Mesopotamian Civilization

What is Mesopotamia? The title Mesopotamia refers to a geographic region Mesopotamia is a catchall term that refers to many cultures that lived in this “Cradle of Civilization” Four major kingdoms that you may recognize by name are Babylon, Sumer, Assyria, and Akkadia. Mesopotamia was located in modern day Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In fact, the word Mesopotamia comes from the Greek words mesos "middle" + potamos "river"

Map of Ancient Mesopotamia

The Mesopotamian culture was long lived and persisted for approximately 2,000 years from 3500 to 612 B.C.E. These years straddle the Bronze and Iron Ages Since Mesopotamia was divided into several kingdoms over hundreds of years, there were many subcultures that arose, evolved and died.

By the way… The word hippopotamus comes from the Greek words “river horse.” Hippo=horsePotamus=river That won’t be on the test, but I like saying hippopotamus, don’t you?

Remember her? As farming evolved and cities grew, figures like the Venus of Willendorf begin to disappear… Why?

Cradle of Civilization For millennia human beings subsisted by hunting and gathering The archaeological ruins at Mesopotamian sites show that a key change had occurred—humans began farming. The impact of this innovation is huge. Farming paved the way for permanent settlement and the beginnings of modern civilization.

Farming and civilization occurred around the same time at four major locations –Egypt in the Nile river valley –India along the Indus river –China along the Yellow river –Modern day Iraq along the Tigris and Euphrates—Of course, this is Mesopotamia

Mesopotamians Built Big! Ziggurat

Innovations The peoples of Mesopotamia developed a form of writing known as cuneiform. Cuneiform is a system of writing that was based on pictures but became so stylized that the pictures became abstract.

Cuneiform can be found on the remnants of many clay tablets or stone artifacts found in archaeology sites around Mesopotamia.

The Epic of Gilgamesh The people of Mesopotamia were familiar with the story of Gilgamesh. Tablets inscribed with the story of Gilgamesh were first unearthed in 1839 Gilgamesh is the oldest known work of literature. It was first inscribed around 2100 B. C. E.

As you can see, the tablets weren’t in the best shape…

The story is about a heroic king named Gilgamesh whose adventures lead to an exploration of the far ends of the world and the remotest corners of the mind. Based on other tablets, it appears that Gilgamesh was a king of the Sumerian city state of Uruk around 2700 B.C. E. How and why he became a mythologized figure is unknown.

The story of Gilgamesh was lost to the sands of time until an English archaeologist unearthed the tablets. The first translator was in for a big surprise when the contents of the story became clear…

As you read watch for… All the groovy gods and goddesses that show up The evolution of Gilgamesh’s character The theme of friendship Questioning the meaning of life