Mesopotamia a Cradle of Civilization Land between the

Mesopotamia: a Cradle of Civilization Land between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates Metropolitan Museum of Art. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History – Mesopotamia. 2000. http: //www. metmuseum. org/toah/ht/? period=02&region=wam (Sept. 14, 2010)

Age/Era • • • Old Stone New Stone Copper – 5000 BCE (before common era) Bronze – 3000 BCE Iron – 1200 B – Sumer was the first city-state to rise to prominence in the region around 3500 BCE. CE

Inventions • • • Codified law Mud-brick temples Writing Wheel Pulley Irrigation 360 circle 60 -minute hour 60 -second minute Zodiac Calendar

Geography • Would you expect life in Mesopotamia to be easy or hard given all their inventions? • Which geographical factors would encourage a civilization to take root?

Farming • How did they successfully grow crops like barley without a lot of rain and limited water? – Canals and irrigation ditches • Water level controlled by regulators • Farmers could only use an allotted amount of water (regulator turned on) Ibid.

Multiple Gods = polytheistic • “Gods control the world, are responsible for things in the world, including nature, and most acts that take place in daily life. ” • They protect cities. • They live in temples. • Priests take care of Gods (rituals). • Ordinary people make offerings to Gods. – metal and stone objects, plaques, stone figures Ibid.

Gods Ea (Enki) Ishtar Human-headed bull from Sargon II’s tomb

Offerings Metal object Plaque Stone figure

Special Privileges • Carved stone figures represented elite worshippers – Taken to temples instead of actually being there • Male and female figures Male worshipper Ibid. Metropolitan Museum of Art – Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. 2000. http: //www. metmuseum. org/toah/works-ofart/40. 156 (Sept. 14, 2010).

Ziggurats • Temples on platforms. • Usually mud brick. • They were seen as the homes of Gods. – Higher than humans (stairways) • Related to mountains – important in their mythology so maybe the temples had to be high for the Gods to see the mountains? • Chief God of a city had a temple dedicated to it. Ibid.

Ziggurat Ibid.

Astronomy • Babylonian scribes observed and recorded the movement of stars and planets. – Advised king on how these movements would affect the calendar. • Calendar used for dating festivals and collecting loans and taxes. • Needed to observe stars to know when to add extra month. • Scribes advised king of how omens (signs) could predict future events. Ibid.

Babylonian Calendar Lists 12 months and good days The Schoyen Collection – Calendars and Almanacs. N. d. http: //www. schoyencollection. com/calendars. htm (Sept. 14, 2010).

Pictograms The British Museum – Mesopotamia. N. d. http: //www. mesopotamia. co. uk. (Sept. 9, 2008).

Cuneiform A script used to write different languages, such as Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, etc. Ibid.

Scribes Reed stylus Ibid. Scribe

Historical Thinking Concept = Significance • An event, person or innovation is significant if it results in change that: – has deep consequences – affects many people – has influence over a long period of time