1. Sumerian Achievements

2. Social Classes: rigid social structure
Nobility- Kings nobles and Priests
Middle class- merchants, bankers, skilled workers
Lower classes- farmers and laborers
Slaves- chattel (property) owned by the master

3. Writing and Education:
writing called cuneiform (cuneus- translation from Latin for wedge)
stylus- wedge shaped tool
stylus pressed into wet clay- wet clay was baked to preserve writing
creation of an early ”printing” system (signet rings and cylindrical seals used to sign names)

4. Writing and Education:
scribes were trained to learn the 600 symbols
Eddubas (schools) were established to train scribes
for the wealthy

5. Farming complex system of canals, ditches, dykes, reservoirs etc.
required advanced engineering
required cooperation to maintain the irrigation system (keep it free of silt)
grew a variety of crops- grain, fruit
cooperation leads to…civilization

6. Shipping and Trade: many shipping vessels
trade with Egypt and Ethiopia for goods they could not produce at home
had a “world view” - map

7. Religion: polytheistic (gods/ demi-gods)
each city-state had a patron god
gods were believed to need sacrifice and praise or they could be vengeful
very vague notions of an afterlife (neither pleasant or unpleasant)
temples were dedicated to the gods- Ziggaruts
liver divination (messages from gods) markings on the livers of sacrificial sheep

8. Architecture and Technology:
invention of the wheel led to carts and chariots
the arch (construction)
seed plows (using a funnel attached to a plow to plant seeds)
shaduf to lift water from rivers and into irrigation canals
houses (mud-brick or clay) could be more than one story (indicated wealth)
woven reeds mats were to stabilize the walls of canals
smelting of copper and later on bronze
Ziggaruts- temples that were made from platforms one atop another decorated with columns, arches, mosaics

9. City-States: developed from small towns and villages
walled for protection (includes surrounding farmlands)
centers of trade, defense, religion
A city-state is an independent country whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as part of another local government.
Whereas nation-states rely on a common heritage, be it linguistic, historical, economic, etc., the city-state relies on the common interest in the function of the urban center. The urban center and its activity supplies the livelihoods of all urbanites inhabiting the city-state.

10. Culture and the Arts: sculpture decorated pottery and clothing
The Epic of Gilgamesh (first recorded story about a heroic priest-king from the city-state of Uruk)
libraries

11. Legal and Political Systems
initially democratic principles were evident
eventually despotic rulers gained control
had laws and courts to make legal decisions about ownership, divorce etc.
Despotism is a form of government by which a single entity rules with absolute and unlimited power, and may be expressed by an indvidual as an autocracy or through a group as an oligarchy. Despotism itself means to "rule in the fashion of a despot", and should not be confused with the actual and singular position of 'Despot'.
Bas relief low relief

12. Mathematics: highly developed and based on units of 60
standard unit of measurement called a cubit (from elbow to fingertips- approx. 50cm)
lunar calendar and solar calendar (360 days)

13. Science and Medicine: understanding of a variety of ailments and cures
disease was seen as a punishment for wrong-doing
supernatural elements in medical practice
medical records found with “prescriptions”
herbal remedies