The Sumerian civilization

1. Character’s Teaching Resources www.charactersresources.com
The Fertile Crescent
The “Fertile Crescent” is a
crescent-shaped region in the
Middle East. It extends from
modern-day Iraq, Syria,
Lebanon, Palestine, Israel,
Jordan, to Egypt, together with
the south eastern region of
Turkey and the western fringes
of Iran. It is called fertile
because of its rich soils.
Irrigation and agriculture
developed here. This is largely
because of the great rivers in
the region.
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia means “between the rivers” in Greek. It is
the medieval name given to the region around the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers in modern day Iraq. It is thought
to be one of the places where early civilization developed
and is often referred to as the “Cradle of Civilization”.
Lesson objectives
Students will be able to identify where the fertile crescent was and
where and when the Sumerian civilization developed, using maps and
timelines.
User:NormanEinstein, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0
<https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

2. Character’s Teaching Resources www.charactersresources.com
The Sumerian civilization
The Sumer was the ancient
civilization that developed in
the area called the “Fertile
Crescent” region of
Mesopotamia. They are
accepted as being the first
civilization as we understand
it. They are known for their
inventions and development
of writing, language,
governance, architecture
and more. They controlled
the region for about 2,000
years.
The people
The area was settled by humans from about
5000BC to about 4000BC. It is possible that
there were other settlements before this time.
The first people were the Ubaid. They were
farmers and raised cattle. They also learnt how
to work with wood, make pottery and weave
textiles. From about 4000BC to 3000BC the
people who were known as the Sumerians were in
control of the area.
City States
Soon city-states developed, each
controlling their own region. Each city-
state was surrounded by a wall, with
villages outside it.
Ruins of Ur
B y M.L ub in sk i f r om Ir a q, US A. - Flic k r , C C B Y - S A 2.0,
ht t p s: / / c om m ons .w ik im e dia .or g / w / i nd ex .p hp ?c ur id = 3065 765

3. Character’s Teaching Resources www.charactersresources.com
Timeline of the Sumerian civilization (one block = 50 years)
People settled in towns Development of Sumerian Civilization
Akkadian
Empire
5000BC 4500BC 4000BC 3500BC 3000BC 2500BC
From about
5000BC
People
started
settling
From
about
4000BC
Villages
became
city-
states
+- 3500BC
Ur, Uruk,
Eridu, Kish,
Lagash, and
Nippur
established
+- 3300BC
First
writing
+- 3200BC
First wheel
+- 3000BC
Mathematics
Base 60
+- 2700BC
King
Gilgamesh
rules the
city-state
of Ur
+- 2330BC
Sargon I of
the
Akkadians
conquers
+- 2100BC
Sumerians
regain
power.
+-2000BC
Elamites
conquer
Osam a S huk ir M uham m ed Am i n FR CP (Gl asg ), C C B Y -S A
4.0 <ht t p s:/ / c r e at ive c om m o ns .or g / lic e nse s/ b y - s a/ 4. 0> ,
via W ik im e di a Com m ons
Car ole R ad dat o f r om F RAN K FU RT ,
Ger m an y, C C B Y -S A 2 .0
<ht t p s:/ / c r e at iv ec om m on s. or g / lic e
nse s/ b y-s a/ 2 .0> , via Wik im ed ia
Com m o ns

4. Character’s Teaching Resources www.charactersresources.com
Activity
Using arrows, indicate where the events are on the timeline.
What do we mean by the Fertile Crescent?
What skills did the Ubaid people learn?
Describe two pictures from the above and explain why they are primary
sources of historical evidence.
Why do you think that a city-state had a big wall around it?
Look at the map of the Sumerian region and explain why you think the city-
state of Ur was built there.
What is the significance for us today of each of the following Sumerian
inventions?
Writing
The wheel
What do we mean when we say that the Sumerians had a base 60 Mathematics
system?