Civilization

Villages Grow into Cities Economic Change Irrigation Merchants Social Change Social stratification Religion became more organized Technological Change Irrigation – food surplus Wheel/sail - trade

Characteristics of Civilization Advanced cities – center of trade for a large area, production of goods for exchange Specialized workers – development of skills in a specific kind of work/artisans – make good by hand (contributed to centers of trade) Complex institutions – government (system of ruling), religion (temples), economy Record keeping – system of writing, scribes/professional record keepers Improved technology – new tools/techniques to solve problems

Trade in Sumerian City-States

Role of Ziggurat Religion Political Economic

Sumer Government of Sumerian city-states Sumerian religious beliefs and practices Priest-kings

Sumer social hierarchy Sumerian women

Epic of Gilgamesh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pGhEu9elnA What was the Mesopotamian view of afterlife What is the message of Siduri’s advice to Gilgamesh? Consider Utnapishtim’s initial response to Gilgamesh’s request for the secret of eternal life. How does his message complement what Siduri has said? Consider the story if Utnapishtim. What do the various actions of the gods and goddesses allow us to infer about how Mesopotamians viewed their deities? According to the epic, what are respective roles of gods and humans? What do the Mesopotamian deities require of humanity? What do humans expect of their gods? What wisdom has Gilgamesh gained from his epic struggles? How has he changed as a result of his quest? Despite the apparent failure of his quest for eternal life, has Gilgamesh earned a type of immortality? If so, what is it? Review your answers to questions 2 and 3 in light of the epilogue; where the poet lays out for us the moral of the story. Basing for answer on the entire story, and especially the epilogue, what would you say was the Mesopotamian view of the meaning of life?