Sumer

•Sumerian Beginnings

•Vocabulary to know

•Mesopotamia

•Irrigation

•City-state

•Ziggurat

•Cuneiform

•The Role of Geography in History

•What resources/materials are needed for civilizations?

–Water

–Shelter/protection

–Cultivatable land for farming or raising animals

•What effects do various geographical features have on civilization?

–Mountains, steppes

–Rivers, lakes

–Open plains

•The Fertile Crescent

•Mesopotamia = Greek for “between the rivers”

–The land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

•Little rain, but the soil was rich from silt deposited by the rivers

•Unpredictable flooding was a blessing and a curse

–Led to the use of irrigation, which increased crop production

–Sumeria, Akkad, Assyria

•Sumeria

•Unknown origins, but by 3000 BCE they had several cities

–Eridu, Ur, Uruk were the main city-states

•Sumerian cities

–Defensive walls

–Sense of identity that was

larger than the family

-Mud-brick construction

-Often centered on a

Ziggurat

•The Ziggurat

•Sumerians built their temples at the top of large stepped-pyramids called ziggurats

•The Ziggurat at Ur is the largest one still in existence

•Sumerian Economy & Society

•Trade & industry became increasingly important

•Sumerians were good at textiles and pottery

–They were known especially for their metal work

•Bronze (copper + tin) is easier to cast than copper alone and is a harder metal

•Sumerian social groups:

–Nobles (royalty, priests)

–Commoners

–Slaves