Chapter 3 sec 1

1. Chapter 3 sec 1

2. Geography of Mesopotamia • The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are in Southwest Asia. Located in Iraq. • They start in the mountains of what are now Turkey and Kurdistan. • From there they flow through what is now Iraq southeast to the Persian Gulf. • Mesopotamia • Mesopotamia is the name historians have given the land that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

3. Mesopotamia • The rivers provided water and means of travel. • In ancient times it was easier to travel by boat than over land. • Boats carry heavy loads. • Current helped move boats • Also, very few roads existed.

4. Fertile Soil • Almost every year, rain and melting snow in the mountains caused the rivers to swell. • As the water down the mountains, it picked up soil. • When the rivers reached the plains, water overflowed onto the floodplain, the flat land bordering the banks. • As the water spread over the floodplain, the soil it carried settled on the land. • The fine soil deposited by rivers is called silt.

5. Controlling Water by Irrigation • Farming in a semiarid climate is very difficult. • Less than 10 inches of rain • Although this region is hot and dry, ancient people could still grow crops because of the rivers and the fertile soil. • By about 6000 B.C., farmers built canals to carry water from rivers to their fields. Such a system is called irrigation.

6. Floods • The yearly floods was unpredictable. • Farmers could not predict when to plant. • Also the flood’s size depended on how much snow melted in the mountains in spring and how much rain fell. • If there was a too much the floods could be violent and wash everything away.

7. Droughts • A drought is a period when not enough rain and snow fall. • In a semiarid region, drought is a constant danger. • During a drought, the river level would drop, making it hard to water crops. • If crops failed, people starved.

8. Mud Houses and Walls • Mesopotamia had few building materials. • Since they could not build with wood or stone, they used mud for bricks and plaster. • Mesopotamians built mud walls around their villages.

9. Chapter 3 sec 2 The First Civilization

10. The Rise of Civilization • The rise of agriculture enabled people to settle in villages. • They didn’t have to search for food. • As more people decided to live in communities, villages grew larger. • Food surpluses allowed people to do other work besides farming. • Most historians believe the first civilizations rose about 3300 B.C. in Sumer, which was a region in southern Mesopotamia.

11. Five Traits of Civilizations • 1. Advanced Cities • Trade • Surplus • Temples • 2. Specialized Workers • Houses • Jewelry • Weavers • Pottery

12. Continued • 3. Complex Institutions • Religion • Government • Schools and institutions • 4. Record Keeping • Writing • Wooden counting sticks • Trade • Surplus of food • 5. Advanced Technology • New tools • New metals • Bronze • copper

13. Sumerian City-States • A city-state was a community that included a city and its nearby farmlands was called a city-state. • A city-state included the nearby land and the surrounding villages. • Between 10,000 and 100,000 people might have lived in a city-state. • Each city-state ruled itself. • Most Sumerians lived in city-states.

14. The City-States of Sumer • By 3000 B.C., Sumer had at least 12 city-states. • Some of the more famous ones were Kish, Nippur, and Ur.

15. Life in the City • People built their houses of mud walls that were several feet thick. • Such thick walls helped to keep heat out. • Narrow tunnels ran through the walls, carrying fresh air from the outside into the house. • Doorways • Narrow winding streets • Gates in the walls • Cooking took place in the courtyards

16. The Ziggurat: City Center • The largest and most important structure in a Sumerian city was the temple. • It was called a ziggurat. • The main purpose of a ziggurat was to serve as a place for religious services. • The ziggurat functioned as a sort of city hall.

17. Leadership • Priest played an important political role in Sumer. • Priest went to the gods for help • They advised people how to act in order to please the gods • The Sumerians believed in many gods and goddesses. • A belief in many gods and goddesses is called polytheism. • Sumerians believed that four main gods created the world and ruled over it. These were the gods of sky, wind, foothills, and fresh water. • Each city-state worshiped its own god. • In addition Sumerians had thousands of lesser gods. • The Sumerians believed their gods looked and acted like people.

18. Priest Become Leaders Life in Sumer had many dangers: flooding, droughts, and invasions. Sumerians believed the gods could prevent these troubles. Each god had many priests. The priest worked to satisfy the gods and claimed to have influence with them. Because of this claim people, accepted the priest as leaders.

19. New Leader in Sumer • Kings emerged as highest-ranking leader of people. • They lead during battle • Control the surplus • Maintain canals • Act as judges • Protect the people from attacks

20. Chapter 3 sec 3

21. Social Classes • The king and the priest were at the top of the upper classes in Sumer. • The Sumerians believed their kings and priests had a link to the gods, so they had great influence over the people. • The in-between classes included all free people. • Most people in Sumer were middle class, including many farmers and artisans.

22. Role of Women and Slaves • Most slaves were taken as prisoners during war. • Slave had some rights • They could conduct business and eventually buy their own freedom. • All of the social classes included women, so their social positions varied widely. • Some upper-class women became priestesses • They could own land • Many worked as artisans • Most stayed home and raised children

23. Early Inventions • Historians believe that Sumerians may have invented the plow and the wheel. These inventions helped Sumerians a great deal in their daily lives. • The plow was the first important tool invented to help farmers. • The first plows were often simple digging sticks with handles. • The Sumerians used the wheel in many ways, such as on wagons to transport goods. Wheeled wagons helped farmers take their crops to market more easily and quickly.

24. Early Wheel

25. Early Inventions

26. Potter’s Wheel

27. Sumerians • Sumerians were among the first people to use bronze, a mixture of copper and tin. • Bronze was stronger than copper so tools lasted longer. • Mathematics • The Sumerians developed arithmetic to keep records of crops and trade goods. • Their number system was based on the number 60. • 60 seconds • 60 minutes • 360 degrees • Triangle • Measuring rope • Understood geometric shapes

28. Creation of Written Language • Sumerians invented writing by 3000 B.C. to meet the needs of business. • Sumerians first used picture writing to keep track of goods. • Clay tokens had an image of a product, such as a cow, to keep track of goods. • Such symbols are known as pictographs which means “picture writing.” • In time Sumerians stopped using tokens. They just drew the pictographs on clay tablets.

29. Cuneiform • Sumerians began to use pictographs to stand for sound and ides. • Sumerians used sharpened reed called a stylus to press markings into a clay tablet. • This wedge-shaped writing was called cuneiform. • The Sumerian language contained about 600 different symbols. • Learning all of the symbols took years. • People who specialized in writing were called scribes.

30. Pictographs