The World in 1500
Grade 9: The World in1500
Library of Congress Resources Used:
Cuneiform tablet no. 31, 2200-1900 BC. Library of Congress: Global Gateways, Cuneiform Tablets: From the Reign of Gudea of Lagash to Shalmanassar III.
The Washington Haggadah (Central Europe, January 29, 1478). Library of Congress: African and Middle Eastern Reading Room: Hebraic Collections.
For additional Primary Source-Based Learning Experiences, go to:
Grade 9: The World in 1500
Introductory Activity:
Think about the characteristics of a civilization. What makes the United States “civilized”? List 5 artifacts that would tell someone in the future, that the United States was an advanced civilization. After independent reflection, discuss as a class.
Extension Ideas: (based on primary sources)
1. Group Discussion:
Discuss the following as a class: How do the artifacts reflect a “civilized” society? Based on the artifacts, are each of the civilizations advanced? Explain. List 2 other artifacts that could have been used to represent the Ancient Sumerian and Hebrew civilizations.
2. Individual Response:
Describe each of the artifacts in a few paragraphs. In paragraph one: describe the form, structure, color, and probable texture of the Cuneiform Tablet. In paragraph two: do the same for the Hebrew Manuscript. Your descriptions should help someone who has not seen the images to visualize them.After recording your descriptions, discuss as a class. In addition, think about the question: does complexity reflect advancement? Determine if this proves true for the artifacts and their corresponding civilizations.
3. Action:
Imagine you are an archaeologist, digging in the Middle East. You have recently uncovered one of the two pictured artifacts. Working with one other person, create a 1 minute skit about the discovery of this artifact. What questions do you have about the artifact? What assumptions can you make about this object?
Primary Source Learning Links:
Links to the pictures:
Cuneiform Tablets: From the Reign of Gudea of Lagash to Shalmanassar III
2200-1900bc
The Washington Haggadah
(Central Europe, January 29, 1478).
Known as the Washington Haggadah because of its presence in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., this manuscript is the Library's most important illuminated Hebrew manuscript.
Library of Congress Resource Used:
/ PREVIOUS / NEXT / NEW SEARCHCuneiform Tablets: From the Reign of Gudea of Lagash to Shalmanassar III
(Cuneiform tablet no. 31) /
(Transcription of cuneiform tablet no. 31) /
(Drawing of cuneiform tablet no. 31)
Accounting tablet
CREATED/PUBLISHED: 2200-1900bc
NOTES: Only a small fraction of this tablet has been translated. It concerns the receipt of she-goats (udu) and lambs (sila4)
SUBJECT: Akkadian language--Texts.
Calah (Extinct city)
Cuneiform tablets.
Drehem (Extinct city)
Gods, Assyro-Babylonian.
Gods, Sumerian.
Gudea, of Lagash.
Iraq--Antiquities--Specimens.
Sumerian language--Texts.
Sumerians--Commerce.
Sumerians--Economic conditions.
Sumerians--Education.
Sumerians--Religion.
Sumerians--Rites and ceremonies.
RELATED NAMES: Collector:Minassian, Kirkor
MEDIUM: 5 cm wide x 9 ¼ cm high.
LANGUAGE: Sumerian
CALL NUMBER: No. 31
PART OF: Cuneiform Tablet Collection
REPOSITORY: Library of Congress, African and Middle Eastern Division, Washington, D.C.20540
DIGITAL ID: amcune cf0031
amcune cp0031
amcune cs0031
Library of Congress Resource Used:
The Washington Haggadah (Central Europe, January 29, 1478). Known as the Washington Haggadah because of its presence in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., this manuscript is the Library's most important illuminated Hebrew manuscript. The illustration here depicts the Messiah heralded. It features the Messiah -- or Elijah, the harbinger of the Messiah -- approaching Jerusalem astride a donkey.