1. Civilization & Mesopotamia

2. Early Civilizations

3. What is civilization?

4. Characteristics of Civilizations
Advanced Cities
Large group living together
Trading center

5. Characteristics of Civilizations
Specialized Workers
Develop skills in a specific kind of work
(trader or priest)
Why?
Abundant food

6. Characteristics of Civilizations
Complex Institutions
Long-lasting pattern of organization in a community
Examples:
Religion
Government
Economy

7. Characteristics of Civilizations
Record Keeping
System of writing
Taxes, laws, religious rituals
Scribes – professional keepers

8. Characteristics of Civilizations
Advanced Technology
Anything that makes life easier

9. Example of Civilization: Sumer
Specialized Workers:
soldiers, merchants, teachers, priests, etc.
Complex Institutions:
formal governments (laws and officials), priests w/ religious power
Advanced cities:
Uruk – 50,000
Lagash – 10, ,000
Record Keeping: Cuneiform writing system
Advanced Technology:
3000 BCE wheel, plow, sailboat; bronze weapons and armor

10. Civilizations of Mesopotamia Fertile Crescent, “land between the rivers” People: Sumerians

11. Geography Tigris & Euphrates Rivers Annual flooding
Silt – rich layer of soil deposited by a river (good for growing crops)
Alluvial Plain – flat landform created by deposit of silt from rivers coming from highlands

12. Geography: Disadvantages & Solutions
Unpredictable flooding & little rain
irrigation ditches
No natural barriers for protection
built city walls
Limited natural resources
traded grain & cloth for stone & wood

13. Ziggurat – walled temple
Government
City-state: city & surrounding area functioning as a country does today
Priests head government 3,000 BCE
Kings head government 2,500 BCE
Create Dynasties - series of rulers under one family
Ziggurat – walled temple

14. Government: Forming Empires
Akkadian – Sargon of Akkad ( BCE) defeated city-states of Sumer
1st empire: brings together several independent peoples, nations, or states
Babylonian – Babylon
( BCE)

15. Laws Hammurabi’s Code Hammurabi (Babylonian King) 1792-1750 BCE
Unified code of laws
Oldest known legal system
Stressed justice & punishment based on social class

16. Religion
Polytheism: belief in two or more gods (kings representatives of gods)
Human-like, but immortal & powerful
Humans were servants
Built ziggurats & offered sacrifices to please gods

17. Kings, Priests, Landholders
Society/Culture
Kings, Priests, Landholders
Merchants
Farmers
Slaves
Sumerian
Social Hierarchy

18. Society/Culture Arithmetic, Geometry Architecture Cuneiform
Helped in building projects
Architecture
Arches, columns, ramps, pyramid shape
Cuneiform
Writing system
Pictograph – symbols stand for words

19. Cuneiform