Bellringer Have out your homework! On the back of your Indus Valley Notes, write “Sumer Warm-Up September 19, 2011” and please answer the following questions in complete sentences: 1.What is the difference between the Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia, and Sumer? 2.What were the three geographic weaknesses of Sumer? Bad Joke of the Day: What did the alien say to the gardener?

Objective The students will be able to draw comparisons and contrasts between Sumer and Indus and log onto turnitin.com.

Indus River Valley Civilization

Geography Indus and Ganges Rivers form 1500 miles of a river valley – Indus: Link to the sea=trade Residents of the Indus River Valley depended on unpredictable flooding for crops

Residents must also deal with monsoons – Seasonal winds that dominate the climate October-May: dry winter air June-September: wet moist air

Geographical barriers – Hindu Kush Mountains – Karakoram Mountains – Himalayan Mountains – Thar Desert Geographical barriers provide protection

Civilization Emerges on the Indus As early as 3200 BCE—farming villages Historians to date cannot decipher the writing system

Planned Cities 100 settlements along the Indus by 2500 BCE City planning took place along a precise grid system – Fortified area=citadel – Residential areas—all buildings made of bricks – Sophisticated plumbing and sewage systems

Economy Definition of economy: Based off of agriculture and trade – Evidence of trade with Sumer – Products with Indus seals found in Sumer and Sumerian objects found in Indus ( BCE)

Government and Religion Stable society without much conflict or rigid class system – Mostly egalitarian Religious artifacts indicate connections to Hindu society of today – Polytheism Gods, like in Sumer, based on nature – Mother goddess: nature, agriculture – Fertility: plants, children

Mysterious End to Indus Valley Culture 1750 BCE: period of decline and decay What happened? No one knows for sure, but some ideas exist: 1. Indus changed course and failed to fertilize fields surrounding cities 2. Over-farming of the land

Compare/Contrast Indus and Sumer Area of Comparison IndusSumerSimilar/Different/ Both Geography Economy Religion

Advertisement Task: To create a poster advertising life in Indus or Sumer. – You need to include the following: Geography: what is the land like, are there natural barriers, and how do these factors influence life Religion: what is the basis of religion, what are some characteristics of the religion Economy: what is the economy based on, how does it impact daily life