4. 1. Advanced Cities ◦ Large group living together ◦ Trading center

5. 2. Specialized Workers ◦ Develop skills in a specific kind of work (trader or priest) ◦ Why? Abundant food

6. 3. Complex Institutions ◦ Long-lasting pattern of organization in a community ◦ Examples:  Religion  Government  Economy

7. 4. Record Keeping ◦ System of writing ◦ Taxes, laws, religious rituals ◦ Scribes – professional keepers

8. 5. Advanced Technology ◦ Anything that makes life easier

9. Sumer Specialized Workers: soldiers, merchants, teachers, priests, etc. Complex Institutions: formal governments (laws and officials), priests w/ religious power Advanced cities: Uruk – 50,000 Lagash – 10,000 -50,000 Record Keeping: Cuneiform writing system Advanced Technology: 3000 BCE wheel, plow, sailboat; bronze weapons and armor

11.  Tigris & Euphrates Rivers  Annual flooding ◦ Silt – rich layer of soil deposited by a river (good for growing crops) ◦ Alluvial Plain – flat landform created by deposit of silt from rivers coming from highlands

12.  Unpredictable flooding & little rain irrigation ditches  No natural barriers for protection built city walls  Limited natural resources traded grain & cloth for stone & wood

13.  City-state: city & surrounding area functioning as a country does today  Priests head government 3,000 BCE  Kings head government 2,500 BCE ◦ Create Dynasties - series of rulers under one family Ziggurat – walled temple

14.  Akkadian – Sargon of Akkad (2350 - 2150 BCE) defeated city-states of Sumer  1 st empire: brings together several independent peoples, nations, or states  Babylonian – Babylon (2000 - 539 BCE)

15.  Hammurabi’s Code ◦ Hammurabi (Babylonian King) ◦ 1792-1750 BCE ◦ Unified code of laws ◦ Oldest known legal system ◦ Stressed justice & punishment based on social class

16.  Polytheism: belief in two or more gods (kings representatives of gods)  Human-like, but immortal & powerful  Humans were servants  Built ziggurats & offered sacrifices to please gods

17. Kings, Priests, Landholders Merchants Farmers Slaves Sumerian Social Hierarchy

18.  Arithmetic, Geometry ◦ Helped in building projects  Architecture ◦ Arches, columns, ramps, pyramid shape  Cuneiform ◦ Writing system ◦ Pictograph – symbols stand for words