1. Chapter 3: Ancient Mesopotamia
Lesson 2: The First Civilization — Sumer

2. Blah blah blah. This matters because . . .
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3. MAIN IDEAS
Culture Food surpluses, new technology, and advanced social organization led to a complex way of life—civilization.
Government A new type of government developed in Sumer that included a city and its surrounding lands.
Government Religion dominated life in Sumer, but in time, powerful men who were not priests became the political rulers.

4. EQ: How did civilization develop in the region of Sumer?
The Rise of Civilization
EQ: How did civilization develop in the region of Sumer?
Culture Grows More Complex
People settled in villages based on agriculture and cooperation. This community cooperation is known as civilization. Their shared behaviors and values is known as culture.
Most historians think civilization first began in Sumer, a region in southern Mesopotamia, in B.C.

6. EQ: How did civilization develop in the region of Sumer?
The Rise of Civilization
EQ: How did civilization develop in the region of Sumer?
Traits of Civilization
Cities—place to store & trade surplus grain, work, worship
Specialized Workers—special skills improved work quality
Organization—patriarchs judged, made treaties, oversaw trade
Institutions—patriarchs oversaw religion, education, armies
Record Keeping—Sticks for counting, cuneiform writing
Technology—Canals to irrigate crops, created iron tools

8. EQ: What new type of community developed in Sumer?
Sumerian City-States
EQ: What new type of community developed in Sumer?
The City-States of Sumer
City-state—a self-ruled community including city and nearby farmlands
By 3000 B.C., Sumer had at least 12 city-states on fertile land along the Tigris, Euphrates rivers.

10. EQ: What new type of community developed in Sumer?
Sumerian City-States
EQ: What new type of community developed in Sumer?
Life in the City
Slow-growing Sumerian cities had narrow, winding streets
Eventually walls with gates surrounded cities
Homes had thick mud walls to keep out heat, tunnels for fresh air, covered courtyard for cooking
The Ziggurat: City Center
In a Sumerian city, the largest building was the temple or ziggurat, first built around 2200 B.C.

11. Changes in Leadership EQ: How did the leadership of Sumer change?
Sumerian Religion
Polytheism—belief in & acceptance of many gods;
Henotheism—acknowledge other gods but believe in one;
Monotheism—there is only one god
Each city-state worshiped own god; believed gods looked and acted like people
“Religion, culture, society and politics were intertwined to a degree that it actually is a question whether or not religion can be identified in the sense of being separate from these other aspects of society.”

13. Nammu, Goddess of the Primeval Sea, "the mother who gave birth to heaven and earth."
An, God of the Heavens, leading Sumerian deity from Fourth Millennium B.C. until the city of Erech began to lose its power (c B.C.).
Ki, Goddess of the Earth
Enlil, God of Air and Storms, son of An and Ki: Enlil is credited with separating the heavens from earth and, therefore, described as the "father of the gods," "king of the universe," "king of all lands." For about a thousand years after 2500 B.C., Enlil is supreme ruler of Sumerian pantheon of gods and guardian of the city of Nippur; he is credited with raising up the "seed of the land" and with bringing "whatever is needful" into existence. Enlil is said to have been responsible for the me, a set of universal laws governing all existence.

14. Utu, sun god who lights the world with rays issuing from his shoulders: Utu was also the god of justice and carved out justice with the many-toothed saw he carried with him.
Ninhursag, Mother Earth, the source of all life: from Ninhursag came the birth of the planets; she is usually seen wearing a leafy crown and holding a branch to indicate fertility.
Enki, Lord of Water and Wisdom: Enki emits streams from his shoulders; he is the god who gave rulers their intelligence and who provided craftsmen with their skills.
Inanna, Goddess of Love and War: Inanna stands beside her insignia, gateposts hung with streamers, and is present whenever life is conceived through love or ended in battle.
Ereshkigal, Goddess of Darkness, Gloom, and Death, sister of Inanna

15. Changes in Leadership EQ: How did the leadership of Sumer change?
Service to the Gods
People followed religious rules, prayed, made offerings to gods at the ziggurat
In the afterlife, one’s spirit might wander the world as a ghost, or enter the underworld. Burial into family graves allowed dead family members to aid and protect one another.
New Leaders in Sumer
Around 3000 B.C., shared patriarchal leadership began to give way to rule by a single king
Around 2800 B.C., the first Sumerian ruler of historical record, Etana, king of Kish, was described in a document written centuries later as the "man who stabilized all the lands."

16. Summary & So What … Lesson Summary
Sumer had a complex society and culture. Historians consider it the first civilization.
Sumerian city-states were a form of government that included cities and the land around them.
Patriarchs functioned as priests and were the first leaders in Sumer, but kings became leaders when the need for defense grew.
Why It Matters Now...
Cities first became important in Sumer. People today still move to cities to find jobs, education, and culture.