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The First Civilizations

The First Civilizations. The Mesopotamians, 3000-1000 B.C. The Sumerian and Akkadian Period, 2800-2150 B.C. Mesopotamians, 3000-1000 B.C. Mesopotamia originally not suited for human settlement Humans must modifications to the region Mesopotamia means between “the two rivers”

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The First Civilizations

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  1. The First Civilizations The Mesopotamians, 3000-1000 B.C. The Sumerian and Akkadian Period, 2800-2150 B.C.

  2. Mesopotamians, 3000-1000 B.C. • Mesopotamia originally not suited for human settlement • Humans must modifications to the region • Mesopotamia means between “the two rivers” • Tigris and Euphrates Rivers • 120° summers and only 10 inches of rainfall a year

  3. Mesopotamians, 3000-1000 B.C. • The region that was located along the waterways in Mesopotamia was called the Fertile Crescent • Fertile Crescent had yearly deposit of fertile silt that provided rich topsoil • Rivers provided abundance of fish and attracted animals

  4. Mesopotamians, 3000-1000 B.C. • Bronze Age born with smelting of copper and tin • Swamp marshes around rivers produced reeds for fuel and swamp mud made bricks • Abundance of plants provide food for domestic animals

  5. Mesopotamians, 3000-1000 B.C. • Mesopotamia lacked resources like stone, lumber and minerals • Humans adapted to region by using river ways to move natural resources • The development of sailed boats and the wheel helped in movement of resources across water and land • Villages settled along river ways and lead to the development of urban areas around 3,000 B.C. • Region in constant struggle because of water waysandlocation

  6. Mesopotamians, 3000-1000 B.C. • Religion • Polytheistic any religion that recognizes more than one god • Ziggurat an ancient Mesopotamian temple which served as a temple, government offices, and a storehouse for grain • Worshipped gods for protection, help and no hope for an afterlife

  7. Mesopotamians, 3000-1000 B.C. • Social structure developed in city states • Military and religious leaders became social and political elites • Skilled workers • Slaves and peasants worked for elites • Male dominance in family

  8. Mesopotamians, 3000-1000 B.C. • Economy • Trade routes developed along the water ways • Both the Tigris and the Euphrates reached different markets because of their locations • Cities along river ways became heavily involved in commerce

  9. The Sumerians • Modified environment by draining swamps, irrigation and building drainage canals • Floods and droughts still devastated region • Introduce cuneiform, a system of writing using reeds to make impressions • Cuneiform introduced management of government, communication and record keeping

  10. The Sumerians • Sumerian Religion • Worshipped at a ziggurat, a large temple complex where daily government business was addressed • Government and religious beliefs replace loyalty to one’s tribe or clan • Ziggurat size was attempt to reach gods • Statue of god was worshipped there and it served a symbolic purpose

  11. The Sumerians • City Life in Sumeria • Mud brick houses • 40% of grain used to make ale • Vegetables, fish, figs, dates and cheese part of diet • Parents arranged marriages • Adultery a punishable crime

  12. The Sumerians • Women’s Roles • Women worked as tavern owners, merchants and wine sellers • Laws distinguished between respectable women and prostitutes • Slave women clothes distinguished them as slaves

  13. The Sumerians • Large city states develop like Ur, Uruk and Kish • They were constantly at war for water, trade routes and influence • Developed a large trade in textiles, animals, stone and bronze • Sumerians considered the earliest civilization

  14. The Sumerians • Sumerian Religion • Polytheistic – any religion that recognizes more than one god • Natural disasters act of gods • Devotion to gods would spare them disasters not an afterlife

  15. Akkadian Period, 2800-2150 B.C. • Sargon I (2300 B.C.) conquered Sumerians and saw an empire that stretched from Persian Gulf to Mediterranean • Used religion to unify Sumerians and Akkadians • Sargon places daughter, Enheduanna as high priestess of Sumerian and Akkadian gods

  16. Akkadian Period, 2800-2150 B.C. • Enheduanna successfully linked the two religions and set a tradition of daughters serving as high priestess • Gods are ranked by importance (powerful to weak) • People believe that their world reflects the ranking of peoples (king, nobles and peasants)

  17. Akkadian Period, 2800-2150 B.C. • Cuneiform, earliest written language, developed by accountants which was created by using a reed on a clay tablet • Scribes were the only people that knew how to read and write cuneiform • Used for inventory, payroll of soldiers, property ownership and correspondence between monarchs

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