Mesopotamia

World Map

Map Activity Please label the following… Ur <Sumer> Uruk <Sumer> Mesopotamia Euphrates River Akkad Persian Gulf Red Sea Mediterranean Sea Tigris River Babylon

Map

Foldable Part 1 Sumerian Background What is a levee and what is it used for? How did the Sumerians control their environment? How did the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers make the Sumerians more organized?

The Rise of Sumer Who were the people who settled in Southern Mesopotamia? The Sumerians: They were a short, stocky, black-haired people who settled in Southern Mesopotamia.

The Rise of Sumer How did the Sumerians control their environment? When the floodwaters went down, natural levees, or raised areas of soil, remained behind. The Sumerians built the levees higher and used them to keep back the floodwaters. When the land became dry in the summer, they poked holes in the levees. They used water in the canals to water their crops.

The Rise of Sumer What is a levee and what is it used for? A levee is a raised area of soil or earth that is used in the irrigation of crops. How did the features/bodies of water affect the people of Mesopotamia? The rivers would flood annually which made the land around the rivers extremely fertile.

The Rise of Sumer How did the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers make the Sumerians more organized? To figure out when the rivers would flood the Sumerians created a calendar. The irrigation system took much planning. People had to learn how to work together. The Sumerians set up governments to make laws so they would know what was expected of them.

Foldable Part II City- States How did the Sumerians build their cities? (materials used) What areas made up a Sumerian city-state? What is a city-state?

City-States What is a city-state: It is a city that has it’s own government and acts as an independent country. How did the Sumerians build their cities? They used sun-dried, mud-brick because there was little stone and timber to build with.

City-States What areas made up a Sumerian city-state? City-state: Each city-state was made up of the city and the farmland around it. At the center of each Sumerian city was the ziggurat. Each city was surrounded by a wall of sundried mud bricks. Near the center were the houses of the upper class priest and merchants. Next were the houses of the middle class such as government officials shop keepers and artisans. The farther out were the homes of the poor, farmers and fishermen.

Key Vocab Define artisan: Cuneiform- Scribe Skilled worker Sumerian writing Scribe A writer

Foldable Part III Religion and Family Life What was the Ziggurat? What was the purpose of a ziggurat? What is cuneiform? Why did writing develop? Who has all the power in a Sumerian house hold?

Religious and Family Life How were Sumerian schools different from the wealthy children? They were only for the sons of the rich. They were known as tablet houses because their main purpose was to teach students how to write.

Religious and Family Life Why was writing developed? People had to keep track of business deals. As cities grew, there were too many people and goods to remember.

Write-Pair-Share What was life like for Sumerian women? Overall life for women was difficult women could be sold, rented, or easily divorced. Women did have some rights however, they could buy and sell property. They could run businesses and own and sell enslaved people.

Homework: Who was Gilgamesh? Who is Gilgamesh's best friend? What is Gilgamesh searching for? What is his story similar to?