a freeman brings false testimony in a

case that carries the death sentence, he

shall be put to death.

- If a builder builds a house and does not

make the construction firm and the house

collapses and causes death of the owner,

that builder shall be put to death.

- If a trader borrows money from a

merchant and then denies it, and the

merchant can prove this loan was made,

the trader shall pay the merchant three

times the amount he borrowed.

Homework

Summary of the Mesopotamian civilization

4- Egypt: environment and history.

Why was the Nile

crucial to Ancient Egypt?

- The Nile was essential for

Ancient Egypt because:

.Land fertility (black land)

.Water was so important

for human needs and agriculture

.Communication system

Homework

Exercises 1 and 3 on page 146-7.

The history of Egypt

In the 4th

millennium BC.

independent

kingdoms appeared

in Lower Egypt

(near the Nile delta)

and Upper Egypt

(south)

How did Ancient Egypt change?

The chronology of the kingdoms

There were three main periods:

1- Old Kingdom (3100 BC- 2200 BC): Capital city: Memphis.

2- Middle Kingdom (2200 BC- 1800 BC): Capital city: Thebes.

3- New Kingdom (1600 BC- 1100 BC): Capital city: Thebes.

How did Ancient Egypt change?

Foreign rule (1.100 BC- 31 BC)

After the year 1.100 BC, Egypt was invaded by different foreign

peoples: the Assyrians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans.

Activities

Exercises 4, 5 and 6 on page 147.

5- Society in Ancient Egypt

The Egyptian state

Activities

Exercises 1 and 2 page 148.

What was society like?

Women in Ancient Egypt

Thinking about...

6- Religion and art in Egypt.

Main Egyptian Gods

Attitudes to death

Mummification process

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/main.html

Sarcophagus

Canopic jars

Canopic jars were used by the Ancient

Egyptians during the mummification

process to store and preserve the viscera

of their owner for the afterlife. They were

commonly either carved from limestone

or were made of pottery. These jars were

used from the time of the Old Kingdom.

The viscera were not kept in a single

canopic jar: each jar was reserved for

specific organs.

Egyptians tombs

Pyramids and

mastabas.

Egyptians

tombs

Egyptians tombs,

Valley of the Kings

A hypogeum

Temples. Karnak.

Egyptian art

Activities

Exercise 1 on page 151.

Writing in Egypt

Make the

exercise 16 on

page 153 about

hieroglyphs.

Activities

Exercises 1, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 and 12

on page 152-3.

The Standard of Ur, page 154

Royal Standard of Ur

The Standard of Ur is a Sumerian artifact excavated from what had

been the Royal Cemetery in the ancient city of Ur (located in modern-

day Iraq). It is approximately 4,500 years old and it was probably

constructed in the form of a hollow wooden box with scenes of war and

peace represented on each side through elaborately mosaics. Although

interpreted as a standard by its discoverer, its original purpose remains

enigmatic. It was found in a royal tomb in Ur in the 1920s next to the

skeleton of a ritually sacrificed man.

It presents a series of scenes displayed in three registers, upper,

middle and bottom. The two mosaics have been dubbed "War" and

"Peace" for their subject matter, respectively a representation of a

military campaign and scenes from a banquet.

Homework

In your notebook, answer the following questions about the previous video

(do not forget to use full sentences!):

1.What does the olive branch symbolized?

2.Which city-state does the standard come from?

3.What is the name of the archeologist who discovered the Standard?

4.What was the function of the Standard?

5.Can we know if there was a social organization in that time with the

information represented in the Standard?

6.Is there anyone more important than the rest? why do you know it?

7.Is there any musician? What is he playing?

8.What do the scenes on the back of the Standard represent?

9.Does the king appeared in the back? Where? Why do you know it?

10.Express your opinion: Tell us what do you think now about this piece of art.