Sumer civilization
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The Sumer civilization thrived in ancient Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern-day Iraq. It was the first civilization to develop systems of writing, government, religion, economic classes, advanced architecture like ziggurats, science, arts, and literature such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Sumerians invented innovations like the wheel, plow, calendar, bronze metallurgy, silver currency, and the first written legal code. However, rivalry among Sumerian city-states led to decline, and the Akkadian Empire later conquered and unified the region under rulers like Sargon I.
Sumer civilization
- 2. CULTURE VS. CIVILIZATION What is CULTURE? Answer: It has been called to be the “way of life” for an entire society. What is CIVILIZATION? Answer: It is a highly organized society marked by advanced knowledge of trade, government, arts, science and often times, written language. GRESASAW: Government, Religion, Economic activity, Social stratification, Architecture, Science, Arts and Writing
- 3. G-R-E-S-A-S-A-W As we continue with our discussion, identify GRESASAW for the Sumer civilization. Write them down on your notebook.
- 4. WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE AREA REPRESENTED BY THE ORANGE STAR?
- 5. MESOPOTAMIA
- 6. •WHAT IS THE LITERAL MEANING OF MESOPOTAMIA? •Mesopotamia is located at the Fertile Crescent. •This is an arc of fertile land that spans from the Persian Gulf up to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. •What are the two rivers that can be found here?
- 7. BASED ON YOUR WORLD MAP, WHAT IS THE CURRENT NAME OF THE AREA WHERE MESOPOTAMIA USED TO BE? IRAQ Were there small villages within the Fertile Crescent even earlier than Sumerian civilization?
- 8. DURING THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD... Communities thrived within and outside the Fertile Crescent. Jericho on the West bank of Israel around 7000 BCE Catal Huyuk and Hacilar in Anatolia (Turkey) around 6000 BCE Villages in Zagros Mountains found in the border or Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Persia (Iran) around 5700 BCE
- 9. WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED FOR SOME OF THESE COMMUNITIES TO DISAPPEAR? .Answer: The environment have reached its limit and capacity to sustain life for some communities.
- 10. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE SUMER CIVILIZATION THRIVED AND WAS CONSIDERED TO BE THE “CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION”.
- 11. CITIES OF SUMER: Ur-capital city of Mesopotamia Uruk Eridu Lagash Nippur Kish
- 12. CITY-STATES OF SUMER Independent and autonomous Rectangular in shape with wide roads and protected with high and thick walls The ziggurat is found at the center of the city and became the point of reference for the layout of the rest of the city. Around the ziggurat are granaries, quarters of officials and shops. They are led by priest-kings who were mediators between the gods and the people. Their form of government is theocracy.
- 13. ZIGGURAT Largest structure in the city A temple to honor the gods/goddesses Polytheism - An (god of the heavens), Enlil (god of air), Enki (god of the waters), Ninhursag (goddess of the earth)
- 14. CUNEIFORM A system of writing Written by scribes Creation of the first schools Record business transactions, myths, ess ential traditions, epics and more Written on clay tablets Became the basis of historians for the exact date on which an event occurred
- 15. EPIC OF GILGAMESH The world’s first epic It tells the adventures of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk , who embarked on a quest for immortality and failed. It also has a“flood story” that is similar to the “flood story” of Noah’s ark.
- 16. CODE OF UR-NAMMU It was the first written set of laws It divided society into two classes: free people and slaves. Slaves usually worked as servants but also as craftsmen. They were owned by their masters, but their legal status was relatively free. They could give evidence in court, get married and own possessions. The years in which Ur-Nammu created his code are therefore called "Year in which Ur-Nammu the king put in order the ways from below to above", and "Year Ur-Nammu made justice in the land".
- 17. CODE OF UR-NAMMU 1. If a man commits a murder, that man must be killed. 2. If a man commits a robbery, he will be killed. 3. If a man commits a kidnapping, he is to be imprisoned and pay 15 shekels of silver. 13. If a man is accused of sorcery he must undergo ordeal by water; if he is proven innocent, his accuser must pay 3 shekels. 18. If a man knocks out the eye of another man, he shall weigh out ½ a mina of silver. 19. If a man has cut off another man’s foot, he is to pay ten shekels. 20. If a man, in the course of a scuffle, smashed the limb of another man with a club, he shall pay one mina of silver. 21. If someone severed the nose of another man with a copper knife, he must pay two-thirds of a mina of silver. 22. If a man knocks out a tooth of another man, he shall pay two shekels of silver.
- 18. OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS OF SUMER Wheel, 360 degree circle Plow, wheelbarrow Wheel-spun pottery, the sail Lunar Calendar Bronze metallurgy Silver currency The decimal system Sexagesimal - a numeral system with sixty as its base. This is why we have 60 seconds=1 minute, 60 minutes=1 hour.
- 19. HISTORY OF SUMER Sumer was established around 3500 BCE. Due to rivalry over land and water, civil wars among the city-states erupted and led to the decline of the Sumerian civilization. Around 2334-2400 BCE the Akkadians conquered Sumer led by Sargon I and unified the independent city-states.
- 20. CHALLENGE: 1. CHOOSE ONE FROM THE MANY DISCOVERIES OF SUMER CIVILIZATION TO MANKIND. 2. EXPLAIN WHY THAT PARTICULAR DISCOVERY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO MANKIND.
- 21. CHECKING OF GRESASAW ON SUMER CIVILIZATION WILL BE ON THE NEXT MEETING.