Mesopotamia

Art & Architecture

 Sumerian House
• The earliest Sumerian
houses were built of bundles
of reeds.
• After cities began to
develop, sun baked mud
brick was used. 
• Mud brick houses were
more permanent and larger.
The Reed
House
• Houses were built out of
cut sandstone blocks or
mud bricks. 
• All of the houses were
clustered around the
Ziggurat to make it easy
to get to the temple and
to leave offerings to the
gods.
 Sumerian House
• The lower section was used
when protection from the
weather was necessary.
• During the hot nights, the
top floor, which was open
and without a roof, was used
as sleeping and cooking
quarters.
 Sumerian House
• In the richer sections, the
houses stood alone.
• In the poorer sections, they
would share walls to cut
down on construction costs.
• They were not well
ventilated and most had no
windows. Many consisted of
two floors.
The Ziggurat
 The Ziggurat
• At the center of each major city in Mesopotamia was a
large structure called a ziggurat.
• The ziggurat was built to honor the main god of the city.
• The tradition of building a ziggurat was started by
the Sumerians.
• But other civilizations of Mesopotamia such as the
Akkadians, the Babylonians, and the Assyrians also built
ziggurats. 
 The Ziggurat
• Ziggurats looked like step
pyramids.
• 2 to 7 levels or steps.
• Each level smaller than the
one before.
• Typically square in shape at
the base.
 The Ziggurat
• At the top of the ziggurat
was a shrine to the god.
• The priests perform
sacrifices and other rituals
here.
• They built them high
because they wanted the
shrine to be as close to the
heavens as possible. 
 Sumerian Inventions
Writing

• Cuneiform – wedge shape

• First recorded law – Code of
Hammurabi
• Writing tools;
 stylus made from reed
 tablet made from clay
Cuneiform Tablet Code of Hammurabi
Code of Hammurabi
 Sumerian Inventions
Writing

• Besides government and financial records, some of the

writings are literature.
• Includes mythology of the Mesopotamian gods, tales of
their heroes, poetry, and songs.
• Some of the writings include sayings of wisdom.
• The most famous and epic of all the Mesopotamian
literature is The Epic Gilgamesh.
Epic of Gilgamesh tablet King Gilgamesh
Sumerian Inventions
The Wheel

• The oldest wheel discovered

was found in Mesopotamia.
• The Sumer first used the
wheel in making pottery in
3500BC and then used it for
their chariots in around
3200 BC. 
Sumerian War Wagon
 Sumerian Inventions
Mathematics

• The Mesopotamians used a number system with the

base 60.
• They divided time up by 60s including a 60 second
minute and a 60 minute hour, which we still use today.
• They also divided up the circle into 360 degrees. 
• Knowledge in addition, subtraction, multiplication,
division, quadratic and cubic equations, and fractions –
for keeping records.
 Sumerian Inventions
Astronomy

• Using their advanced math, the

Mesopotamian astronomers were able to follow the
movements of the stars, planets, and the Moon.  
• By studying the phases of the Moon, the
Mesopotamians created the first calendar.
• It had 12 lunar months and was the predecessor for both
the Jewish and Greek calendars. 
Relief on Astronomy Star Chart
Sumerian Arts
Sumerian Arts
Sumerian Arts