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Mesopotamia’s Civilization. Civilizations are complex societies with cities, governments, art, religion, class divisions, and a writing system . Rivers were used for travel, trade, and made good farming conditions . Mesopotamia’s Civilization.
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Mesopotamia’s Civilization • Civilizations are complex societies with cities, governments, art, religion, class divisions, and a writing system. • Rivers were used for travel, trade, and made good farming conditions.
Mesopotamia’s Civilization Governments were formed because someone had to make plans and decisions for the common good.
Mesopotamia’s Civilization • Mesopotamia is a flat plain bounded by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. • Floods in Mesopotamia were frequent and unpredictable. • Farmers learned to control the rivers with dams and channels. • They also used the rivers to irrigate, or water, their crops.
Mesopotamia’s Civilization • Many cities formed in a southern region of Mesopotamia known as Sumer. • Sumerian cities were city-states, with their own governments. • Sumerian cities often fought each other. • To protect themselves, the city-states built walls around themselves.
Mesopotamia’s Civilization • Sumerians believed in many gods • Each city-state had a ziggurat, or grand temple, to honor the gods.
Mesopotamia’s Civilization • Most Sumerians were farmers, but some were artisans, or skilled workers • Others were merchants and traders • Sumerian city-states had three classes: - The upper class consisted of kings, priests, and government officials. - The middle class consisted of artisans, merchants, fishers, and farmers - The lower class consisted of slaves.
Summary Discussion Question • What effect did irrigation have on the people of Mesopotamia?
Summary Discussion Answer • Irrigation allowed farmers to grow plenty of food. More food meant more people could be fed, so the population grew.
W.I.O • WIO: Draw a concept map of a Sumerian city-state (Location, Gov, Relationship, Protection) • *Gifted and Pre-AP WIO: Draw a concept map of a Sumerian city-state (Location, Gov, Relationship, Protection). Develop your own city state with at least five topics. Use descriptions that help your reader visualize the area.
A Skilled People • Mesopotamia has been called the cradle of civilization because of the influence of Sumerian ideas on other areas. • Writing helps people keep records and pass on ideas • Sumerians developed a writing system called cuneiform. • Only a few people, called scribes, learned to write.
A Skilled People • The Sumerians also produced the oldest known story, the Epic ofGilgamesh. • The Sumerians also invented new technology such as the wagon wheel, the sailboat, and the plow • The Sumerians developed many mathematical ideas, including geometry, a number system based on 60, and a 12-month calendar.
