THE LAND BETWEEN THE RIVERS

The Sumerians grew barley, chickpeas, lentils, millet, wheat, turnips, dates, onions, garlic, lettuce, leeks and mustard. They also raised cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. They used oxen as their primary beasts of burden and donkeys as their primary transport animal. Sumerians hunted fish and fowl.

Many Sumerians were also skilled workers. They made products such as:Cloth from woolArmour, spears, swords and chariotsStatues of people and their gods

Metal smiths worked with the metals gold, silver and gold.

Some were priests who led the worship of the Sumerian gods.

Others were soldiers in the army.

Sumerians invented the wheel. Their number system was based on the number

60. This is how we divide our time (sixty minutes in an hour, sixty seconds in a minute)

They studied the phases of the moon, and learned about months and years.

Used plows and sickles, bronze (copper and tin) and copper tools, armour, spears, swords and chariots.

They made lists of plants, trees and animals

Sumerians used herbs as medicine. They believed different diseases were

caused by different gods. There were two types of “doctors”: one that

diagnosed the problem (the “ashipu”) by figuring out which god caused the disease. The second one was called the “asu”; he would administer the herbs, wash and bandage wounds, and make plasters.

Later on, some records describe surgeries that were performed.

Mesopotamian writing first started as pictures, but later changed to cuneiform (a system of markings.

Later on their system of markings contained 600 different signs.

Markings were made on clay tablets with a pointed tool called a stylus.

School was held in a temple and went from morning to night.

Only boys went to school and they learned reading, writing, penmanship and literature.

Sumerians also used cylinder seals to sign important documents.

Sumerians wrote poems, stories, proverbs, and historical documents.

Their greatest story was that of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian king who went on a great quest and supposedly found a plant that could provide immortality.

Sumerians created paintings on clay and numerous statues.

Music was played on lyres and harps.

Sumer had a monarchy. Queens did not have any real power.

Sumer was divided into city-states, which were each ruled by different kings under the “god” of that city.

Some of the Sumerian kings believed they were gods themselves.

Later, all of Sumer was ruled by one king with princes in charge of each city.

The king was the highest judge. Punishments for crimes were either fines

or death. Laws were written on clay tablets. When Sumer was later taken over by

Hammurabi, a famous king of the early Babylonian Empire, he created a code of law that became famous (The Code of Hammurabi)

Contained 282 laws Examples:o If a nobleman accused another nobleman of

murder but could not prove it, the accuser would be put to death.

o If a nobleman committed robbery and was caught, he would be put to death.

o If a son struck his father, the son’s hand would be cut off.

o If a nobleman knocked out the tooth of another nobleman, his tooth would also be knocked out.

The Sumerians were very superstitious. They worshiped in temples called ziggurats (ziggurat

means “mountain top”) Ziggurats could be 80 feet tall and 700 feet around

the base. The height of the temple symbolized their desire to be

close to heaven. They believed in hundreds of gods and goddesses. They believed in an afterlife that was below the world. They worshiped creation as well. People brought offerings to the temples (food or

crafts) and sacrificed to their gods.

•Wealthy families lived in two-story buildings built around a courtyard.•Poorer families lived in one-story houses located around the city walls.•Homes were made of clay bricks. Walls were thick to keep out the heat.•Roofs were flat and were used as a place to sit and/or sleep in the cooler evenings.•Furniture was made out of wood.

Men were the heads of families. Sons were favoured over daughters. Families were part of clans. People were classified into 3 groups:

nobility (privileged land-owners), commoners (farmers, artisans, craftsmen or unskilled workers) and slaves.

Merchants traded surplus grain for silver and lead from Turkey.

They received lumber from Syria. They received copper and building stones

from Oman. They received semiprecious gems from

Afghanistan. They built trading ships that could hold 35

tones of cargo. Wars sometimes broke out between city-

states over trade.