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    Mesopotamians built their homes out of bundled reeds, mud bricks, and wood. Their houses had wooden rafters and mud roofs. Cities centered around religious temples and palaces, surrounded by homes and shops. Narrow streets separated blocks of houses. To cope with heat, homes had small, low windows and doors. Flood control systems like canals and regulators helped manage water for crops and protect buildings during floods.

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    Mesopotamians built their homes out of bundled reeds, mud bricks, and wood. Their houses had wooden rafters and mud roofs. Cities centered around religious temples and palaces, surrounded by homes and shops. Narrow streets separated blocks of houses. To cope with heat, homes had small, low windows and doors. Flood control systems like canals and regulators helped manage water for crops and protect buildings during floods.

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    10 views4 pages

    Mesopotamia

    Uploaded by

    Valeria Sofía
    Mesopotamians built their homes out of bundled reeds, mud bricks, and wood. Their houses had wooden rafters and mud roofs. Cities centered around religious temples and palaces, surrounded by homes and shops. Narrow streets separated blocks of houses. To cope with heat, homes had small, low windows and doors. Flood control systems like canals and regulators helped manage water for crops and protect buildings during floods.

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    of 4

    MESOPOTAMIA

    By

    CASAS OSORIO, VALERIA SOFIA

    Word Count: 423

    How did their common buildings look like? Which were their main building materials?

    How did their cities look like? How did they deal with extreme heat? How did they

    protect their buildings against extreme weather events?

    SBE 221 | History of the Built Environment I

    THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

    SEPTEMBER 2021
    MESOPOTAMIA

    Mesopotamia is considered the cradle of civilization because it is a region around 4000

    BCE where the first permanent human settlements were developed. The Mesopotamians

    served as a model for the rest of the world and have made popular the fundamental

    inventions for human civilization, such as the wheel, cultivation of cereals, the

    development of successful writing, mathematics, and astronomy.

    How did their common buildings look like?

    Sumerians created architectural structures such as domes, columns, and the arch. For

    them, architecture was an art. The plan of most houses was the same – a square room

    that was located at the center with rooms next to them. Their houses had wooden rafters

    and roofs made of mud.

    Which were their main building materials?

    Their homes were made from bundled marsh reeds, mud bricks, and wood. They were

    easy to build, but also easy to overthrow. The floor and roofs were made of interwoven

    stalks and the supporting columns from tightly packed reed bundles.

    How did their cities look like?

    The city was the center of trade, religious, and social life. The separation of social

    classes was notorious. At the center of each town was a religious temple called ziggurat,

    also as the palace for the king’s family. Homes and shops for workers and craftsmen

    surround them. Smaller houses were outside the city, but still inside the large defensive

    walls at the perimeter. These large walls of 8 meters high were covered with plants and

    orchards to impress people. Narrow streets (2-3m) were used as passages that gave
    access to houses in the center of the blocks and were dumped in the garbage and burnt

    outside.

    How did they deal with extreme heat?

    Although Mesopotamians were in an arid area, this region was not always covered in

    desert. It was a green land where the plant was able to grow thanks to agriculture

    techniques. For their houses, Sumerians build the facades with no openings, just small

    windows, and low doors to maintain the interiors cool.

    How did they protect their buildings against extreme weather events?

    Floods sometimes caused rivers to change course, so farmers developed a way to find

    water for their crops. They developed a system for controlling the flow and direction of

    water from the river. Regulators were used to raising and lowering the water levels in

    the canals. Each farmer was allowed only a certain amount of water. They also changed

    their houses from reed to brick. They developed a way of life that dominated their

    natural world for their survival.


    Bibliography

    Bhugra, A., & K.Raj, T. (n.d.). Ancient Mesopotamian farming. Ancient Mesopotamia.

    Retrieved September 11, 2021, from http://ancientmesopotamians.com/ancient-

    mesopotamian-farming.html.

    Ancient Iraq (Mesopotamia) - ancient civilizations for kids. Google Sites. (n.d.).

    Retrieved September 11, 2021, from

    https://sites.google.com/site/1ancientcivilizationsforkids/ancient-iraq-

    mesopotamia.

    YouTube. (2014). Mesopotamia - The Sumerians. YouTube. Retrieved September 12,

    2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lESEb2-V1Sg.

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