The document discusses the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia and Sumer. It describes how villages grew into cities as advances in technology allowed for larger harvests and populations. Civilization is defined as having five characteristics: advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, and advanced technology. The Sumerians exemplified these characteristics through their creation of city-states with temples, priests, ziggurats, social classes, and a writing system. Their cities like Ur flourished over 5,000 years ago and influenced later empires through cultural diffusion.

1. Mesopotamia

2. 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

3. What we will learn
1. Villages grow into cities.
2. The 5 Characteristics that make up a
civilization
3. Mesopotamia & Sumer

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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. P. 21

9. 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)

10. Mesopotamia
Also known as The Fertile
Crescent

11. Rise of Civilization &
Mesopotamia
4. Geography of Mesopotamia
a. Located in modern day Iraq
b. Rich land and curved shape led scholars to call it the Fertile
Crescent
c. Tigris and Euphrates Rivers run through region
d. Rivers unpredictably flood yearly leaving thick layer of mineral
rich silt
e. Periods of no rain could cause desert conditions. Solution:
irrigation.
f. No natural barriers in Mesopotamia for protection. Solution: they
built walls
g. Natural resources were scarce. Solution: trade networks were
established.

12. Sumer

13. Rise of Civilization &
Mesopotamia
5. Sumerians Create City-States
a. The Sumerians exemplified the 5 characteristics of a
civilization
b. 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

14. Ziggurat

15. Rise of Civilization &
Mesopotamia
6. 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

16. Ur

18. 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

19. Reflection Question:
1. How are the 5 characteristics of civilization visible in
Ancient Sumer?