A. 8 Main Characteristics (New York State Education Department, 2008)
1. CITIES - As farmers settled in fertile river valleys, they began to grow surplus or extra food. This extra food increased the population of the settlements. In time, the settlements grew into cities, such as Ur in Sumer or Babylon in Mesopotamia.
2. COMPLEX RELIGIONS - Religious leaders would conduct elaborate ceremonies to appease the gods (polytheism) and insure a bountiful harvest. Floods and droughts were blamed on the gods’ abger so rituals were conducted in the temples.
3. SOCIAL CLASSES - As jobs became specialized so did the status and needs of certain individuals. The need for a knowledgeable and educated religious leader was more respected than an unskilled
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Writing (Cuneiform): People in Sumer developed writing to keep track of business deals and other events. Their writing was called cuneiform. It consisted of hundreds of wedge-shaped marks cut into damp clay tablets with a sharp-ended reed. Archaeologists have found thousands of these cuneiform tablets, telling us much about Mesopotamian life.
2. Literature: The Sumerians also produced works of literature. The world’s oldest known story comes from Sumer. It is called the Epic of Gilgamesh. An epic is a long poem that tells the story of a hero. The hero Gilgamesh is a king who travels around the world with a friend and performs great deeds. When his friend dies, Gilgamesh searches for a way to live forever. He learns that this is possible only for the gods. This epic poem is still studied today.
3. Math and Science: As said before, they had the irrigation system. Sumerians also invented the wagon wheel to help carry people and goods from place to place. Another breakthrough was the plow, which made farming easier. Still another invention was the sailboat, which replaced muscle power with wind power. They used geometry to measure fields and put up buildings. They also created a number system based on 60. We have them to thank for our 60-minute hour, 60-second minute, and 360-degree circle. In addition, Sumerian people watched the skies to learn the best times to plant crops and to hold religious festivals. They recorded the positions of the planets and stars and developed a 12-month
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The next period of regional hegemony was established by the Third Dynasty of Ur which set up a vast regional bureaucracy to collect taxes and tribute it encouraged expansion of the irrigation system, and growth of population and settlement. This attempt to maximize economic and political power led to a rapid collapse, with disastrous consequences for southern Mesopotamia. Over the next millennium or so there was a 40 percent reduction in the number of settlements, and a 77 percent reduction in settled area. Political power shifted to the north, to Babylon an empire established by Hammurabi. After a brief resurgence by Babylon, brought to an end by Cyrus the Great, Mesopotamia was incorporated into successive Near Eastern empires of varying size and durability - Achaemenian, Seleucid, Parthian, Sassanian, and Islamic. Sometime in the seventh through tenth centuries A.D., however, there was a major collapse in the Mesopotamian alluvium. By the eleventh or twelfth centuries A.D. the total occupied area had shrunk to only about six percent of its level 500 years earlier. Population dropped to the lowest point in five millennia. State resources declined precipitously. (Tainter,
Mesopotamian Civilizations contributed massively to the development for future civilizations. To begin, the Sumerians created the first written language. Cuneiform was the writing system to keep track of business dealings when it comes to trading with the people who lived in lands that were thousands of miles away. Cuneiform also kept records and allowed new ideas to be passed from generation to generation (Doc 1). Cuneiform is developed from pictographs that were sideways and used
Sumerian DBQ Did you know most of the things we use today were invented in Mesopotamia times? Thesis: Two contributions from the Mesopotamian Civilization were the inventions of cuneiform and Hammurabi’s Code. The Mesopotamians invented so many thing we use today!
One of the most important inventions was cuneiform. (Doc.1)It was created by the Sumerians over 5000 years ago (Doc.1). It was the world's first Language.(Doc.1) Sumerians invented this writing system to keep track of business dealings, records (Doc. 1) and religious activity (OI). It
The first civilizations and the rise of empires began with small groups or villages existing with the use of hunting, fishing, and foraging. (William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History, vol. 1, 1) Within a few thousand years, people learned how to cultivate food crops and this led to an increase in population. Increased food production resulted in larger communities. The cities began to expand their cultural and religious developments leading to the beginnings of civilization. (Duiker, World History, 1) The first civilizations emerged in Mesopotamia and Egypt during the fourth and third millennia B.C.E and had various components in common. Each of these civilizations was established in a river valley so they were able to provide and produce the agricultural resources needed to survive and uphold the population. (Duiker, World History, 1) Mesopotamia developed in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates River known as “the land between the rivers.” These rivers provided irregular and catastrophic flooding for the city-state. They created an intensive irrigation system to improve their agriculture. The first people to create Mesopotamian civilization were known as the Sumerians. These people were the first city builders and created the major city’s named Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Umma, and Lagash. These cities were built with surrounding walls and defense towers. A six-mile-long wall enclosed the city of Uruk. Mesopotamia lacked
Sumerian DBQ The Mesopotamians invented many things in their time period, 3500 B.C. Their inventions included writing, the wheel, mathematics, technology, astronomy, and medicine. Without the Mesopotamians, we wouldn’t be here today. The ancient River Valley Civilisations of Mesopotamia made key contributions to future societies. Two important contributions from the Mesopotamian Civilization are the invention of cuneiform and Hammurabi's code.
Mesopotamia means “the land between two rivers” (Tigris and Euphrates rivers). In Mesopotamia, A man named Hammurabi conquered and united all of the cities of Mesopotamia under his rule (Document 2). His advancement of Mesopotamia was his set of laws. It is an advancement because his laws were one of the first written laws. These laws were called “Hammurabi’s Code”. The type of laws were an “Eye for an Eye” which means if you killed someone you would also be killed. It wasn’t a fair policy because if you killed someone of a lower class all your punishment would be is a fine.
The Sumerians were the first people to build civilization and attempt empire in the western world. Like Rome, they had a governmental structure, conducted military operations to expand and ensure trade, and build a lasting civic structure. The Sumerians, however, were not as effective as the Romans in most respects. Rome had a strong central government; the Emperor was absolute ruler.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is generally regarded as the greatest literature about tales of a great king. The Epic of Gilgamesh served to show us a lot of things. The time period of BCE is very blurry, and this story attempts to describe many different things in not only Sumerian beliefs, but also Sumerian's culture as a whole. Like many stories from BCE the truth itself is questionable, even though a lot of the information is fact. The factual information that Gilgamesh teaches us about Sumerian Civilization is that had had many craftsman and artistic skills, and also a strong belief in Gods.
Start by taking all the parts off of the carburetor, until all that remains is the body of the carburetor and more than likely the seat for the needle (6212), as well as the spray nozzle (6214B). Usually the seat and spray nozzle are frozen in place and the flats are damaged from trying to be removed by an ill fitted flat-head screwdriver. If it won't come easily, apply heat to the stalk with a propane torch. When heated, drop a few drops of water into the hole onto the brass jet. Brass has a higher expansion and shrink rate than iron and when those items cool they pull themselves away from the wall and are loose. Now you should be able to remove the spray nozzle and seat easily, by using flathead screw drivers that have been ground to fit each part.
In Mesopotamia, people had no money so they traded barley, pottery, fish, and other foods and inventions they made. They needed a way to keep up with what they traded, so Sumerians created the first form of writing over 5000 years ago which they called Cuneiform. They used Cuneiform for business dealings such as trading barley, keeping records, and new ideas changed between different generations.
There has been much documentation on the plight of Native Americans throughout the beginnings of this nation. In spite of the attempts by the early government of the United States, the culture of many Native American tribes has survived and even flourished. The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 is just one of many examples of how our government attempted to wipe out Native American culture. This paper will discuss the Dawes Act, particularly the time leading up to the act, the act itself, and finally its failure. By understanding the past failures in the treatment of a particular race of people, the government can learn how to protect the rights of all people, especially in a day and age of cultural diversity.
Generally within textbooks on Western civilization it tells us about how the Sumerians began organized agriculture, domesticated wheat and such animals as the horse and donkey, initiated urban living by building cities, and invented writing and the wheel. The Sumerians, apparently, initiated human civilization 6000 years ago. Nevertheless, European (white) written textbooks do not recognize them like they
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the greatest surviving epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia. The original author is unknown, since the epic was passed on orally for many generations during the second millennium B.C.E before being written down in clay tablets. However, the definitive fragmented revision of the epic is accredited to Sin-leqi-unninni, a Babylonian priest and scholar. The Epic of Gilgamesh follows Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality, remarking the question of what it means to be human. The story starts with King Gilgamesh of Uruk in Southern Mesopotamia, an arrogant and oppressive ruler who is two thirds divine and one third human. The citizens of Uruk, tired of Gilgamesh’s behavior, plead the Gods to stop him. In response, the Gods fabricate Enkidu to confront Gilgamesh, but before he does that, he needs to become civilized first. In the act of turning into a civilized man, Enkidu, like all human beings, loses his innocence, as well as his deep connection with nature.
During 3000 BC, Sumerian was the first cyclical empire, even though they came to a fall the Sumerian people made an impact on Western Civilization. This empire kept history alive, but never forgotten. The wheel was one of their many inventions which are still used today for cars, and manual labor like wheel barrels and lawnmowers. The epic poem Gilgamesh is still a book read today in English classes. This epic poem is inspiring and was an actual historical figure. The Sumerians contributed several ideas, the first organized religion temples and priests. The Sumerians also gave us the biblical story of the Garden of Eden, which was a story about a river dividing itself into 4 river heads, two of the four being the Tigris and the Euphrates River. The water supply was an accommodating way of trade. The Sumerians were the first international traders. They also invented writing, the Sumerians wrote of cuneiform blocks, now student can write on paper but it was a start being able to write thoughts down. The Sumerians had countless clever ideas; they also invented the potter’s wheel, which was used for making pottery to store food and goods. The plow was used for farming and the sailboat was used for traveling up or down the river, for trading or
Mesopotamia developed a form of writing known as cuneiform. Their writing evolved from pictures into signs. Mesopotamians used writing mainly for record keeping. They would put business transactions into writing and had a written code of law. They also had literature like The Epic of Gilgamesh. The Epic of Gilgamesh is about one of the earliest passions of man, the search for eternal life. The Mesopotamians had a school for writing because they wanted trained scribes for