Mesopotamia Sumer The Worlds First Civilization Sumer How

Mesopotamia Sumer. The World’s First Civilization

Sumer- How do we know? • In the 1900 s, archaeologists found the remains of several cities from Ancient Sumer • Eridu is believed to be the world’s oldest city ➢founded around 5400 BCE • Uruk is believed to have a population of around 80, 000 people in 2800 BCE ➢This is much larger than any other city discovered in Mesopotamia ➢Gilgamesh was king of Uruk ➢The Epic of Gilgamesh is believed to be the first written story in history

Sumer • Sumer is believed to be the oldest known civilization in history ➢Started in 5300 BCE and lasted until 2000 BCE ➢Over 3, 000 years! • Located in modern-day Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers ➢The rivers flooded every spring, which made the area fertile and great for growing crops

Discovery of Agriculture • This first happened in Mesopotamia in an area called Sumer • People began to settle down and create the world’s first cities

Sumer- Irrigation • The Sumerians developed irrigation systems to control the flooding and bring water to their crops • Irrigation- Controlling water to use for agriculture or prevent flooding • Canals, levees, and dams were created to get the water to crops and to stop from flooding their cities

Irrigation Systems • Irrigation systems were created to get water to crops and prevent flooding • The people of Mesopotamia would dig a ditch that brought water from the source to the fields • This allowed for more crops to be grown at once

Sumer- Job Specialization • Because of the irrigation systems, Sumer was able to grow extra crops • Extra food leads to job specialization (also called division of labor) • Now the people of Sumer did not all have to farmers and they could start doing other jobs: ➢Pottery ➢Making tools & weapons ➢Building ➢Bakers ➢Weavers

Sumer- Religion • Religion was very important to the people of Sumer • They were polytheistic. This means they believed in many different gods • Each city was centered around a ziggurat (temple) ➢They believed that the god or goddess lived in the ziggurat and would worship them

Sumer- Government • Each city-state had their own king (called an ensi) • The king had many responsibilities: ➢Leading religious ceremonies and building ziggurats ➢Leading the military and protecting the people ➢Collecting taxes ➢Building irrigation systems (canals, levees, and dams) ➢Acted as judges to settle disputes or when a crime was committed

Cuneiform • The Sumerians developed the first system of writing around 3500 BCE, called Cuneiform • Sumerians wrote on clay tablets • For the first time ever, humans were able to keep written records

Cuneiform • Scribe- A professional writer • Scribes would work for: • Government officials • Priests • Merchants

Impact of Cuneiform • Cuneiform allowed the citizens of Mesopotamia to keep records: • Farmers could keep detailed records of crops • Merchants could keep detailed records of sales • Laws could be recorded and posted where everyone could see • Children went to school to learn how to read and write cuneiform

Impact of Cuneiform • We know a lot of information about the Sumerians and way of life in Mesopotamia because they left us written records

Sumer- Advanced Technology • The Sumerians also had many more innovations: ➢Bronze tools and weapons ➢Calendar- Helped predict flooding ➢Came up with the idea of 24 hours in a day and 60 minutes in an hour ➢Developed the world’s first wheel for wagons. This led to more trading and traveling ➢Plow for planting crops

Calendar • The Mesopotamian people were able to create a calendar in order to know when the floods would arrive: • As a result, farmers were able to harvest more food. • This food surplus enabled the cities to support larger populations. • Having surplus food, which could be traded for other goods, also helped Mesopotamians establish trade with other civilizations.

Calendar • These ancient calendars were lunar (based on the cycle of the moon) • Today, our calendar is based on the Earth's movement around the sun. • Over time, most kingdoms adopted the Babylonian calendar • Months were around 30 days long and were named after the 12 constellations in the zodiac • The basis of the our modern calendar can be seen in these divisions

The Plow • The plow made it easier to break up the soil for planting • Plows were made of iron and were pulled by oxen. • By using these new tools farmers could do more work and produce more food

The Wheel • Before the wheel, people had to carry their items by hand • The wheel allowed humans to use carts • This allowed people to carry more goods and supplies • Wheels allowed for quicker and easier transportation • Animals could also pull the carts

Sumer- Social Classes • Specialized labor (jobs) created social classes • Each city-state was organized the same • Children fell into the same social class and had the same jobs as their parents ➢People could not move up in social class

Sumer- Social Classes • Kings- Rulers • Government Officials- Worked for the king • Priests- Made offerings to the gods and led religious ceremonies to please the gods and keep the city-states safe

Sumer- Social Classes • Scribes- Professional writers. They usually worked for the government or help merchants keep track of trade • Merchants- Traded goods between the citystates and would later trade with other civilizations like Egypt and India • Artisans- Made crafts of had specific jobs: ➢Weavers ➢Pottery ➢Made weapons and tools ➢Bakers

Sumer- Social Classes • Farmers- Grew crops and harvested food to trade ➢They would give food to the king for protection and irrigation ➢They would give food to priests so the gods would reward them with a good harvest • Slaves- People became slaves by being captured during wars or they were criminals and it was their punishment ➢Their job was usually hard labor, like digging irrigation ditches or carrying bricks for ziggurats