Ancient Mesopotamia: The First Great Civilization THEME FOUR: TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATIONS

Guiding Question: How would our lives be different without the innovations of the Mesopotamians?

Many Mesopotamian innovations changed the way people live in most parts of the world: Here are some areas we will look at: Engineering Farming Technology Astronomy Math Writing Laws

Engineering Mesopotamians were the first people to use the wheel They used it to transport goods and people, as war chariots, pulleys, potter’s wheel

Farming Technology The Mesopotamians harnessed animals to pull ploughs They altered the design of the plough so that it would turn soil AND drop seeds in the same pass

Astronomy The Mesopotamians created a 12 month calendar based on the cycles of the moon (WE STILL USE THIS TODAY!) They divided the year into seasons: Summer & Winter

Math The Mesopotamians used math to design & build canals They used math to keep accurate farm & trade records They used math to calculate taxes owed to the state Their counting system was based on 60. We still use the 60 counting system to count time in minutes & seconds We still use 360 degrees to measure a circle

Writing The Mesopotamians were the first people to develop a written language They were probably the first to keep records of trade Education, laws, history & literature all became possible when humans could records their ideas

Cuneiform: the first form of writing Sumerians ( people of an early Mesopotamian empire) developed a form of writing called “cuneiform” Cuneiform was created sometime in the 4th century BCE. This writing was recorded on clay tablets using pens made out of reeds. The pen was called a “stylus” The language started as simple pictographs on one small clay token and evolved into several pictographs on a large clay tablet.

A Cuneiform Alphabet Activity…

Government & Laws Mesopotamia had one of the first legal systems Their laws were made by the King People involved in disputes often took their cases to government officials to make a decision The King or his government officials made all of the decisions when it came to court cases

King Hammurabi & Hammurabi’s Code King Hammurabi was the King of Babylon from 1792- 1750 B.C.E. His code of laws addressed everything from family life, property, animals, and day to day life. His created this code of laws so that the weaker members of society would not be treated poorly by the more powerful people. His laws were created to ensure equality in how everyone was treated. The punishments were the same for everyone, and that made it more peaceful because people knew what would happen if they broke the law.

Guiding Question: How would our lives be different without the innovations of the Mesopotamians?