Mesopotamia P E R olitical conomy eligion Power of the Priests •Sumer’s earliest __________________ were controlled by temple _____________ –Farmers believed they needed blessings for success of their crops –Priests were the middle man for the Gods Priests demanded portion of farmer crops as tax Later followed _______________ rulers: when the power is ___________ down to ____________ ___________. • Metal tools and weapons (bronze, iron) • Increasing agricultural surplus (better tools, plows, irrigation) • Increasing trade along rivers – traded with Egypt • Development of the world’s first cities • Specialization of labor •________________________: belief in many gods Sumerians in Mesopotamia believed in almost 3,000 gods!!! ziggurat •Gods could be _________________ at any moment and to keep them happy Sumerians: –Built impressive ______________________ or temples to sacrifice food, wine and animals Souls of the dead wandered in the land of no return Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved.

S I G A chievements ocial ntellectual eography Draw the social pyramid Science and Technology •Invented the _______________, the ___________, the ____________ •First to use ________________ to make tools •Developed system of writing = cuneiform: wedge shaped writing. Built ___________________________________, buildings, surveyed flooded fields. The Fertile Crescent •Arc of land ________________ the ______________________ and the ______________________________________ in Southwest Asia One land…Two Rivers •Mesopotamia means = “__________________________________________” –_______________ River and __________________ River •Both rivers flooded once a year and left thick bed of silt. *___________: rich, new soil farmers could plant and harvest enormous quantities of wheat and barley • Rigid (strict) class system where slavery was accepted Epic of Gilgamesh •Myths and legends recorded in this ___________ poem One of the ________________ works of literature in the world Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved.