Chapter 2 Section 3 Notes
- 2. Fertile Crescent---arc of land that curves from the Persian Gulf to the eastern Mediterranean coast Named because of the dark, rich soils Mesopotamia---means “between the rivers”---Tigris and Euphrates Sumer was located in the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
- 4. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers frequently rose in terrifying floods that washed away topsoil and destroyed mud-brick villages Epic of Gilgamesh---Sumerian poem that tells of a great flood that destroys the world Archaeologists found evidence that a catastrophic flood devastated the Fertile Crescent about 4,900 years ago
- 5. Around 3200BC, the first Sumerian cities emerged in the southern part of Mesopotamia The Sumerians had few natural resources and lacked building materials such as timber and stone Sumerians built their houses out of earth and water They made bricks of clay, shaped in wooden molds and dried in the sun The Sumerians made the first wheeled vehicles!!!
- 8. Each Sumerian city-state had a distinct social hierarchy 1. Ruling family and priests; 2. lesser priests and scribes---merchants and artisans; 3. peasant farmers; 4. slaves
- 9. The Sumerians had polytheistic religious beliefs The Sumerian gods were thought to control every aspect of life, especially the forces of nature Each city had a ziggurat---a pyramid- temple where they worshipped their gods
- 11. Like the Egyptians, the Sumerians believed in an afterlife However, they saw the underworld as a grim place from which there was no release Differences in geography may explain this The floods of the Tigris and Euphrates were less regular and more destructive than those of the Nile. As a result, Sumerians may have developed a pessimistic view of the world.
- 12. By 3200BC, the Sumerians have invented what may be the earliest known form of writing Cuneiform---used a reed pen to make wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets Advances in mathematics---basic algebra and geometry, divided their hour into 60 minutes, divided their circle into 360