HANDOUT 7: Early CivilizationCase Study: MesopotamiaFocus topics: The beginnings of civilizationKey words: Civilization, Fertile Crescent, River Valley, ZigguratObjective Questions: How does civilization improve our lives?

Does civilization make life better or worse?

The people who established the world’s first civilization around 3500 BCE in southern Mesopotamia were known as the Sumerians. The Sumerians learned to control the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by building levees and irrigation canals. As a result a stable food supply existed and the Sumerian villages evolved into self-governing city-states. At the center of each city-state was a temple surrounded by courts and public buildings. Agriculture marked a dramatic change in how people lived. They began dwelling in larger, more organized communities, such as farming villages and towns. For some settlements, cities gradually emerged, forming the backdrop of a more complex way of life.

A Features of Civilization: Which feature on the list to the right do you think is the most important for a society to have? Why?

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B. The People of Early Civilizations: As Mesopotamia became more complex it developed many different social classes.

Priests- These are the religious leaders of a civilization. The holidays, celebrations, and agriculture are all based on religious ideas. Priests played a very powerful role in many ancient civilizations.

Nobles- These are the government leaders in civilizations. They enforced the laws, collect taxes, and keep order.

Merchants- These are the business leaders. There were not many of them, they were generally very wealthy and had many people working for them. They often spent their days managing trade at thelocal markets.

Farmers and other laborers: This is the largest group in civilization. Some of them owned land but most worked on land owned by nobles or priests. Laborers did hard manual labor building roads, walls,and houses.

Artisans and Craftspeople: All of the goods were made by those in this group. They created pottery, jewelry, and weapons. One of their most important skills was metal work.

Slaves: These were usually people conquered in war, they were bought and sold. They did not get paid for their work but were provided food and shelter.

ASSIGNMENT: If you were king/ queen of Mesopotamia and your civilization was about to be destroyed and you could only save 3 groups of people from your society: Which Three Groups would you save if you wanted to build a new civilization? And, Why?:

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Ziggurata temple built by Sumerians

Features of Civilization, what’s the importance of…

Agriculture?Architecture?

Different Jobs?Transportation?

Written Communication?Organized Government?

Laws?Organized Religion?

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Key words:Fertile Cresent: the area of land that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, this land provided fertile soil which led to the development of early centers of civilization.River Valley: A valley that is carved out by the river. Often have fertile land, and are the sites for the earliest civilizations.Ziggurat: a stepped tower or pyramid of ancient Mesopotamia, this tower is one of the technological advancements of the people of ancient Mesopotamia

As Writing grew more and more versatile, its role expanded in the culture of Mesopotamia. No longer limited to recording concrete objects, it could be used to develop a whole literature of religious, technical, and historical documents, compromising millions of tablets. To the early inventions of agricultural goods were added, law codes, medical texts, and literary chronicles. New materials were pressed into use. Words were chiseled into stone, painted onto pottery and engraved on wax-coated panels..

Why was language such an important achievement of the Sumerians?________________________________________________________________________________________________

Most Sumerians lived in reed houses like the one shown above to the left. Tall reed were cut from the riverbank, tied together in bundles and pushed into the ground. First arches were made and then reed mats were used to cover the home. While the more wealthy Sumerians lived in townhouses, like the 4,000 year old 2 story dwelling shown above to the right. These were built with wood and mud, and had staircases and open courtyards in the center of the home.

Do you think the construction of homes and cities saved Sumerians from harm? Explain.________________________________________________________________________________________________