3.3 Mesopotamian Achievements

3.3 Mesopotamian Achievements

Agricultural Techniques

• Irrigation: Canals that carry water from rivers to farmland.

• Bronze: A mix of copper and tin, much stronger.

• Plow and funnel: Allowed farmers to plow and plant at the same time.

Open Ended

Why were these techniques so beneficial to Mesopotamian society?

Measurements

• Land area (iku/ikum) = 37,600 square feet. This is where we get the idea of an acre

• Weight/Volume: Used this to conduct trade and measure harvests (this is where we get quarts)

• Number system: base 60 (this is where we get hours, minutes, and seconds)

• Time: 360-day calendar

• Most importantly, these were standardized throughout the entire nation.

Multiple Choice

The most important part of the measurement systems is that they...

• had interesting names

• measured everything

• were standardized

• were never wrong

Open Ended

How did one of the Mesopotamian innovations for measurement listed contributed to modern- day methods of measurement?

Building

• Sumerians may not have had a lot of metal or wood available, but they did have a lot of one thing... MUD!!

• It was cool in the summer, warm in the winter.

Building

• Ziggurats - top level: Shrine for the city's special god.

• Next: Palace for the king & Houses for the priests

• Bottom level: Shops, Homes, Workshops

Multiple Choice

The Mesopotamians built with....

• mud

• wood

• water

• metal

Open Ended

How do ziggurats show that religion was important to the Sumerians?

Transportation - Land

• World's oldest wheels were found in Mesopotamia - 3500 BC.

• First to attach wheels to carts to make 2 and 4 wheeled carts pulled by oxen or donkeys

• Traders led caravans of donkeys using these carts.

Transportation - Water

• Earliest boat was shaped like a basket and built from reeds and animal skins

• Because of the mast and sail, we think it is the world's first sailboat

• They also had canoe-shaped boats guided with poles

Multiple Choice

What did Mesopotamians attach to carts (hint - they were the world's oldest)

• chairs

• boxes

• wheels

• flags

Multiple Select

What TWO things were the earliest boats made from?

• animal skins

• wood

• reeds

• stone

Writing

• Pictures of things that acted as words.

• Cuneiform: Wedge-shaped symbols for objects and ideas.

• Few people knew how to write, so scribes were needed to record information

• There were 700 symbols, each representing a different sound!

Multiple Choice

Cuneiform is...

• a form of fancy cooking

• a dance to attract a mate

• scribes were needed to record information

• a way of singing

Multiple Choice

True/False: Everyone could write in cuineiform.

• True

• False

Open Ended

What do you think was the most important advancement? Why?