WHAT IS CULTURE? Take a minute to write your own definition of culture….. Now we can share our answers to find out the information that we already know. We can construct a web of our ideas.

CULTURE IS HIGH CULTURE???

CULTURE IS ORDINARY???

IN FACT, WE ALL HAVE CULTURE

Culture is everything that people -have (material possessions), -think (values and attitudes) and -do (behavior patterns) as members of a society

Civilization is An advanced form of culture. An advanced form of culture. Early man had culture but did not have civilization. Early man had culture but did not have civilization.

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- “ THE LAND BETWEEN TWO RIVERS”

Mesopotamia has three nicknames… The Land Between Two Rivers Cradle of Western Civilization The Fertile Crescent Today we need to understand where these names came from

Mesopotamia

This is why we call the area “The Land Between Two Rivers”. The word mesopotamia is a greek word which means “the land between the rivers”

How the Fertile Crescent became a nickname…

Why would anyone want to build a civilization in the middle of the desert? It was a great place to live

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- GEOGRAPHY POSITIVE abundant amount of clay good soil water supply from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers NEGATIVE few natural resources minimal protection from deserts and mountains

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA- CLIMATE POSITIVE In the north, seasonal rain High temperatures in the south can be cooled by wind off the Persian Gulf NEGATIVE In the south, little rainfall. Temperatures as high as 43°C

Civilization is An advanced form of culture. An advanced form of culture. Early man had culture but did not have civilization. Early man had culture but did not have civilization.

What is civilization? A large organized society that has lasted a long time A large organized society that has lasted a long time (actually this definition is only very simple, but…)

The rise of civilization Civilization is defined as: highly organized society marked by advanced knowledge of trade, government, arts, science and often time written language Civilization is defined as: highly organized society marked by advanced knowledge of trade, government, arts, science and often time written language The Parthenon in Athens is an example of classical Greek Civilization.Parthenoneek Ci

What is the first known society? The earliest known civilizations arose in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq, Persia in modern-day Iran, the Nile valley of Egypt. The inhabitants of these areas built cities, created writing systems, learned to make pottery and use metals, domesticated animals, and created complex social structures with class systems. The earliest known civilizations arose in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq, Persia in modern-day Iran, the Nile valley of Egypt. The inhabitants of these areas built cities, created writing systems, learned to make pottery and use metals, domesticated animals, and created complex social structures with class systems. MesopotamiaTigris EuphratesIraq PersiaIranNile valleyEgypt MesopotamiaTigris EuphratesIraq PersiaIranNile valleyEgypt

The 5 traits of Civilizations 1. Advanced Cities Give people a place to store and trade surplus food A place for temples

2. Specialized Workers City people cooperate on projects and to organize cities (in Sumer, Priests organized cities and acted as judges)

3. Complex institutions Places where groups of people come together to help society Examples – religion, government, school and armies

4. Advanced Technology Find a better way to do things Farming – irrigation Tools made from copper  bronze (copper + tin)

5. Record Keeping To keep record of what is important to people In Sumer, food or crops were recorded First Mesopotamians kept track with sticks, and later created a written language.