In a 250- to 300-word essay, compare and contrast at least two Fertile Crescent culturesSumer, Babylon

1. IMPACT OF FERTILE CRESCENT CULTURES
SUMER – BABYLON
The Babylonians used the innovations of the Sumerians and added to them.
CULTURES
Babylon
Bronze Age to Early Iron Age Mesopotamian culture is sometimes summarized as
"Assyro-Babylonian", The term "Babylonia" was formerly used to include Southern
Mesopotamia's earliest history, and not only in reference to the later city-state of
Babylon proper.
Sumer
Sumerians Though women were protected by late Sumerian law and were able to
achieve a higher status in Sumer than in other contemporary civilizations; the
culture was male-dominated. The Code of Ur-Nammu, the oldest such codification
yet discovered, dating to the Ur-III "Sumerian Renaissance", reveals a glimpse at
societal structure in late Sumerian law.
RELIGION
Babylon
Babylonian mythology was greatly influenced by their Sumerian counterparts, and
was written on clay tablets inscribed with the cuneiform script derived from
Sumerian cuneiform. The myths were usually either written in Sumerian or
Akkadian. Some Babylonian texts were translations into Akkadian from
the Sumerian language of earlier texts, although the names of some deities were
changed in Babylonian texts.
Sumer
There was no empire-wide set of gods; each city-state had its own patrons,
temples, and priest-kings. The Sumerians were probably the first to write down
their beliefs, which were the inspiration for much of later Mesopotamian
mythology, religion, and astrology.

2. ARCHITECTURE
Babylon
In Babylonia, an abundance of clay, and lack of stone, led to greater use
of mudbrick; Babylonian temples were massive structures of crude brick, supported
by buttresses, the rain being carried off by drains. One such drain at Ur was made
of lead. The use of brick led to the early development of the pilaster and column,
and of frescoes and enameled tiles. The walls were brilliantly colored, and
sometimes plated with zinc or gold, as well as with tiles
Sumer
Sumerian structures were made of Plano-convex mud brick, not fixed
with mortar or cement. Mudbrick buildings eventually deteriorate, so they were
periodically destroyed, leveled, and rebuilt on the same spot. This constant
rebuilding gradually raised the level of cities, which thus came to be elevated
above the surrounding plain.
How they influenced each other?
They influenced by these things: art, gods, and the religion.
http://www.bible-history.com/babylonia/BabyloniaHistory_of_Babylonia.htm
http://www.bible-history.com/babylonia/BabyloniaReligion.htm
http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/sumer.htm
http://www.ushistory.org/civ/4b.asp