1. Ancient Mesopotamia: The First Great Civilization
THEME FOUR: TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATIONS

2. Guiding Question: How would our lives be different without the innovations of the Mesopotamians?

3. Many Mesopotamian innovations changed the way people live in most parts of the world:
Here are some areas we will look at:
Engineering
Farming Technology
Astronomy
Math
Writing
Laws

4. Engineering Mesopotamians were the first people to use the wheel
They used it to transport goods and people, as war chariots, pulleys, potter’s wheel

5. Farming Technology The Mesopotamians harnessed animals to pull ploughs
They altered the design of the plough so that it would turn soil AND drop seeds in the same pass

6. Astronomy
The Mesopotamians created a 12 month calendar based on the cycles of the moon (WE STILL USE THIS TODAY!)
They divided the year into seasons: Summer & Winter

7. Math The Mesopotamians used math to design & build canals
They used math to keep accurate farm & trade records
They used math to calculate taxes owed to the state
Their counting system was based on 60.
We still use the 60 counting system to count time in minutes & seconds
We still use 360 degrees to measure a circle

8. Writing
The Mesopotamians were the first people to develop a written language
They were probably the first to keep records of trade
Education, laws, history & literature all became possible when humans could records their ideas

9. Cuneiform: the first form of writing
Sumerians ( people of an early Mesopotamian empire) developed a form of writing called “cuneiform”
Cuneiform was created sometime in the 4th century BCE.
This writing was recorded on clay tablets using pens made out of reeds. The pen was called a “stylus”
The language started as simple pictographs on one small clay token and evolved into several pictographs on a large clay tablet.

10. A Cuneiform Alphabet Activity…

11. Government & Laws Mesopotamia had one of the first legal systems
Their laws were made by the King
People involved in disputes often took their cases to government officials to make a decision
The King or his government officials made all of the decisions when it came to court cases

12. King Hammurabi & Hammurabi’s Code
King Hammurabi was the King of Babylon from B.C.E.
His code of laws addressed everything from family life, property, animals, and day to day life.
His created this code of laws so that the weaker members of society would not be treated poorly by the more powerful people.
His laws were created to ensure equality in how everyone was treated. The punishments were the same for everyone, and that made it more peaceful because people knew what would happen if they broke the law.

13. Guiding Question:
How would our lives be different without the innovations of the Mesopotamians?