Chapter 3 Lesson 3

 Explain how the Mesopotamians were able to achieve all they did  Describe the development of Sumerian writing

 Innovation – new ways of doing things  Almanac – writings that include information that describes the best way to plant, irrigate land, and care for crops  Ziggurat – the largest and tallest temple in every Sumerian city-state  Cuneiform – a writing system based on wedge shaped symbols  Scribe – a person who records things for others

 By 2500 BC, many farmers in Mesopotamia used bronze plows  Other agricultural innovations included plows that could also seed and written almanacs that described farming techniques

 To keep records of their rapidly growing society, Sumerians developed standard measurements of land, weight and volume  Also developed a number system based on the number 60  Measured time using a 360 day calendar

 Sumerians lived in mud-brick houses  The tallest structure in each Sumerian city-state was the ziggurat, a temple that served as a center of religious and economic activity

 The Sumerians were the first to attach wheels to carts  Traders led caravans of donkeys across established trade routes  Sumerians also traveled in various kinds of boats

 Sumerians developed a writing system based on cuneiform  Writing helped make new developments in government, economy, and society possible

 People in Mesopotamia, especially the Sumerians, made many achievements  They created innovations in agriculture, measurements, building, and transportation  They were perhaps the first to use the wheel, the sailboat, and writing  These innovations helped the people of Mesopotamia build an early civilization