Southern Mesopotamia - Sumer

The world’s first cities were in Mesopotamia. As people lived and worked together they formed a society or civilization. A civilization is a complex society. It has religion, government and education. It depends on a good food supply and division of labor.

Sumer was made up of several city-states, or a city with farmlands around it. Walls around each city-state protected the people from enemies. Farmland was usually outside the city walls, and people would seek protection from the walls of the city when under attack.

The southern part of Mesopotamia was called Sumer. The farmers used the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to water their crops. Sumerians learned that by planting seeds and plowing their land, they were able to grow crops. They learned to domesticate, or tame animals to help them plow their lands. Sumerians learned to use irrigation. Irrigation is a system of watering crops to grow more food.

As the people built dikes and canals for irrigation this experience helped them make new tools and technology. The Sumerians made a very important invention--the wheel. The wheel made it possible to pull heavy loads. Sumerians used wheeled carts to move materials to build houses and other buildings. The largest building was a huge mud-brick temple called a ziggurat.

1. The south part of Mesopotamia is called: ______

2. A city-state is: ______

3. Technology is having skill and knowledge to make something to do a task. True or False

4. What important invention was made by Sumerians? ______

5. The biggest building made by Sumerians is a ______

Sumer religion and government

The Sumerians believed in many gods. They worshiped their gods at huge temples called ziggurats. At the top of a ziggurat was a shrine for the city’s special god.

Their religion showed how important agriculture was to them. They believed if they pleased their gods they would get large harvests from their crops. They believed they would face natural disasters like floods or droughts if they made the gods unhappy.

Each city-state had its own leaders and government who kept order but wars were fought over the use of water. In order to have stronger leaders a monarchy was created. A monarchy is a government where one person has complete control. Sumerians believed that their gods selected the rulers so the people believed their leaders where powerful and strong.

One of the Sumerian kings was Gilgamesh. He was a king who ruled in the city-state of Uruk. Many stories were written about this king and his adventures. A poem was written about him saying “he who knew everything”. It described him as one-third man and two-thirds god.

1. What kind of government did the city-states form to have stronger leadership?

______

2. A Sumerian temple is called ______

3. If the people pleased their god they would have ______harvests?

4. Who was the king that was part man and part god? ______

Civilization

Most scholars agree that when a society begins to form cities, it becomes a civilization. Most civilizations have the following:

  • A surplus of food.When people have enough food, the population grows and things change. People can work on other needs and not everyone has to work in agriculture growing or looking for food.
  • Division of Labor.With a good supply of food people could do other jobs, they could choose a job they enjoyed. Some became craft workers in stone, clay or made clothes from wool. Sumerians also had some managers who told other workers what to do and others became merchants. Merchants are people who buy and sell goods to make a living.
  • Government and religion.A government is an organized system that groups use to make laws and decisions. When people have the same laws, it is easier to trade. People having the same religious beliefs are likely to have the same values. Sumerians built ziggurats to please their gods in hope that the gods would give them big harvests.
  • Writing.This allowed societies to keep records and communicate. Sumerians wrote on clay tablets called cuneiform. Cuneiform means “having the shape of a wedge”. The writing looked like small picture symbols. People now could record their stories, poems and business records.

Why did life change in Mesopotamia? ______

Give 3 examples how life changed. ______