1. Mesopotamia P E R olitical conomy eligion
Power of the Priests
•Sumer’s earliest __________________ were controlled by temple _____________
–Farmers believed they needed blessings for success of their crops
–Priests were the middle man for the Gods
Priests demanded portion of farmer crops as tax
Later followed _______________ rulers: when the power is ___________ down to ____________ ___________.
• Metal tools and weapons (bronze, iron)
• Increasing agricultural surplus (better tools, plows, irrigation)
• Increasing trade along rivers – traded with Egypt
• Development of the world’s first cities
• Specialization of labor
•________________________: belief in many gods
Sumerians in Mesopotamia believed in almost 3,000 gods!!!
ziggurat
•Gods could be _________________ at any moment and to keep them happy Sumerians:
–Built impressive ______________________ or temples to sacrifice food, wine and animals
Souls of the dead wandered in the land of no return
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2. S I G A chievements ocial ntellectual eography
Draw the social pyramid
Science and Technology
•Invented the _______________, the ___________, the ____________
•First to use ________________ to make tools
•Developed system of writing = cuneiform: wedge shaped writing.
Built ___________________________________, buildings, surveyed flooded fields.
The Fertile Crescent
•Arc of land ________________ the ______________________ and the ______________________________________ in Southwest Asia
One land…Two Rivers
•Mesopotamia means = “__________________________________________”
–_______________ River and __________________ River
•Both rivers flooded once a year and left thick bed of silt.
*___________: rich, new soil farmers could plant and harvest enormous quantities of wheat and barley
• Rigid (strict) class system where slavery was accepted
Epic of Gilgamesh
•Myths and legends recorded in this ___________ poem
One of the ________________ works of literature in the world
Copyright © Clara Kim All rights reserved.