SUMERIANSThe First Civilization

Devan MarshallPriyanka OzaDaniel SimmonsAshleigh Thurston

GEOGRAPHY Location

Sumer, Southern part of Mesopotamia Isolated

Today… Iraq

Setting Between Euphrates and Tigris Rivers allowed crops to be

grown Bodies of Water

Mediterranean Sea/ Persian Gulf

TIME PERIOD

Emerge 3500 B.C.

Peak 3000 B.C.

Fall 331 B.C.

Time:3169 Years

GOVERNMENT OF SUMER

Sumer's earliest government was controlled by the temple priests.

The ziggurat was the equivalent of city hall from which the priests managed the major industries of Sumerian cities.

Sumer’s gov’t also taxed their people.

In times of war, the priests were no longer in charge. Instead a commander, chosen by the people was put in charge.

Later on after 3000 B.C, Sumer’s commander remained in power, like a king, along with the priests.

ECONOMY OF SUMERo 3500 B.C, southern Mesopotamia

-Distributive Economy- A central authority collected food and other goods, stored them, and redistributed them according to social needs.

o This was their form of taxation required to be paid by each household. (Only part of what they raised or grew was turned over to the temples. )

o People were also taxed on things like livestock, crops, boats, fish, and burials.

o Other collected goods were used for trade with other city-states of the near east. Their main trade items were pottery and other forms of art.

o Labor payments- members of each household were required to work in the fields by digging irrigation canals, construction etc…

o Woman and children were required to work in large weaving factories and do other agricultural labor.

SUMERIAN TECHNOLOGY, ART, & ARCHITECTURE

SUMERIAN ARTMost of Sumerian Art consisted of sculptures, paintings, seals, pottery, portraits and statuary • had a wide use of animal skins for sculptures. • Paintings were mostly of people, Gods, and cuneiform (Sumerian written language). • Seals had pictures of people dancing, or telling stories. • Invented the pottery wheel. • Portraits were made of marble. • Statuary reflected Sumerian religion and their Gods.

SUMERIAN ARCHITECTURE People of Sumer were very superior in the field of architecture, and still are today. They’re the first civilization to actually take construction and architecture seriously and made advanced inventions for this concept. Some things they invented and used in their architecture and construction are: • Arch• Irrigation canals • Used mud & brick and clay to build things• Imported stone, wood, and metal from other countries

SUMERIAN TECHNOLOGYAncient Sumerians were extremely skilled at inventions and innovations, considering their time period. Since they were one of the first civilizations, they had to start most things from scratch. For example, some things they invented and developed were: •Glass• boats• jewelry• writing• algebra

BELIEFS Sumerians were Polytheistic

• Their religion was mainly based on mythology

Religion and State (Government) were “One”• Leaders made decisions based on signs from the gods• Each city-state had its own patrons, temples, and priest-

kings

Afterlife was assumed to be filled with pain and suffering Despite much prayer, Sumerian’s believed they

spent eternity in a gloomy underworld as ghosts (Gidim)

WRITING Earliest known written language

• A system of pictographs called cuneiform• Over 1,000 unique signs• A numerical system based on 1, 10 and 60

Tools Sumerians used to write included:• A Stylus• Moist clay

Cuneiform was in use for more than 35 centuries Replaced by alphabetic writing

RISE & FALL OF THE SUMERIAN CIVILIZATIONNo one really knows how the ancient Sumerians came to Mesopotamia, but their civilization started developing around 4000 B.C., and collapsed because of outside invaders who they were continuously conquered by approximately in 2000 B.C. They were the “ones who started it all” by being one of the first civilizations in the ancient world.

TIME PERIOD:4000 BC 2000 BC

REASON FOR DECLINE:As mentioned previously, outside invaders were the cause of the Sumerians’ decline. Civilizations and important people who took control of Sumer over the course of their time period are:

• Kish- Mesopotamian Ruler• Sargon I of Akkad• Amorites- Babylon •Assyrians

SUMERIAN’S CONTRIBUTIONS The Sumerian people survived for over a

millennium. Their spoken language vanished without a trace, but their inventions like the wheel and the plow live on. The writing of the Sumerians lived on far after the spoken language died. They contributed more major innovations in human history than did almost any other major civilization. What would the Greek and Roman empires have been without writing? What would our lives be like today if we did not have wheels for cars? Undoubtedly these inventions would have eventually sprung up, but how much longer would it have taken? The Sumerian people were in a unique situation. Their location afforded a surplus of agriculture on which to base their economy and city-states allowed these innovations to be fostered.

RESOURCESBooks:

•World History: Perspectives on the Past Krieger, Larry S.Neill, KennethReynolds, Dr. Edward

•Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Ancient World V:IIBogucki, Peter

WebPages:

• History for Kids;http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/westasia/architecture/sumerian.htm http://www.crystalinks.com/sumerart.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer

The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago;http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/ED/TRC/MESO/writing.html

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