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World History

Mrs. Duffy

Choose a seat. Take a handout. Please have your notebook on your desk.

Thank You!

5 6EQ: What were the accomplishments of Mesopotamia?

Mesopotamia “land between two rivers” 3500 BC –

1600 BC

- Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

- flooding = fertile soil

- Sumerians arrived and begin irrigation

Agriculture

- Irrigation = water diverted to the land

- Farming and settlement flourished

- Food supply increased

- Allowed for activities other than farming

- Potters, weavers, metal workers,warriors

Religiom

- Polythestic = beliving in many gods

- 2000 gods

- World’s oldest faiths

- Sumerian rulers = faith

- Theocracy = society governed by religious

leaders

- Ziggurates = stepped-pyramid temple

- Temple to please the Gods

- Center of each city

Achievements Sumerians

- The wheel and sailboat

- Tools and weapons of copper and bronze

- 12 month calendar

- Cuneiforms = world’s earliest writing system

- Symbol writing on clay tablets

- The elite could read and write cuneiform

- Priest and scribes

Social Structure Pyramid

Mesopotamia

Symbols on clay tablets

Carts, Wheels,

Irrigation

Temple, WallMedicine,

King, Warriors

Religion. Monarchy

Mesopotamia

Record Keeping

Institutions

Specialized Workers

Cities

Advanced Technology

EQ: What were the important characteristics of the civilizations in Mesopotamia? 6

• Essential Question:

• What were the important characteristics of the civilizations

in Mesopotamia?

• Warm-Up Question:

• Why was the Neolithic Revolution such a big deal?

• Which of the 5 characteristics of civilizations do you think is most important?

River Valley CivilizationsThe discovery of farming during the Neolithic Revolution

allowed nomadic people to settle into civilizations

The world’s first civilizations all began in river valleys

The first civilization began in an area known

as Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia means “land between the rivers” & is

often called the “Fertile Crescent” or as the “Cradle of Civilization”

The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flooded once per year, leaving

behind fertile soil ideal for farming

Irrigation= water diverted to the land Farming and settlement flourished Food supply increased

Allowed for activates other than farming- Potters, weavers, metal workers,

warriors, priests.

The first civilization developed in the Fertile Crescent: Sumer

But, surrounding deserts & the lack of natural barriers attracted outsiders to Mesopotamia

made the Sumerians vulnerable to attack

Mesopotamia

Record Keeping

Institutions

Specialized Workers

Cities

Advanced Technology

Lasting Contributions •Advanced cities:

• Sumerian city-states were protected by high walls

•At the city center was a temple called a ziggurat

Lasting Contributions ■Specialized Workers:–At the top of society were

priests, and then kings

–In the middle were skilled workers, like merchants

–At the bottom, were common farmers & slaves

Lasting Contributions

• Religion:

• Sumerians & Babylonians were polytheistic

• Mesopotamian rulers were often priests.

• A government led by religious leaders is called a theocracy.

Lasting Contributions

•Government:

• Babylonian King Hammurabi

created the first legal code

• Hammurabi’s Code had 282

laws based on justice &

retaliation (an eye for an eye)

• The code had different

punishments for the various

levels of society

Lasting Contributions

Lasting Contributions •Writing:

• Sumerians made the world’s 1st writing called cuneiform

• Phoenicians simplified cuneiform to a 22 letter alphabet

• Phoenician merchants spread the alphabet throughout the Mediterranean world

•The alphabet influenced Greek, Latin, & English

Lasting Contributions • Technology:

• Sumerians inventions include the wheel, sail, plow, & bronze metalwork

• Sumerian created a calendar divided into 12 months.

• They developed a number system based on 60, which is the basis for our seconds and minutes today.

Closure Activity

• Examine the following primary source documents

and answer the questions. Write a paragraph

answering the following question (give evidence from

the documents):

Was Hammurabi’s Code just?