Ancient Sumer: The first Civilization

c. 3500 – 2000 b.c.

The Cradle of Civilization• Sumerian civilization emerged c. 3500 B.C. in the

southern region of Mesopotamia (“the land between two rivers”)

• The Sumerians are credited with developing the first civilization in world history

An Environment Shaped by Rivers

• The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers deposited thick silt each year, which allowed farmers to produce large crops of wheat and barley

• The land was (and is) flat and swampy – today’s “Marsh Arabs” still live in this region of present-day Iraq

• Unpredictable flooding and droughts made life chaotic –sometimes there was too much water and sometimes too little

The banks of the Tigris River (above)

Marsh Arab homes and boats

An Aerial View of Sumer Today

Sumer

Zagros Mountains

Arabian Desert

Iranian Plateau

Persian Gulf

Euphrates River

Tigris River

MESOPOTAM

IA

Sumerian Technology

• The Sumerians created irrigation systems to control flooding and maximize crop production

• They built large structures from sun-dried bricks made of clay

• They invented the wheel, the sail, and the plow, which improved trade and farming

• They were the first people to forge bronze from copper and tin by around 3000 B.C.; this innovation allowed for stronger tools and weapons

Sumerian Writing & Mathematics

• Sumerian cuneiform emerged as the first formal writing system; scribes used a stylus to make wedge-shaped marks in wet clay tablets

• Record keeping was essential for documenting laws and keeping track of commerce

• It also enabled the creation of the first lunar calendar and the development of a number system based on 60 – used for measuring time and circles today (applied to geography)

Sumerian cuneiform tablet

Early Sumerian calendar, c. 3300 B.C.

Sumerian Society • Specialization of labor

contributed to the rise of a complex social class system:

1.Priests and kings made up the highest class, served by scribes

2.Merchants traded for the goods that could not be obtained in Sumer, such as stone, wood, and metals

3.Artisans and farmers made up the vast majority of people

4.Slaves were at the lowest level of society but could work their way to freedom

Levels of Sumerian society represented on an inlaid wooden box, c. 2600 B.C.

Small statue of a scribe or palace official of Ur

SumerianCity-States

• Sumer developed as independent city-states, including Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Umma, Nippur, and Kish

• Each city-state controlled its city and the surrounding farmland

• Complex governments emerged that could plan irrigation systems, resolve property disputes, and defend against rival city-states

• Priests ruled from ziggurats, which served as both temples and government centers

Sumerian Arts & Culture• Sumerian art works offered evidence of

a wealthy society that valued religion, music, and natural beauty

• Sumerian artisans produced many works of pottery, metal, and ornamentation

Sumerian Religion• Sumerians followed a polytheistic

system of religious belief; they believed in many gods, each of whom controlled some aspect of nature

• The gods behaved much like humans and Sumerians offered worship and sacrifices to them to avoid their wrath

• Sumerians believed the souls of the dead passed on to a gloomy afterlife

• The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of a mighty king who failed in his quest to find immortality – it is the earliest known work of literature

Left: An Assyrian sculpture of Gilgamesh, c. 700 B.C.

Above: Images of Sumerian gods