1. Sumer- The World’s First Civilization
Mesopotamia
Sumer-
The World’s First Civilization

2. Discovery of Agriculture
Question #1
Brainpop- The Agricultural Revolution
This first happened in Mesopotamia in an area called Sumer
People began to settle down and create the world’s first cities

3. Sumer Brainpop- The Sumerians
Question #2
Brainpop- The Sumerians
Sumer is believed to be the oldest known civilization in history
Started in 5300 BCE and lasted until 2000 BCE
Over 3,000 years!
Located in modern-day Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
The rivers flooded every spring, which made the area fertile and great for growing crops

4. Question #3
Sumer- Irrigation
The Sumerians developed irrigation systems to control the flooding and bring water to their crops
Irrigation- Controlling water to use for agriculture or prevent flooding
Canals, levees, and dams were created to get the water to crops and to stop from flooding their cities

5. Sumer- Job Specialization
Question #4
Because of the irrigation systems, Sumer was able to grow extra crops
Extra food leads to job specialization (also called division of labor)
Now the people of Sumer did not all have to farmers and they could start doing other jobs:
Pottery
Making tools & weapons
Building
Bakers
Weavers

6. Sumer- Religion Religion was very important to the people of Sumer
Question #5
Sumer- Religion
Religion was very important to the people of Sumer
They were polytheistic. This means they believed in many different gods
Each city was centered around a ziggurat (temple)
They believed that the god or goddess lived in the ziggurat and would worship them

7. Sumer- Government Each city-state had their own king (called an ensi)
Question #6
Sumer- Government
Each city-state had their own king (called an ensi)
The king had many responsibilities:
Leading religious ceremonies and building ziggurats
Leading the military and protecting the people
Collecting taxes
Building irrigation systems (canals, levees, and dams)
Acted as judges to settle disputes or when a crime was committed

8. Sumer- Written Language
Question #7
Sumer- Written Language
We know a lot about the Sumerians because they left us written records
Their language was called cuneiform

9. Sumer- Advanced Technology
Question #8
Sumer- Advanced Technology
The Sumerians also had many more innovations:
Bronze tools and weapons
Calendar- Helped predict flooding
Came up with the idea of 24 hours in a day and 60 minutes in an hour
Developed the world’s first wheel for wagons. This led to more trading and traveling
Plow for planting crops

10. Question #9 & 10
Sumer- How do we know?
In the 1900s, archaeologists found the remains of several cities from Ancient Sumer
Eridu is believed to be the world’s oldest city
founded around 5400 BCE
Uruk is believed to have a population of around 80,000 people in 2800 BCE
This is much larger than any other city discovered in Mesopotamia
Gilgamesh was king of Uruk
The Epic of Gilgamesh is believed to be the first written story in history

11. Sumer- Social Classes Specialized labor (jobs) created social classes
Question #11
Sumer- Social Classes
Specialized labor (jobs) created social classes
Each city-state was organized the same
Children fell into the same social class and had the same jobs as their parents
People could not move up in social class

12. Sumer- Social Classes Kings- Rulers
Government Officials- Worked for the king
Priests- Made offerings to the gods and led religious ceremonies to please the gods and keep the city-states safe

13. Sumer- Social Classes
Scribes- Professional writers. They usually worked for the government or help merchants keep track of trade
Merchants- Traded goods between the city- states and would later trade with other civilizations like Egypt and India
Artisans- Made crafts of had specific jobs:
Weavers
Pottery
Made weapons and tools
Bakers

14. Sumer- Social Classes Farmers- Grew crops and harvested food to trade
They would give food to the king for protection and irrigation
They would give food to priests so the gods would reward them with a good harvest
Slaves- People became slaves by being captured during wars or they were criminals and it was their punishment
Their job was usually hard labor, like digging irrigation ditches or carrying bricks for ziggurats