Mesopotamia Knowledge Assessment

1) What is Mesopotamia and who lived there?

2) Where is Mesopotamia located?

3) What about ancient cultures interests you?

4) What kind of activities would you like to do that will help you learn about Mesopotamia? (Ex: drawing, reading stories, working in groups…) List 3 activities

You said…and we will…

• Most of the classes wanted to:– 1) – 2) – 3)

• To help you we will:– 1)– 2)– 3)

Mesopotamia

“The Cradle of Civilization”

R.A.P. (4 L)

Use pgs. 17-18 in your textbook.

1. What attributes make a society a civilization?

2. Describe how civilizations developed over time.

Page 5 (R)• Read pages 18-21 and answer the following

questions:

• Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

“With the rise of cities came a need for government.”

Agree Disagree

List your reasons and thought processes for each.

Page 6 (L)

• Study the picture on page 18: What does it illustrate about life at that time?

• Why were there different class distinctions in Sumer?

Mesopotamian Class Notes (7 R)

Where was it?

- "The land between the rivers“

- located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers - Modern day Iraq

What was Mesopotamia like?

- once dominated by floods, but today is mostly desert - The fertile land along the rivers produced many different types of crops

Sumerians (4000-2300 B.C.E)

-settled in the south-short, stocky, black haired

-First people to develop an advanced civilization in Mesopotamia

-lived in city-states

City-States

-independent state made up of a city, surrounding land, and villages under separate ruleex: “Ur” one of the most rich and influential city-states

Why? -poor travel and communication-as a result, city-states were at war often

How did the city-states grow and thrive?1) The first time people could control their

environment by:a) building damsb) using irrigationc) build wallsd) use river for transportation and tradee) establish a government to create and enforce laws

Control = Farming= Food= Population = Law

Religion

• Sumerians lived to please the gods– Gods (over 3,000) were incredibly powerful

and given human characteristics or behavior – Built Ziggurats– Priests and priestesses were powerful

• Upper class• Ruled land• Ran schools

Women and Children in Society Page 9 (R)

1) Women had very few rightsa) Buy and sell property, run businesses

2) Husband could

a) Sell Wife

b) Rent Wife

c) Rent/ sell children

d) Divorce wife by saying, “You are not my wife!”

3) Children’s roles in society

a) Support their parents

b) Obey older siblings

Priest-Kings

a) Ruled the city-states

-ex: Gilgamesh

- “The Epic of Gilgamesh”

b) Kingship is hereditary

Supreme over other kings, lordly in appearance, he is the hero, born of Uruk, the goring wild bull. He walks out in front, the leader, and walks at the rear, trusted by his companions. Mighty net, protector of his people, raging flood-wave who destroys even walls of stone! Offspring of Lugalbanda, Gilgamesh is strong to perfection…Gilgamesh is awesome to perfection. It was he who opened the mountain passes, who dug wells on the flank of the mountain. It was he who crossed the ocean, the vast seas, to the rising sun, who explored the world regions, seeking life.

-excerpt from The Epic of Gilgamesh

Primary Source Analysis (8 L)

• What was the author's message or purpose for writing this?– Entertainment, message about life and death

• What can we tell about the era by reading this source?– Environment, beliefs, literacy

• How is this passage different from the first?– Shows a human side to a god-like man

Class Notes (11 R) Education

1) Rich kids could go to school, poor kids stayed home and farmed

2) Schools called “Tablet Houses”

3) Learned cuneiform (writing)

4) Writing developed to keep track of business deals

5) Graduates became scribes

Cuneiform?

• is one of the earliest known forms of written expression

• pictorial representations

• written on clay tablets, on which symbols were drawn

Write a short sentence using cuneiform:

EX: On this I was by the and I saw

a which was eating .

(Be Creative!)

Page 10 (left)

Sargon

• Founded city of Akkad

• Created the worlds first empire

• Empire stretched past Tigris and Euphrates

• Akkadian became common language

• Considered founder of military tradition

Page 13 (right)

Hammurabi

• King of Babylon

• Empire confined between Tigris and Euphrates

• Carried out advanced political reforms

• built and restored temples, city walls, public buildings, and canals for irrigation

Sargon & Hammurabi

• Both Rulers

• Both improved their city-state

• Both created empires

• When they died empires collapsed

• Worshiped same gods

Venn Diagram page 12(L)

Similarities

Activity Discussion

1) How many different political groups controlled Mesopotamia during this time period?

2) Why do you think these groups wanted to control Mesopotamia?

3) Which civilization was most successful in ruling Mesopotamia?

4) How might the dramatic changes in political leadership have affected the daily lives of the people who lived in Mesopotamia?

Mind map 18 (L) (Use Half Page)

Mesopotamian Achievements

Mesopotamian Contributions (19R)

1) First civilization

2) First to write down laws

3) First form of writing – Cuneiform

4) Wheel

5) Plow

6) Sailboat

7) Calendar8) Number system based on 60 – 60

min, hour, second, minute, 360 degree circle

9) Clock10) Lever, pulley11) Chisel and saw

Empire Contributions page 21(R)

• Sumerian City-States: advanced civilization, wheel, plow, cuneiform

• Akkadian Empire: worlds first empire, Akkadian common language

• Babylonian Empire: important trade center, code of Hammurabi

• Assyrian Empire: siege engine, library in Ninevah

• Chaldean empire: rebuilt the destroyed Babylon, built the Hanging Gardens

• Persian empire: divided empire into provinces, built well constructed roads

Personal Impact (cont 20 L)

1) What do you think are the three most important contributions of Mesopotamia? Rank them.

2) Why did you choose and rank each item the way you did?

Ticket Out The Door

One thing I already knew

One thing I want to learn more about

One thing I am confused about

Mesopotamia Post-Knowledge Assessment

1) What is Mesopotamia and who lived there?

2) Where is Mesopotamia located?3) What about ancient cultures did you

learn that interested you?4) What kind of activities did we use

that helped you learn about Mesopotamia?

Vocabulary• irrigation• city-state • artisan • cuneiform • scribe • Ziggurat • Sargon • Hammurabi