What does the ancient world have to do with you? A LOT! Have you… Ever ridden in a vehicle with wheels? Used a clock to tell time? Read or written anything? Used coins to pay for something? Flushed a toilet? Put a letter in the mail using the post office? What does the ancient world have to do with you? A LOT! We have inherited the best achievements of all those who have come before us.

How do we define a “civilization?” Writing system Religious system Art/Monumental architecture Social hierarchy Job specialization Cities with large populations (+50,000)

Geography of the Fertile Crescent

The Rise of Civilizations How do people move from hunting and gathering to creating complex civilizations? Where do civilizations arise? Why? RIVERS=GOOD SOIL= GOOD FARMING

Mesopotamia -Mesopotamia lies between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers, in the Fertile Crescent Fertile Crescent - a large arc of rich, or fertile, farmland in southwest Asia -Mesopotamia is Greek for “between the rivers”

Fertile Crescent

Tigris and Euphrates - IRAQ

The Rise of Civilization -First people to settle Mesopotamia were hunter-gatherers (~10,000 BC) What caused this area to be so fertile? Silt- a mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks

Farming & Cities -Because of the fertile soil, farming settlements began in Mesopotamia around 7,000 B.C. -Problem: rivers often flooded

Controlling Water To combat flooding the early people of Mesopotamia used irrigation & canals (Geography theme?) Irrigation- a way of supplying water to an area of land Canals- human-made waterways

More Food = Special Jobs Irrigation = increased production of food = food surplus = special jobs Surplus- having more than you need Division of Labor – workers specialize in a particular task or job

-More food = more people = cities developed Appearance of Cities -More food = more people = cities developed -Most people still farmed -Cities become centers of trade, politics, religion, & culture

The Rise of Sumer – The World’s First Civlizations

Sumer Sumerians developed the world’s first civilization By 3000 B.C., they had settled in southern Mesopotamia (Sumer)

City-States of Sumer -Centers of Sumerian societies = cities -Sumer was organized into city-states (Hunger Games?) City-State- a central city and all of the countryside around it -City-states had their own armies and built walls around their cities

Powerful City-States -city-states gained and lost power over time -more farmland=more power -The most powerful = Uruk & Ur

Sumerian Religion -Sumerians practiced polytheism Polytheism- worship of many gods -Each city-state considered one god to be its special protector (They believed that these gods were very powerful & could bring huge harvests or disastrous floods)

Priests Priests- people who performed or led religious ceremonies Very important people in Sumerian society Priests interpreted wishes of the gods and made offerings to them in temples - ziggurats

Sumerian Social Hierarchy Social Hierarchy- the division of society by rank or class Priests Artisans/Merchants Farmers/Laborers Slaves (3 years) King

Sumerian Men and Women Men - held political powers & made laws Women - took care of home & children Mostly only men were educated, but some upper-class women were educated as well Some educated women were priestesses in the temples of Sumer