The First Civilization Chapter 3, Lesson 2 Pages 88 - 95

Main Ideas Culture Government Food surpluses New technology Advanced social organization Government New type that included a city and its surrounding lands Religion-dominated

The rise of civilization How did civilization develop in the region of Sumer? Rise of agriculture enabled people to settle Villages became cities Society and culture grew more complex All of these changes led to an advanced form of culture known as civilization. Sumer is the first civilization Around 3300 B.C. Southern Mesopotamia

Traits of a civilization Advanced cities Specialize workers Complex institutions Record keeping Advanced technology

1. Advanced cities Cities of Sumer had large temples for praying. Cities offered many different types of work Cities first became important because farmers needed a place to store and trade their surplus grain. As cities grew, they began to offer other advantages.

2. Specialized workers Built houses Made jewelry Sewed clothes Created pottery Organized society (priests) Having a food surplus allows people to do other types of work besides farming.

3. Complex Institutions Religion Government Institution = a group of people who have a specific purpose. It often exists to meet the society’s needs.

4. Record Keeping Important to track things. For example, food supplies stored in the city. Keeping records usually involves writing In Mesopotamia, they first used wooden counting sticks

5. Advanced Technology Societies advance as people learn better ways to do things. Examples: Sumerians learned to use canals to irrigate crops Sumerians created new tools and used new materials, like bronze (a mixture of copper and tin). Bronze tools replaced tools made of copper, which is a softer metal.

Table activity Complete table Cut-out and put in ISN

Why was Sumer a good example of civilization? It had large cities with specialized workers, complex institutions, and a system of record keeping. It also used advanced technology.

Sumerian City-States A City-State is a community that included a city and its nearby farmlands. Nearby land might include several villages. Between 10,000 – 100,000 people Each city-state ruled itself.

City-States of Sumer Most city-states located near the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Sumer had at least 12 city-states Kish Nippur Ur (hometown of Abraham)

Life in the City Cities had narrow, winding streets Protective walls surrounded the city Houses built of mud walls several feet thick Houses consisted of a series of rooms arranged around a courtyard

The Ziggurat: City Center The largest and most important structure Ziggurats were the temple and the center of city life. Acted as the city hall Priests ran the irrigation systems so people came to the ziggurat to pay the priests for their services with grain and other items. Priests controlled the storage of surplus grain. Priests controlled much of the wealth of the city-state.

What was life like in Sumerian Cities? People lived in houses built of thick mud walls around central courtyards. The ziggurat was the center of city life and functioned as a city hall.

Changes in Leadership: Sumerian Religion Polytheism is the belief in many gods and goddesses Each city-state worshiped its own god. Sumerians believed their gods looked and acted like people. Four main gods created and ruled the world: Gods of sky Gods of wind Gods of foothills Gods of fresh water

Priests become leaders People tried to please the gods in order to protect their cities. Each god had many priests. Priests worked to satisfy the gods and claimed to have influence over them. Due to this claim, Sumerians accepted priests as leaders. Sumerian life had dangers such as floods, droughts and invasions and they believed the gods could prevent these troubles

Service to the Gods Sumerians thought of the gods as rich landowners who created humans to work for them. Everyone said prayers and made offerings to the gods. Everyone followed religious rules. Sumerians believed souls of dead people went to the land of no return A gloomy place, also called the underworld

New leaders in sumer At first, protective leaders only led the city-states during wars. Eventually, they took control of the cities full-time and took over some of the priests’ jobs, such as maintained the canals, managed surplus grain, and acted as judges. In time, this new ruler became king, the highest-ranked leader of a group of people. Priests still remained important since their job was to keep the gods happy and keep evil away. As city-states became richer, other groups of people began to attack them to take their wealth. Some attackers came from other regions or from rival city-states. People of the city-state often asked a powerful man to rule them and protect their city.

How did kings take over as rulers of Sumer? Powerful men protected the cities from attack and eventually became the full-time rulers.

Lesson Summary Sumer had a complex society and culture and it is considered the first civilization. Sumerian city-states were a form of government that included cities and the land around them. Priests were the first leaders in Sumer, but kings became leaders when the need for defense grew.