MESOPOTAMIA PROJECT• You are an archaeological historian and are about to embark on a fantastic

journey into the past to discover the mysteries of ancient Mesopotamia. Your goal is to achieve an understanding of what life was like, what the culture consisted of, how the government developed, details about the religious beliefs, the development of trade, the development of specialization and social classes, and how the first written language looked. You will discover that much of what we in the twenty-first century take for granted in our civilization has roots in the Mesopotamia of 5000 years ago. You will be asked to explore a number of web sites and find specific information that you will use to perform a number of tasks that you will adapt into a finished project to be turned in. You will also be directed to a variety of web sites and will be asked to complete a variety of tasks.

• Get started by going to the Project Tasks page under the categories label on the right side of the webpage and complete the tasks in order of 1 though 10.

TASK 1 – TITLE PAGE

• Create a title page! Include: Your name The Class (6th Grade Social Studies) My Name (Mrs. Pontius). Do you best to decorate the cover page with images that remind you of Mesopotamia.

TASK 2 – IT HAPPENED FIRST IN ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/world/newsid_2955000/2955531.stm• In this article are a number of “firsts” that

Mesopotamians achieved. Select two of these and design a visual that depicts each of the achievements. The visual maybe drawn or you may bring in a model. On the title page describe how each could have been used during this time. Your visual should have labels, be colorful, and be accurate. Title this page “It Happened First in Ancient Mesopotamia”, and add it to your packet of information with the cuneiform cover.

TASK 3 - CUNEIFORM

Read the story about the development of writing from the British Museum.• http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/writing/story/sto_set.html• Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

Please put this heading “Cuneiform” at the top of your page.• What time period did people start to record the amounts of

different crops?2. Draw the symbol for barley.3. What was usually next to the barley sign?4. What is the Sumerian word for fig cakes?5. Beside business and trade, what was cuneiform used for?6. Cuneiform script was used to write what other languages?7. Draw the sign for the ox c.600.

TASK 4 - Gods and Demons

• Go to http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/gods/explore/exp_set.html

• Read Gods and Demons of Ancient Mesopotamia• Create a page titled “God and Demons of Ancient

Mesopotamia” and list the following gods and goddesses names: Enki, Gula, Isthar, Ninurta, and Anu. Explain who they were and what their power was. Add this to your packet of information with the cover page.

TASK 5 - CODE OF HAMMURABI

• Create a page titled “The Code of Hammurabi”. On the http://mesopotamiaprojectist.wordpress.com/code-of-hammurabi/

• page are the laws of Hammurabi as translated from cuneiform. Select four laws and write them out. After each law, explain in your own words what the law means in today’s world. Do you know if there are simliar laws.

• Also go to the page http://mesopotamiaprojectist.wordpress.com/code-of-hammurabi-situations/

• Read each of the situations and see what Hammurabi declared. Answer this question after reading all of the situations and Hammurabi’s decisions on them, Why did Hammurabi’s laws and punishments seem so cruel to us? Give examples and reasons for your answer. In your answer think about our laws and how we create them. Do you think our laws are fair? Your answer should be multiple paragraphs.

TASK 6 - VOCABULARY EXERCISES

• http://mmapes.com/no_wp/Mesopotamia/mesopotamiawebquest.htm#terms

• Read the important vocabulary. These terms are important to your understanding of ancient Mesopotamia. You will want to copy and paste these words to a Word document for studying purposes. Spend some time learning these terms and what they mean. Include these words in your packet. Label the page for your packet “Ancient Mesopotamia“

• Click on Vocabulary Exercises and complete the exercise shown. Create a page labeled “Vocabulary Exercises” for your packet.

TASK 7 ZIGGURAT• Go research ziggurats at the British Museum. Write a one page,

multipargraph report on ziggurats. Include the following information -1. Explain what a ziggurat is.2. How and why they were built3. How does the building function in the culture. How does it effect daily life? 4. Famous ziggurats

• On another page draw and label the parts of a ziggurat. Play the challenge game. At the bottom of your ziggurat drawing, explain what you learned when you played the challenge game.

• Title these two pages “Ziggurats” and include them in your packet.

TASK 8 - ASTRONOMERS• Go research astronomers at the British Museum. Write a one page,

multiparagraph report on the astronomers in Mesopotamia. Include the following information:1. Who is Aplum?2. What was Aplum’s job and what did he learn from his job?3. Why was his job important to Babylonians?4. What did Aplum need to do to add a month to the calendar?5. Did the King accept the extra month?

• Each paragraph should have a topic sentence.• Explore some of the texts of the scribes of Enuma Anu Enlil. Describe

what you learned in a paragraph. Play the challenge game. Explained what you learned from the game.

• Title these two pages “Astronomers” and include them in your packet.

TASK 9 – ANCIENT SUMERIAN SOCIETY

• Go research the ancient Sumerian society. Write a one page, multiparagraph report on their society. Include the following information:1. Description of their Daily Life2. Description of the social classes – Describe each class.

• This section could be several paragraphs.3. Describe their religion.

• Each paragraph should have a topic sentence.

Below is a list of research sites.

• Classes of PeopleSumerian Society• Daily Life• Religion• Social Classes• Title this section, “Ancient Sumerian Society” and include it in your packet.

TASK 10 – DRAW A MAP• Find a map of ancient Mesopotamia and one that is current.• Do your best to redraw this map (don’t trace). Redraw the outlines of the

current nations that occupy the area and label them. Label the major rivers, lakes, mountains, and other major geographical places, including oceans and seas. Label the capital cities of the nations with a star next to them.

• Using a colored pencil, outline and fill in the area that used to be ancient Mesopotamia over the modern day map. Label the civilizations that were there. Label the major cities of these civilizations with a dot next to them.

• Color in the oceans and other water sources with blue. Make the land area green.

• Label this “The Middle East, Then and Now” and include it with your packet.

TASK 11: CULINARY CHALLENGE

• Let’s see how creative you can be!!! Research foods eaten in Mesopotamia. Below are a couple of links to check out.

• http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq3.html• http://www.pinterest.com/allmesopotamia/recipes-

of-mesopotamia/

• http://www.silkroadgourmet.com/cookoff-challenge-1-ancient-mesopotamian-cuisine/

• Print your recipe and include it with your project. Label it Task 11: Culinary Challenge.

RubricCriteria 1

10/24210/29

310/30

411/6

511/10

611/13

711/18

811/21

911/24

1011/26

1111/26

Task completed (3 pts)Turned in on time (1 pt)Effort put into project(3 pts)Total

• Task Completed: You will receive either 1,2 or 3 points determining how well you completed the task. If you followed all the direction and completed everything the task asked you to do, then you will get 3 points. If you do most of the task but skip a few parts, even one, you will be given 2 points. If you complete less then half of the task, you will receive 1 point. If you do not complete the task, you get no points.

• Turned in on time: You get one point for turning the project in when it is due. If are late then you do not receive that one point for the tasks. However, even though you miss one point if it is late, you should still complete the task because if you don’t you will miss out on the other six points that you can earn on that single task.

• Effort Put Into Project: I am not judging your artistic abilities. However, it will be obvious to me who does and does not put effort into their work. Here are some guidelines for making sure there is effort in your project:

• Always color when asked to draw something.• Use complete sentences when answering questions – no single word answers.• Do you best as an artist.• “I don’t know” is a lazy effort.