Early Civilizations - Sumer

Geography Fertile Crescent – Mesopotamia “The Cradle of Civilization” area of land that was good for farming located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers Mesopotamia “The Land Between Two Rivers” “The Cradle of Civilization” Most of the land and terrain was harsh, except for the land near the rivers

Geography Lack of natural barriers Made the region open to constant invasion Cultural Diffusion – Ideas, culture, religion, technology exchanged between different cultures

Flooding of rivers, good or bad? Flooding would cause much destruction and the people did not know when the floods would occur People united together to divert the flood waters using dikes and canals Floods left behind silt, which was important for farming purposes

Development of city states As people worked with one another to divert the flood waters, people became unified Eventually small villages began to develop in areas near the rivers These villages eventually grew into cities First city 3,500 B.C. These city states never truly unified into one country

Social Structure Early Priests emerged as leaders Creation of specialized jobs Cities were often targeted for invasions During these invasions, war leaders emerged War leaders gained control

Social Order Upper Class – Kings, Priests, Nobles, War leaders Middle Class – Merchants, Artisans, Farmers Lower Class - Slaves

Early Government Hereditary Rulers Servants to the gods Enforced laws, collected taxes Maintain city walls and irrigation systems

Trade and Economy Sumer became very wealthy from trade Evidence shows that Sumerians participated in long distance trade (Egypt and India) Southwest Asia – Raw Materials (wood, stone, metals) Used rivers and traveled across deserts to trade

From this map we can see how far Sumerian trade stretched

Religion Polytheistic – Belief in many gods and or goddesses Gods were tied to nature (wind, rain, etc.) Sumerians built Ziggurats for the gods – temples of worship People wanted to keep the gods happy Offered libations & other sacrfices Priests were recognized as being very knowledgeable of the gods

Ziggurat

Sumerian Culture Sumerians had a very rich culture Created beautiful art work Worked with math and music Created toys for their children Board games for adults Developed writing as well!

Contributions Sumerians made many important contributions to the world Writing (beginnings of written history) Cuneiform – modified use of pictographs inscribed on clay tablets (by scribes) Writing was needed as trade grew for written record

Cuneiform

Other contributions Built the first wheeled vehicles Irrigation systems Dikes Canals (Protection from floods, water for crops)