Syllabus for "Ancient Mesopotamia”
1. Define: silt, irrigation, surplus, city-state, polytheism, ziggurat, cuneiform, scribe, epic DUE: ______
2. Read "The First Civilizations in Mesopotamia” on pp 76 - 78 DUE: ______
a. Which two rivers were important to the development of the Mesopotamian civilizations?
b. Explain why this area was also known as “The Fertile Crescent”. Include the terms silt & irrigation
3. Read "Sumer’s Civilization” and ”Sumerian Contributions” on pp 78 - 83 DUE: ______
a. Describe how a Sumerian city-state looks and operates.
b. Did the Mesopotamians have a religion? If so, explain using 2 vocab terms.
c. Discuss 3 VERY IMPORTANT developments in Sumerian technology.
4. Read "The Epic of Gilgamesh” on pp 84 & 85 DUE: ______
a. Who was Gilgamesh?
b. Why is the Epic of Gilgamesh an important discovery?
5. Define in your notebook: empire, tribute, province, caravan, astronomer DUE : ______
6. Read "The First Empires” and “The Assyrian Empire” on pp 86 - 89 DUE: ______
a. Who was Sargon and why was he important?
b. Who was Hammurabi? What is his most important contribution?
c. How did the Assyrians become an empire?
d. What important contribution did Ashurbanipal create that helped us learn about the Assyrians?
7. Read "The Chaldean Empire” on pp 89 - 93 DUE: ______
a. Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt which city? Describe the city and its special features in detail.
b. List 3 contributions made to science & civilization by Caldean astronomers.
The TENTATIVE Test Date for "Ancient Mesopotamia” is ______.
“The Mesopotamians”
by They Might Be Giants
We've been driving around
From one end of this town to the other and back
But no one's ever seen us (No one's ever seen us)
Driving our Econoline van (And no one's ever heard of our band)
And no one's ever heard of our band
CHORUS: We're the Mesopotamians Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
Then they wouldn't understand a word we say,
So we'll scratch it all down into the clay
Half believing there will sometime come a day
Someone gives a damn
Maybe when the concrete has crumbled to sand
CHORUS
The Mesopotam-ish sun is beating down
And making cracks in the ground
But there's nowhere else to stand
In Mesopotamia, (No one's ever seen us)
The kingdom where we secretly reign (And no one's ever heard of our band)
The land where we invisibly rule
CHORUS
This is my last stick of gum
I'm going to cut it up so everybody else gets some
Except for Ashurbanipal who says my haircut makes me look like a Mohenjo-daroan
Hey, Ashurbanipal,
I'm a Mesopotamian Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
CHORUS
"Hey, man, I thought that you were dead
I thought you crashed your car"
"No, man, I've been right here this whole time playing bass guitar
For the Mesopotamians"
CHORUS - 2 times
XXX