1. Mesopotamian Culture Achievements in math and astronomy
Sumerian system of numbers were based on units (12, 60, 360) which are used in geometry and for calculating time
Chartered major constellations and followed the movement of the sun

2. Mesopotamia: Cultural Characteristics
3500 B.C.E. Sumerians invent writing: Cuneiform which used wedge shaped stick to mark symbols on clay tablets.
Complicated to learn; specialized scribes were the only ones who knew it which gave them power and status

3. Cuneiform Tablet
Imprints of the signs, called cuneiform, were made by pressing a wedge-shaped stylus into wet clay.

4. Cuneiform Tablet and Tools

5. The Epic of Gilgamesh What is an epic?
“noting or pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style”

6. The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh recounts the adventures of Gilgamesh, king of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Uruk, in his quest for immortality.
Composed about 2000 B.C.E. on clay tablets; one of the oldest literary works
The poem is probably Sumerian in origin but was absorbed and adapted by succeeding eastern Mediterranean civilizations.
This web site can help you to gain a more complete overview of the epic. Many of you will be reading this literary work in your Language Arts classes.
Student Resource

7. The Epic of Gilgamesh
Explored human friendships, relation with the gods, and meaning of life
Gilgamesh goes on an epic journey to find eternal life--which he never found
The story is somber and emphasized the control the gods had over human destiny
One of the stories describes the epic flood, in 10th century B.C.E. Hebrew Bible records the flood story (Noah’s Ark) and in the 7th century C.E. the Qur’an also records the story

8. There is no need to write anything!
PULSE CHECK!!!
Let’s see what you
remember so far…
There is no need to write anything!

9. Question 1
Who is this?

10. Question 1
Who is this?
Gilgamesh

11. Question 2
The most significant defining characteristic of the Paleolithic era was that
A) human beings used stone and bone tools in their cultivation of crops.
B) peoples relied on hunting and gathering for subsistence.
C) men and women engaged in the same economic activities.
D) people domesticated animals.

12. Question 2
The most significant defining characteristic of the Paleolithic era was that
B) peoples relied on hunting and gathering for subsistence.

13. Question 3
All of the following social changes were brought about by agriculture except
A) population growth.
B) the emergence of villages and towns.
C) the invention of writing.
D) the specialization of labor.

14. Question 3
All of the following social changes were brought about by agriculture except
C) the invention of writing.

15. Question 4 The term “Neolithic” refers to
A) the early stages of a cultivating society.
B) the agricultural transition.
C) the era in which people began to use polished stone tools.
D) all of the above

16. Question 4
The term “Neolithic” refers to
D) all of the above

17. Question 5
Three Neolithic industries that illustrate the greatest potential of specialized labor include
A) stone tool making, leather, and jewelry.
B) pottery, metallurgy, and textiles.
C) furs, fish, and grain.
D) wood carving, beads, and baskets.

18. Question 5
Three Neolithic industries that illustrate the greatest potential of specialized labor include
B) pottery, metallurgy, and textiles.

19. Question 6
By about 5000 BCE, agriculture had displaced hunting and gathering societies in several regions of the world primarily because
A) cultivation required much less work than hunting and gathering.
B) cultivation provided a relatively
stable supply of food.
C) human beings had mastered agricultural knowledge
and technique.
D) agriculture led to a more varied diet.

20. Question 6
By about 5000 BCE, agriculture had displaced hunting and gathering societies in several regions of the world primarily because
B) cultivation provided a relatively stable supply of food.

21. Question 7
The statement, “If she was not careful, but was a gadabout, thus neglecting her house (and) humiliating her husband, they shall throw that woman into the water,” is drawn from
A. the Old Testament.
B. the earliest Sumerian codes.
C. the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
D. Hammurabi’s Code.

22. Question 7
The statement, “If she was not careful, but was a gadabout, thus neglecting her house (and) humiliating her husband, they shall throw that woman into the water,” is drawn from
D. Hammurabi’s Code.