Unit 2, Ancient Civilizations & the 6 Elements of Civilization: Mesopotamia

1. Unit 2, Ancient Civilizations & the 6 Elements of Civilization: Mesopotamia Mr. Pagliaro Seymour High School

2. Part 1 Main Ideas • Geography: The Land between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers was a good region for agriculture. • Geography: The environment of Mesopotamia presented challenges to the people that lived there. • Geography: Mesopotamians changed their environment to improve life.

3. Part 1 Goals • Describe how the earliest civilization in Asia arose in Mesopotamia, organized into city-states, and developed into the world's first empire.

4. Vocabulary Terms Names Fertile Crescent Mesopotamia Euphrates River Tigris River Sumerians • flood-plain • silt • semi-arid

5. Ancient Fertile Crescent Area The Middle East: “The Cradle of Civilization”

6. The Tigris & Euphrates River Valley Mesopotamia: ”Land Between the Two Rivers” Rivers provided water, transportation Marsh Arabs, So. Iraq

7. Dead Sea: Lowest Point on Earth 2,300’ below sea level HighestSaltContent(33%)

8. How did the region support agriculture? Fertile Soil Climate Semi-arid Warm Dry • Irregular floods • Flood-plain overflowed • Silt deposits

9. How did the geography affect farming? • c. 6000 BC – Irrigation • Controlled floods • Diverted water to fields • c. 4000 BC – Many Sumerian farming villages, cities like Ur

10. How did Mesopotamians cope with a lack of resources? • Mud bricks • Homes • Walls • No natural defenses from other peoples • Surplus crops • Traded outside region

11. Part 1 Summary • The floods of the Tigris & Euphrates rivers left rsilt in Mesopotamia for growing crops. • People developed irrigation to control floods and water crops. • With few resources, Mesopotamians traded surplus crops

12. Why it matters now… • Mesopotamians 8000 years ago through today have worked to overcome a lack of natural resourcesand natural barriers.

13. Part 2 Sumerians: The First Civilization

14. Part 2 Main Ideas Government: A new type of government developed in Sumer (southern Mesopotamia) that included the city and the surrounding lands. Government: Religion dominated life in Sumer, but eventually men who were not priests became political rulers. Culture: Sumerian society was divided into several classes Science & Technology: Sumerians invented tools and developed special knowledge to improve their lives.

15. Part 2 Goals • Describe and analyze Sumerian city-states and how other cultures learned about them. • Apply the 6 elements of civilization to Sumerian religious beliefs, artistic activity, social classes, writing, and examine the technology

16. Part 2 Key Vocabulary Terms Names Sumer Sumerians The Epic of Gilgamesh • city-state • cuneiform • scribes • ziggurat • priest-kings

17. Sumerian Civilization • World’s 1st civilization-Sumerians: c. 3300 BC • What are the 6 elements of civilization? • Cities • Government • Written records • Artistic activity • Religious Activity • Social Classes Sumerian farmers

18. Emerging civilization

19. Examples of Cities

20. Features of Cities • Places for: • storage & trade of surplus grain • specialized jobs & markets • home to ziggurats

21. Government • City-states • Who ruled early Sumerian city-states? Why may priests have been able to take power? Priest-kings or Ensi

22. Religion • Polytheism (polytheistic) • Many gods • anthropomorphic

23. Other institutions • Schools for scribes • military

24. Writing • Cuneiform • Wedge-shaped • Reed stylus • Clay tablets

25. Writing as art… • Literature-The Epic of Gilgamesh

26. Artistic Achievements Royal Game of Ur – Try to play? Jewelry: fashion & art Harp: music & art Harp: music & art

27. Social Classes • Complex, unequal • Upper class • Kings, priests, landowners, royal officials • Middle class • soldiers, scribes, merchants, artisans, farmers • Lowest class • laborers, slaves Why were the kings and priests in the highest class?

28. Sumerian Technology • Wheel • Sailboats • Plows • Calendar • Irrigation

29. Why was Sumer a good example of a civilization?

30. Let’s see…

31. Lesson Summary • Sumerians were the first civilization to include all 6 elements • Sumerian society had several classes: kings at the top, slaves at the bottom • The Sumerians created the first organized religion, governments, and writing system

32. Why it matters now… • The governments of Mesopotamia set examples for later civilizations. • Writing makes it easier to pass knowledge from one generation to the next.

33. Part 3 Akkadians & Babylonians

34. Part 3 Main Ideas Government: Empires emerged in Mesopotamia, combining multiple cultures. Government: Law codes help organize people within a society.

35. Part 3 Goals • Identify the contributions of the Akkadians and Babylonians. • Identify Sargon I and Hammurabi. • Evaluate Hammurabi’s Code

36. Part 3 Key Vocabulary Terms Names Akkadians Babylonians Sargon Hammurabi Hammurabi’s Code • empire • dynasty • retribution

37. Sargon of Akkad:The World’s First Empire [Akkadians]

38. The Babylonian Empires

39. Hammurabi • Babylonian Emperor • Ammoritedynasty • Hammurabi’s Code • World’s 1st uniform law code • retribution • “An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooh.” • Applied to all classes, all cultures

40. Hammurabi’s [r. 1792-1750 BC] Code

41. Hammurabi, the Judge

42. Babylonian MathInvented Geometry

43. Babylonian NumbersBase 60 number system