Early Sumer Civilization

Mesopotamia 1.3: The Sumerians

Guiding Question: What ideas and inventions did Sumerians pass on to other civilizations?

​Let's Review First...

​You can use 1.1 and 1.2 notes

Multiple Choice

What roles did the gods play in Sumerians' life?

• they had power over nature like controlling how much rain there was

• they guided the things people did such as plowing

• Both

Multiple Choice

Which of the following classes did priests belong to?

• Upper

• Middle

• Lower

Multiple Choice

Which of the following classes did farmers belong to?

• Upper

• Middle

• Lower

Multiple Choice

What items did merchants trade for on trade routes?

• barley and wheat

• metal and minerals

• meat and cheese

Multiple Choice

What type of crops did farmers grow?

• wheat

• barley

• dates

• all

Multiple Choice

What is an extra supply of resources?

• silt

• irrigation

• surplus

• polytheism

​Sumerian Contributions

​The Sumerians created the first civilization that had a great influence on history. Later civilizations copied and improved many of the ideas and inventions that began in Sumer. As a result, Mesopotamia has been called the "cradle of civilization." It was the beginning of organized human society.

​Writing

• ​Sumerians created the earliest known writing system

• ​Importance of writing

  • ​keep records of their lives and history

  • ​Share information

  • ​pass on ideas to later generations

  • ​make business transactions

  • ​record directions or methods of doing things

​Cuneiform

• ​Sumerian way of writing

• ​Latin for "wedge"

• ​was written by cutting wedge-shaped marks into damp clay with a sharp reed called a stylus

• ​made up of 1,200 characters

• ​characters represented names, physical objects, and numbers

• ​wrote on clay because there was no paper

Open Ended

Compared with paper, what were the disadvantages of clay tablets as a writing material?

Open Ended

What might have happened to Sumerian writing if they had used paper?

​Scribes

• ​a person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper

• ​wrote documents that recorded everyday life: court records, marriage contracts, business dealings, and important events

• ​only a few people, mostly boys from wealthy families, learned how to read and write cuneiform

• ​after years of training, they could become scribes

• ​some scribes were judges and government officials

​Sumerian Stories

​Sumerians told stories orally for centuries. After developing writing, they were able to record these stories. Their tales praised gods and warriors for doing great deeds. The world's oldest know story is from Sumer. Written more than 4,000 years ago and still studied today, this epic is called the Epic of Gilgamesh. An epic is a long poem that tells the story of a hero.

​Inventions: Technology and Mathematics

• ​Sumerians were the first people to use the wheel

• The earliest wheels were solid wood circles made from carved boards that clamped together

  • ​a Sumerian picture from 3500 BCE shows a wheeled vehicle

  • ​built first carts pulled by donkeys

  • ​introduced military use vehicles - chariots

​Inventions: Technology and Mathematics

• ​ invented the sailboat for river travel

• ​invented the plow to help them in the fields

• ​artisans made the potter's wheel, which helped shape clay into bowls and jars

• ​first to make bronze out of copper and tin

• ​use bronze to craft stronger tools, weapons, and jewelry

​Inventions: Technology and Mathematics

• ​ invented the sailboat for river travel

• ​invented the plow to help them in the fields

• ​artisans made the potter's wheel, which helped shape clay into bowls and jars

• ​first to make bronze out of copper and tin

• ​use bronze to craft stronger tools, weapons, and jewelry

​Inventions: Technology and Mathematics

• ​Sumerians also studied mathematics and astronomy

• ​used geometry to measure the size of fields and to plan buildings

• ​created a place-value system of numbers based on 60

• ​devised tables for calculating division and multiplication

• ​60-minute hour, 60-second minute, and 360-degree circle we use today are ideas that came from the Sumerians

• ​watched the positions of the stars to show the best times to grow crops and to hold religious ceremonies

• ​made a 12-month calendar based on the cycles of the moon

Open Ended

Based on the video, or our notes, what invention do you think is most important that the Sumerians created? Why?