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Outcome: Rise of Civilization & Mesopotamia
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Constructive Response Questions
3. Classify the characteristics that make up a civilization?
4. Describe the geography of Mesopotamia.
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What will we learn?
1. Villages grow into cities.
2. The 5 Characteristics that make up a civilization
3. Mesopotamia & Sumer
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Rise of Civilization & Mesopotamia
1. Setting the Stage
a. How did Agriculture change life for humans?
i. Began dwelling in larger, more organized communities
ii. Cities gradually grew
iii. Economics began to matter
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Rise of Civilization & Mesopotamia
2. Villages Grow into Cities
a. Farming became easier due to advances in technology and domestication of animals
b. Bigger harvests also resulted from better technology
c. Fact: The more food you have in supply, the bigger the population that can be supported
d. As cities grew, so did responsibilities ---> not everyone farmed anymore
e. The wheel and the sail allowed trade to occur over longer distances
f. No currency yet
g. Social Classes began to emerge
h. Religion became more organized
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Rise of Civilization & Mesopotamia
3. How Civilization Develops
a. A Civilization is a complex culture with 5 characteristics
i. Advanced Cities
1. Size alone does not distinguish a city from a village
2. Must be a center for trade
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Rise of Civilization & Mesopotamia
ii. Specialized Workers
1. Specialization: the development of skills in a specific kind of work
2. Artisans: skilled workers who make goods by hand
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Rise of Civilization & Mesopotamia
iii. Complex Institutions
1. Institution: a long-lasting pattern of organization in a community
2. Ex: Government, religion, and the economy
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Rise of Civilization & Mesopotamia
iv. Record Keeping
1. Ex. Tax collecting, passage of laws, storage of grain
2. Around 3000 B.C. Sumerian scribes (professional record keepers) invented a writing system called cuneiform.
3. Cuneiform: wedge shaped point pressed into wet clay to make symbols.
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Rise of Civilization & Mesopotamia
v. Advanced Technology
1. Ex: Ox drawn plows, potters wheel, using bronze
2. Melt copper and tin together = bronze
(more durable and malleable)
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Mesopotamia
Also known as The Fertile Crescent
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Rise of Civilization & Mesopotamia4. Geography of Mesopotamia
a. Located in modern day Iraqb. Rich land and curved shape led scholars to call it the Fertile
Crescentc. Tigris and Euphrates Rivers run through regiond. Rivers unpredictably flood yearly leaving thick layer of mineral
rich silte. Periods of no rain could cause desert conditions. Solution:
irrigation.f. No natural barriers in Mesopotamia for protection. Solution:
they built wallsg. Natural resources were scarce. Solution: trade networks were
established.
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Sumer
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Rise of Civilization & Mesopotamia
5. Sumerians Create City-States
a. The Sumerians exemplified the 5 characteristics of a civilizationb. Sumerians developed city-states: city that functioned like an independent country
c. Early government was controlled by temple priests
d. Ziggurat was a place of worship and like a town hall
e. In some cases, military leaders became full-time rulers and passed powers to sons
f. Dynasty: series of rulers from same family line
g. Cultural Diffusion: ideas or products spread from one culture to another through conquest and trade
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Ziggurat
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Rise of Civilization & Mesopotamia6. Sumerian Culture
a. Sumerians were polytheistic: belief in more than one god
b. When you died you went to the “land of no return,” a dismal and gloomy place
c. Sumerians had social classes (see pyramid to right)
d. Sumerian women had more rights than many later Civilizations
e. Ur was one of the world’s first cities
i. Flourished 5,000 years ago
ii. 30,000 people
iii. City walls
iv. Used the barter system for trade
v. Worshipped at the ziggurat
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Ur
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Rise of Civilization & Mesopotamia
f. Sargon of Akkad conquered Sumer in 2350 B.C.
g. Sargon created the world’s first empire: the bringing together of several peoples or nations under the control of one ruler.
h. Babylonian ruler Hammurabi came up with Hammurabi’s Code
i. Hammurabi’s Code: single, uniform set of laws engraved in stone to help unify diverse groups within his empire
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Constructive Response Questions
3. Classify the characteristics that make up a civilization?
4. Describe the geography of Mesopotamia.