This document discusses the importance of rivers and seas in early civilizations. Rivers provided water for irrigation, allowing for easy transportation of water and the growth of crops. The dependable water supply and fertile soil from annual flooding encouraged people to settle into villages along rivers. As villages grew, not all residents needed to farm for subsistence, allowing specialization of jobs and the formation of social classes. This led to the development of early civilizations with features like centralized governments, public works, writing systems, organized religions, and urban cities. Sumer is highlighted as one of the earliest civilizations, consisting of independent city-states along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia, with cities like Ur serving

2. What are some important geographical
features of this region?

3. Rivers and Seas
• Source of water
• Land exceptionally fertile
– Annual flooding washes silt onto land, which
made it easier to grow crops and support livestock
• Irrigation allowed for the easy transportation
of water
– canals
Why else might a river be useful?

4. Rise of
Agriculture
• People began to settle into
villages
• Villages began to grow
• Surplus of crops
Not everyone needs
to farm or hunt

5. If not everyone is farming, what
else are they doing?

6. 8 Features of Civilization
• Central Government
– First priests, then kings
• Public Works
– Roads, buildings, etc.
• Job Specialization
– Artisans
– Soldiers
• Social Classes
– Based on occupation
• Writing
– Laws, records
• Complex Religions
– Gods, polytheism,
religious rituals
• Arts & Architecture
– Pottery, pyramids,
hanging gardens
• Cities
– Urbanization
– Babylon, Ur

7. Babylon & Ur

8. Map Activity

9. Sumerian City-States
• Sumer had a complex society and culture.
Historians consider it the first civilization.
• Sumerian city-states were a form of government
that included the cities and the farmland around
them.
• Priests were the first leaders in Sumer, but
kings rose to power when the need for defense
grew

10. Sumerian City-States
• Cities were centers of
society
self-ruled community
including city and nearby
farmlands
• By 3000 BC, Sumer had
at least 12 city-states
– Most, like Ur, were on
fertile land by the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers
• People used bronze to
create new tools
– Mixture of copper and tin
• Cities were not very well
protected
• Homes had thick mud
walls
– Courtyards served as
communal cooking areas
• Ziggurats served as the
city center
– First temple built around
2200 BC
– Priests managed irrigation
and wealth

11. Why is Sumer considered a good
example of a civilization?

12. Next Lesson:
Closer look at the city of Ur