1. Ancient Mesopotamia The Sumer Civilization A study in cause and effect
The Fertile Crescent
The Cradle of Civilization

2. The Stone Age Paleolithic Age: Old Stone Age
2 million-20,000 (?) BCE
Primitive small tools
Small bands—hunters/gatherers—family, members
Nomadic
Mesolithic Age: Middle Stone Age
20,000(?)-6,000 BCE
Similar to Paleolithic, some contact between bands
Gradual move to settlement
Neolithic Age: New Stone Age= REVOLUTIONARY!

3. What happened in the Neolithic Age?
People began to farm and raise animals
Food Collectors  Food Producers
Farming Staying in one place instead of nomadic life (settlements)
Food production and settlementspopulation growth
Population growth CIVILIZATION

4. What makes a ‘Civilization’?
Advanced Cities
Social classes/variety of occupations
Organized Government
Formal Religion
Institutions
Record Keeping
Technology

5. Stop and Review With your table, try to answer these questions:
What is the difference between life in the Paleolithic age and life in the Neolithic age?
What are the 7 elements of a civilization?

6. Q: Where do the first Neolithic Settlements occur?

7. A: Zagros Foothills 8500 BCE—farming and settlement
Stone for tools, Forests for shelter, enough rainfall, mild climate population grows quickly over next 2000 years
But…by 5000 BCE, there is not enough land to grow enough food for everyone.
What to do??

8. Problem 1: To stay or go?
Move to the open plains below the foothills of the mountains
Pros:
2 Rivers (Tigris and the Euphrates)
There is no one there so the land is available
Fish, fowl, plenty of water for drinking
Cons:
Soil is hard and dry for much of the year
Then rivers flood
No timber or stones

9. What would you do? Why?
A: Stay in the foothills and increase the number of times the farmers plant their crops and hope to have enough food for everyone
B: Move to the river plains and try to grow crops there
C: Abandon farming and return to hunting and gathering
D: Attack neighboring villages and steal their food

10. Decision? At least some moved to the river plains

11. Mesopotamia=Cradle of Civilization Sumer Civilization (Sumerians)
Multiple settlements arise in the area between the rivers. These settlements are known as SUMER and the people are SUMERIANS
Big challenge? CLIMATE
Hot
Windy
Dust covered ground
Dry soil because not enough rain
Spring—rivers would flood—irregularly due to snowfall and snowmelt
Must control the water—how?

12. Problem 2: How to control the water?
Create a plan for controlling the water so your crops can survive both the drought and the floods
Think about where you will place fields in relation to the river? Where will your villages be in relation to the fields and the river?

13. How did the Sumerians tame the rivers?
Carry the water by hand in containers to the fields
Large banks of dirt or ‘Levees’ to keep the river from flooding
When they needed water—poked holes to let the water trickle through
Built canals to bring water to their fields
Built dams
Built water-collection pools at places along the river

14. The Result? Sumer Boomed!
Farmers could grow more crops More population.
Sumer Boomed!
Villages popped up all over which led to….

15. …Problem 3
The water system is working but it demands constant maintenance. The river carries silt and mud and clogs the dams and reservoirs. Your village works well together to keep the water flowing but all the other settlements are on the same river. One clogged system could destroy the whole thing.
What would you do?

16. Options… Maintain only the canals around your own village’s fields
Force members of another village to maintain the entire irrigation system throughout the year
Cooperate with other villages to regularly maintain the entire irrigation system
D. Abandon irrigation and return to collecting and carrying water from the river to the field

17. What happened?
Most villages worked together to keep the irrigation systems working properly
So between 3500 and 3000 BCE, the villages grew into towns and cities
Sumer grew into a far-reaching civilization with multiple cities
12 big cities, Ur was the largest-24,000 people

19. This leads to Problem 4…
As the towns and the population grows more and more water is needed. Cooperation between the towns began to break down. Some cities upriver used more water which left less for the cities downriver causing conflict.
Battle began to occur between Sumerian cities over access to water

20. The Problem with Battle…
Sumerian cities were vulnerable because there was no natural barriers (mountains, deserts)
Also vulnerable to nomad groups from both sides of the rivers
What do the cities do?

21. Solution? The Sumerians built high walls around their cities
They had canals that ran through the city to make sure they had a water supply inside the walls
Fields were inside and outside of the city walls
These walled cities became known as City-states—each with their own identity, government, religion, and loyal army.

22. With your table, answer these questions:
Can you answer this question? How did geographical challenges lead to the rise of city-states in Mesopotamia?
With your table, answer these questions:
1. What made the Neolithic settlements move from the Zagros mountains?
2. What challenge faced the farmers in Mesopotamia and how did they deal with it?
3. How did early Sumerian villages cooperate and why did that change?
How did the Sumerian cities ensure their safety?