The Sumer Civilization By: 2nd Period

GENERAL INFORMATION 3500 B.C Mesopotamia Tigris- Euphrates in the fertile CRescent Oldest Civilizations in the world 12 cities- 20,000 to 250,000 per city Built first Dams to control seasonal floods Each city surrounded by walls

Political Organizations Each Sumerian city state governed independently not just monarchies but also theocracies kings supervised farming very closely because they believed that much of the land belonged to the gods as the societies grew and advanced governors (ensi) emerged to manage civic affairs

Class Systems Men could sell their wife or children into slavery Women were able to buy and sell land Sumerian law extensively regulated family life and outlined the roles of men and women Men had great authority over their wife and children Women could operate their own businesses and own and sell their own slaves

Technology Some example of New technology the sumerian had is: the wheel, irrigation systems,umbrellas, sumerian Boats, lunisolar calendar, leather, saws, chisels, hammers, axes, knives, arrowheads, swords, glue, daggers, bags, harnesses, boots, sandal (footwear), harpoons, and beer.

Artistic Innovations Used cuneiform script with reeds and clay tablets Some of the first poems were written in cuneiform (Gilgamesh) Historians believe that this is the oldest in the world School was called Eddubas Architecture played a huge role in Sumerian life Each City had a huge Ziggurat, acted as temples to the Deity Center of city, surrounded by farmland

Religion Were Polytheistic Lived in the same natural world An, God of sky, Father of gods Ki, Goddess of earth Enki, God Of Sweetwaters------------------------> Ninurta, God of thunderstorms and the plow Nanna, The moon, Controls seasons Lugol's were “strong men that could talk to the Gods Gods, later became priests then Kings

Religious Developments Form of hierarchy based on religious status Complex religion with grand temples Form of writing due to trying to maintain texts System of taxation based of offerings Leaps in Astrology which lead to complex mathematical calculations Positional Base-60 system --------------->

Economic Setting Agriculture was a main influencer The Temples also helped the economy as well as being a religious factor Sumer traded with the Ur Sumer traded food grains Got exported wool, silk-dress, metallic goods and dates from Ur the Sumerians accepted silver instead of food grains eventually

Job Specialization Jobs included pottery makers, stonecutters, bricklayers, metal smiths, farmers, fishers, shepherds, weavers, leather-workers, and sailors.

Fun Facts Marriage contracts- could only be married when groom brought gifts City of Eridu is considered the oldest civilization The Sumerians had a goddess of beer, Ninkasi Only had one female leader, worshipped as a goddess Believed that their kings ruled for thousands of years

Works Cited Bancroft-Hunt, Norman. Ancient Mesopotamia. New York, Chelsea House, 2009. Farah, Mounier A., and Andrea Berens Karls. World History: The Human Experience. Columbus OH, The Mcgraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1997. History.com Staff. "Sumer: Facts and Summary." History.com, 2017, www.history.com/topics/sumer. Accessed 27 Aug. 2018. Mark, Joshua J. “Sumer.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 27 Aug. 2018, www.ancient.eu/sumer/. Kramer, Samuel Noah. “Sumer, Sumerians.” Encyclopaedia Judaica, edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 2nd ed., vol. 19, j Macmillan Reference USA, Detroit, 2007, pp. 309–312. World History in Context, k k k o k k k link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2587519360/WHIC?u=engl88921&sid=WHIC&xid=4dfaed28. Accessed 28 Aug. 2018.