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Mesopotamia: The Birthplace of Civilization

Discover the early civilizations that developed around the rivers of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) and their contributions to history, including irrigation, writing, calendar, and more.

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Mesopotamia: The Birthplace of Civilization

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  1. Early Civilizations MESOPOTAMIA

  2. Modern day Iraq • Mesopotamia literally translates as “between rivers” • The land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers • First civilizations always develop around bodies of water • These locations are move favourable for the development of agriculture as well as transportation location

  3. Climate was difficult and challenging: • Very hot and dry desert climate • Seasonal flooding • Farmers of the area learned to control the flooding rivers and used the resulting fertility to produce crops such as barley, wheat, flax, and sesame. • The fertile ground also supported many different kinds of fruit and vegetable crops. Importance of the rivers

  4. The people who established the world's firstcivilization around 3500 B.C. in southern Mesopotamia were known as the Sumerians History - Sumerians

  5. Irrigation and other means of exploiting food sources were being used to amass large surpluses • Huge building projects were being undertaken by rulers, and political organization was becoming evermore sophisticated Development of a society

  6. At the center of each city-state was a temple surrounded by courts and public buildings. • Radiating from the all-important city center were the two-story houses of the priests and merchants, or the upper class • Then the one-story homes of government officials, shopkeepers, and craftspeople • Followed by the lower class homes of farmers, unskilled workers, and fishermen. The city-state also included the fertile farming land outside the city wall. Early City-States

  7. Since there wasn't any building stone and very little timber, the people constructed their homes, public buildings, and city walls out of sun-dried mud brick. Homes

  8. Ziggurats were constructed as temples to the Gods They were step pyramids Only the Priest was allowed to enter (they were not intended for public worship) Ziggurats

  9. Cuneiform script is the earliest known writing system in the world Developed by the Sumerians in the 34th century BCE A pictographic system of writing Important inventions - writing

  10. TheSumerians were the first people to record dates They used a calendar based on the lunar cycle They also created this first zodiac Important inventions - Calendar

  11. TheSumerians are credited with being the first civilization to: • Have pottery and decorative furniture • Use complex music for enjoyment • Have a code of law • Have developed religion, mythology and astrology • Have grown multiple crops and irrigate the land • Mathematics: multiplication tables, geometry, division, abacus • Have a developed army Other Important inventions

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