1. Warm Up What does “fertile” mean?
What does it mean to have “fertile soil/land”?
What is silt?

2. Core Civilizations

3. City-States of Mesopotamia

4. Geography
“Fertile Crescent”: area between Persian Gulf and Eastern Mediterranean shore & length of Nile R.
Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
Flow SE into Persian Gulf
Mesopotamia = “Land between two rivers”
Annual flooding of rivers leaves silt (++ farming)

5. Human Arrival into Mesopotamia
People moved into area after 10,000 BC (pop. pressure)
Why settle in Mesopotamia?
River valley had fertile land (silt)
Access to Persian Gulf for fishing, trade
Rivers allowed for easy irrigation
Challenges to settlers
Annual flooding was unpredictable
Small area with no natural protection
Limited natural resources (little stone, wood or metal)
Modern
Flooding of
Tigris R.

6. Human Arrival into Area
Solutions to Challenges
Irrigation projects to control flood waters (levees; channels)
Built walls around cities for protection
Traded for scarce goods with neighboring regions
Sumerians plowing
City walls of
Jericho

7. City States of Mesopotamia
City state = different walled cities of area, each with their own leader
Politically independent
Economically dependent (trade)
Militarily competitive, mainly through raiding each other; not conquest
City plan
of Ur

8. Activity 8 features of civilization WS
Identify and define the 8 features
Then reflect and answer in the question on the back in 2 paragraphs.
Think about what does it mean to be considered a complex civilization?
Due EOC

9. Warm Up-Definitions
Cultural Diffusion
Cuneiform
Pictograms.
Due EOC.

10. City States of Mesopotamia
Political Power
Irrigation projects needed leaders to organize (beginning of government)
Priest-kings served as go between for Gods and man
Religion the basis of political power
City state’s gods owned all land
Priest-king served as agent of gods
Priest-kings ruled society

11. Code of Hammurabi Covers most things in daily life – criminal & civil
Goal is to ensure justice and protect the weak.
Treated nobles and commoners different.
Retaliatory - an “eye for and eye” legal system.
Why is it important for a society to have established and defined laws and rules?

12. City States of Mesopotamia
After 3000 BC, war became more common and warriors became permanent leaders
Fought other city-states
Border disputes
Raiding cattle
Dynasties established
Series of priest-kings passing power on to their own sons
Sumerian war chariot, c BC
Sumerian soldier with armored cloak

13. Cultural Diffusion
Idea or product spreading from one culture to another
Spread mainly by trade
Ideas spread included…
Layout of cities
Religious beliefs
Government organization
Technologies

14. Sumerian Culture Religion Polytheistic
Sumerian Gods
Religion
Polytheistic
About 3000 gods in all
Gods were immortal and all powerful
Many had human traits
Built ziggurats to please the gods
Temples were home of gods
Tower of Babel from bible a ziggurat
Ziggurat

15. Sumerian Technology
Invented the wheel for both trade and war, around 3500 BC
Sail helped trade
Plow improved farming
Sun dried mud bricks allowed for construction of buildings (why use mud?)

16. Sumerian Technology: Cuneiform and Counting
First system of writing
Used wedge shaped reed pressed into wet clay tablet
Tablet then fired in oven to create permanent record
Number system was base 60
Still used today (time, circle)

17. Poor (farmers, artisans)
Sumerian Society
Priest-King
Priests, scribes
Wealthy merchants
Poor (farmers, artisans)
Slaves
Sumerian Hierarchy
Women had many rights, but little education

18. Activity
Complete Code of Hammurabi WS
Due EOC.

19. Warm Up
What is the Code of Hammurabi?

20. Activity Read the Ten Commandments
Read the selected rules from Hammurabi’s Code
COMPLETE BOTH ASSIGNMENTS!!
1. Choose 1 law of Moses and 1 punishment of Hammurabi that matches and create a comic strip.
2. Write your own commandment/code. Create ten laws and ten punishments that fit the crime of disobeying.

21. Warm Up What are the 2 rivers that dissect Mesopotamia?
What is the river that dissects Egypt?
What is the system of writing in Mesopotamia?
What is the system of writing in Ancient Egypt?

22. Egypt 3200 B.C. to 500 B.C.
Location: Northeast Africa along the Nile River.
Agriculture: Each year the Nile River floods making the surrounding land fertile. Egyptian farmers were able to grow an abundant amount of food to support the craftsmen, warriors, priests and nobles of the land.
How is the location of Egypt similar to and different from that of Mesopotamia?

23. Egypt

24. Egypt
Government: The Egyptian Pharaoh was an absolute monarch. He owned all the land, commanded the army, made laws, controlled irrigation and grain supplies, and defended Egypt from foreign invaders.
He was considered one of the gods.
What are the benefits and drawbacks to this type of government?

25. Egypt
Religion: The Egyptian religion was polytheistic and the Pharaoh was considered a god. They built pyramids to preserve their rulers body in the afterlife. They surrounded him with gold, jewels, and other items he might need in the afterlife.

26. Egypt
Contributions:
Medicine: developed knowledge of the human body through embalming and surgery.
Hieroglyphics: developed one of the earliest forms of writing using pictures and symbols.
Architecture: built magnificent pyramids, temples, and palaces of stone.
Geometry: developed geometry to build projects such as the pyramids.
Astronomy: by observing the stars, they developed a calendar based on 365 days.

27. Activity
Primary Source Analysis: Complete in class.

28. Warm Up Who were the pyramids built for and why?
What are the 2 rivers that dissect Mesopotamia?
What is the river that dissects Egypt?
What is the system of writing in Mesopotamia?
What is the system of writing in Ancient Egypt?

29. Indus Valley 2500 B.C. – 1500 B.C.

30. Indus River Valley
Location: Along the Indus River in present-day Pakistan.
Agriculture: Farmers grew barley, wheat, dates, & melons. A surplus of food allowed them to flourish.
Building: Well-planned cities suggest they had a well-organized government. Cities included dockyards, granaries, warehouses, & brick protective walls.
They were one of the 1st societies to have ‘urban planning’ with houses connected to a public sewage system & a water supply. They also grew cotton to make clothing & had standardized weights & measures.

31. Indus Valley
Trade: Trade was important to the economy. Small clay seals used for trading have been discovered. There was also evidence of the use of metals.
They were polytheistic & developed their own form of writing, but its never been decoded.
Collapse: There is no evidence as to what ended this civilization. Experts suggest an earthquake, a flood, a volcanic eruption or invasion were the factors.

33. Shang China B.C. to 1027 B.C.
Location: Along the Huang He (Yellow River)
Agriculture: The Yellow River flooded yearly and made the area very fertile. Millet (grain) and soybeans were the main crops. Chicken and pigs were also raised.
Government: Monarchy; ruling families are called dynasties. In each dynasty the monarch had near absolute power.

34. Shang China Contributions: Bronze weapons, tools, and crafts
Silk textiles
System of writing with pictographs

35. Activity Complete Graphic Organizer for India and China.
Compare and contrast-how were they similar? How were they different?
Research and write down answers to the short essay questions.
Need to provide TWO pieces of evidence per answer.
Due EOC