1. About 225 Million Years ago, the world was
World Civilizations I
I. Early Geological & Environmental Changes
About 225 Million Years ago, the world was
one “super continent.”

2. A marsh village on the Euphrates River
World Civilizations I
I. Early Geological & Environmental Changes
A marsh village on the Euphrates River
About 2 Million Years ago, earth entered its last “Great Ice Age.”
Glaciers recede about 10,000 Years Ago.
Ice/temperature change cause environmental change & migration. End of ice bridges.
Shift from hunting to agriculture by 7,000 years ago- the agrarian revolution. Settlements start in fertile river valleys.
Villages appear in W. Asia about 6,500 years ago.

3. I. Early Geological & Environmental Changes
World Civilizations I
I. Early Geological & Environmental Changes
Approximately:
Dogs domesticated between 15-12,000 years ago (late Paleolithic age).
Between years ago, sheep, pigs, goats & cattle domesticated.
The wheel, plow & bronze appeared in Afro-Eurasia about 3,500 years ago.
Beans & Maize, about years ago.
Pastoralism, still in Central Asia, S. Sahara & parts of E. & S. Africa, continue as dry climates prevent dense populations.

4. I. Early Geological & Environmental Changes
World Civilizations I
I. Early Geological & Environmental Changes
Location, location, location….

5. Earliest Known Map-Babylonian, about 600 B.C.E.
World Civilizations I
III. Ancient Mesopotamia-Sumeria
Earliest Known Map-Babylonian, about 600 B.C.E.
Where did Sumerians come from? Language unrelated to others.
Loose league of independent city-states by 3,200 B.C.
Social system: “specialists”(administrators, merchants, priests & artisans), free farmers & slaves.

6. III. Ancient Mesopotamia-Sumeria-The Development of Gender Roles
World Civilizations I
III. Ancient Mesopotamia-Sumeria-The Development of Gender Roles
Sedentary agriculture raised the value of land….
Which required protection…
Which meant to secure land, came “property...”
Which “prompted” securing that particular property over time…
Thus, bearing children “thrust” women into a certain role…
Marriage, “protecting women,” securing women to one man…
(veiling, or “shutting” women, began around 3,000 B.C.E!
The “value” of bearing boys over girls…

7. World Civilizations I
IV. Ancient Mesopotamia-Sumeria-Significance of Sedentary Agriculture/Property
Without it, no villages or towns.
Further advent of social classes, power & influence.
A new meaning behind conquering territory.
Need to develop a professional warrior class…
Need for “serfs” & “slaves.”
The need for government, rules, law…
Need & time to develop skills, tools…

8. V. Ancient Mesopotamia-Sumeria
Developments/Accomplishments?
Basic math, algebra, geometry & time.
Cuneiform alphabet developed 3500 B.C.E. About 500 wedge-shaped clay characters, it dominates until 500 B.C.E.
Cuneiform Script
The Epic of Gilgamesh comes about 2,000 BCE.
Irrigation system complement long dry spells of 8 months.
First solid wheel, about 3,200 BCE.

9. In Iran, a ziggurat from the 13th century B.C.
V. Ancient Mesopotamia-Sumeria
A ziggurat means
"to build on a raised area" is a temple tower.
Made of sun-baked bricks w/colored facings, from 2-7 tiers.
It had a astrological significance w/a temple or shrine at the summit.
A school was at the base to train priests, study stars.
In Iran, a ziggurat from the 13th century B.C.
Access to the shrine was provided by a series of ramps on one side or by a spiral ramp to the summit.

10. The Ziggurat of Ur, from 21st Century B. C
The Ziggurat of Ur, from 21st Century B.C., built to worship the moon god, Nanna.

11. V. Ancient Mesopotamia-Sumeria
Area conquered three times, between B.C.E.
In 2334 BC, Sargon established the Dynasty of Akkad, placing Mesopotamia under centralized rule.
The Akkadians were Semitic; their language became dominant.
By 2200 B.C. power went to Babylon. State control over industry reached a new level.
Hammurabi (ca B.C.E.) developed the Hammurabi Code, first known rules of conduct.
Close-up:
Hammurabi dispenses code.

12. V. Ancient Mesopotamia-Sumeria
King Nebuchadnezzar II’s “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

13. III. Ancient Mesopotamia-Sumeria
A century after Hammurabi, Mesopotamia was again a patchwork of competing principalities.
The dynasty ended in 1595 BC, when Babylonia fell to the Hittites.
The Kassites ( BC) have the longest lasting dynasty in Babylon, but left few records.
Persian conquest in 539 B.C.E. ends home rule, and Mesopotamia becomes insignificant until recent times.
Stone pillar with the Hammurabi Code.