World History Mrs. Duffy€¦ · The discovery of farming during the Neolithic Revolution allowed...
Transcript of World History Mrs. Duffy€¦ · The discovery of farming during the Neolithic Revolution allowed...
World History
Mrs. Duffy
Choose a seat. Take a handout. Please have your notebook on your desk.
Thank You!
5 6EQ: What were the accomplishments of Mesopotamia?
Mesopotamia “land between two rivers” 3500 BC –
1600 BC
- Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
- flooding = fertile soil
- Sumerians arrived and begin irrigation
Agriculture
- Irrigation = water diverted to the land
- Farming and settlement flourished
- Food supply increased
- Allowed for activities other than farming
- Potters, weavers, metal workers,warriors
Religiom
- Polythestic = beliving in many gods
- 2000 gods
- World’s oldest faiths
- Sumerian rulers = faith
- Theocracy = society governed by religious
leaders
- Ziggurates = stepped-pyramid temple
- Temple to please the Gods
- Center of each city
Achievements Sumerians
- The wheel and sailboat
- Tools and weapons of copper and bronze
- 12 month calendar
- Cuneiforms = world’s earliest writing system
- Symbol writing on clay tablets
- The elite could read and write cuneiform
- Priest and scribes
Social Structure Pyramid
Mesopotamia
Symbols on clay tablets
Carts, Wheels,
Irrigation
Temple, WallMedicine,
King, Warriors
Religion. Monarchy
Mesopotamia
Record Keeping
Institutions
Specialized Workers
Cities
Advanced Technology
EQ: What were the important characteristics of the civilizations in Mesopotamia? 6
• Essential Question:
• What were the important characteristics of the civilizations
in Mesopotamia?
• Warm-Up Question:
• Why was the Neolithic Revolution such a big deal?
• Which of the 5 characteristics of civilizations do you think is most important?
River Valley CivilizationsThe discovery of farming during the Neolithic Revolution
allowed nomadic people to settle into civilizations
The world’s first civilizations all began in river valleys
The first civilization began in an area known
as Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia means “land between the rivers” & is
often called the “Fertile Crescent” or as the “Cradle of Civilization”
The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flooded once per year, leaving
behind fertile soil ideal for farming
Irrigation= water diverted to the land Farming and settlement flourished Food supply increased
Allowed for activates other than farming- Potters, weavers, metal workers,
warriors, priests.
The first civilization developed in the Fertile Crescent: Sumer
But, surrounding deserts & the lack of natural barriers attracted outsiders to Mesopotamia
made the Sumerians vulnerable to attack
Mesopotamia
Record Keeping
Institutions
Specialized Workers
Cities
Advanced Technology
Lasting Contributions •Advanced cities:
• Sumerian city-states were protected by high walls
•At the city center was a temple called a ziggurat
Lasting Contributions ■Specialized Workers:–At the top of society were
priests, and then kings
–In the middle were skilled workers, like merchants
–At the bottom, were common farmers & slaves
Lasting Contributions
• Religion:
• Sumerians & Babylonians were polytheistic
• Mesopotamian rulers were often priests.
• A government led by religious leaders is called a theocracy.
Lasting Contributions
•Government:
• Babylonian King Hammurabi
created the first legal code
• Hammurabi’s Code had 282
laws based on justice &
retaliation (an eye for an eye)
• The code had different
punishments for the various
levels of society
Lasting Contributions
Lasting Contributions •Writing:
• Sumerians made the world’s 1st writing called cuneiform
• Phoenicians simplified cuneiform to a 22 letter alphabet
• Phoenician merchants spread the alphabet throughout the Mediterranean world
•The alphabet influenced Greek, Latin, & English
Lasting Contributions • Technology:
• Sumerians inventions include the wheel, sail, plow, & bronze metalwork
• Sumerian created a calendar divided into 12 months.
• They developed a number system based on 60, which is the basis for our seconds and minutes today.
Closure Activity
• Examine the following primary source documents
and answer the questions. Write a paragraph
answering the following question (give evidence from
the documents):
Was Hammurabi’s Code just?