Was Ancient Sumer a Civilization History Alive Chapter 5

Ancient Sumer characteristics

5.3 Stable Food Supply Invention #1 Invention #2 Invented complex irrigation, such as dam, levees, canals Invented the plow to prepare the land for farming

5.4 Sumerian social structure

5.6 Religion Sumerians built temples with towers called ziggurats Believed gods lived in the tower Believed that gods were pleased when people showed love, devotion and obedience Held religious ceremonies, played music and rituals

5.8 Technology Before the Wheel After the Wheel Sumerian pottery makers used a wheel as a surface for shaping clay into pots Created wheeled carts for farmers and chariots for the army Wheeled carts made it easier to transport goods Other inventions Arch, used above doorways

5.9 Writing Pictograph Cuneiform A symbol/picture that stands for an object Scribe drew symbols with sharp reed on wet clay Writing that uses wedge shape characters Over 700 symbols

Chapter Summary Sumerians created a stable food supply Their society had complex social structure They had a government headed by kings Built temples/ziggurats Developed arts, technologies and written languages World’s first civilizations Lasted 1,500 years from 3500 to 2000 B.C.E.