Emergence

of
Civilization
 Complex
Institutions
Specialized Record
Workers Keeping

Advanced Characteristics Advanced

Cities of a Technology
Civilization
• Civilization is closely linked to life in
cities.

• At first, cities became important

because farmers needed a place to
store and trade their surplus grain. As
cities grew, however, they began to
offer other advantages such as temples
to pray in and protection from outside
threats.
• The larger populations of a city demand
that more food be produced. In general, a
society needs food surpluses before
civilization can develop.

• Having food surpluses allowed some people

to do other types of work besides farming.
With food surpluses, workers can specialize
in jobs that require special skills.
• In time, religion and government became
institutions. An institution is a group of
people who share a specific purpose.

• For instance, schools are institutions that

exist to educate a population. Religion is an
institution that helps a population meet its
spiritual needs. An army is an institution
that helps a society meet its security needs.
Ziggurat
• Societies must keep track of many
things.
• For example, rulers may want to
measure the amount of surpluses stored
in the city. Keeping records usually
involves writing, but not always.
Cuneiform
(Clay
Tablet)
• As people learned better ways to
do things, societies advanced.

• They also created new tools and

used new materials to make those
tools.
 Describe the characteristics of a
modern - day civilization
3 POINTS = The answer is appropriate to the question. It was clearly stated and
explained and based on facts. The sentences were complete and there were no major
spelling or grammar error.

2 POINTS = The question is partially answered. It was based on facts but vague and
has more than two factual
errors. Some sentences were incomplete and have some spelling or grammar errors.

1 POINT = The question is partially answered. It was based on facts but vague and
was not clearly stated and
explained. Most sentences were incomplete and have some spelling or grammar
errors.
NO POINT = There was no attempt to answer the question.
 Complex
Institutions
Specialized Record
Workers Keeping

Advanced Characteristics Advanced

Cities of a Technology
Civilization
• Mesopotamia means “between the
rivers” in Greek.

• Mesopotamia was a part of a

larger area of rich farmland called
the “Fertile Crescent”.

• Mesopotamia was divided into two

regions in ancient times: Northern
and Southern Mesopotamia.
• Annual floods on the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers brought silt that made the land ideal
for farming.

• Silt is a mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks.

• Plentiful food led to population growth and

the formation of villages.

• Villages later developed into the world’s

first civilizations.
FIRST SUMERIANS
 Sumerians first arrived in
region around 5000 BC

– They were typical Paleolithic

people motivated by search for
food.
– They settled in region and
took up farming, built dams,
dikes, and short canals to use
water from the Euphrates.
– They grew barley and dates
and raised sheep and goats.
SUMERIAN CITY-STATES
Sumerian City-states gradually
emerged over next 1000
years
– Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Nippur,
Kish, and Umma were larger
than Neolithic settlements
and displayed evidence of
economic specialization and
strong political organization

– It included the urban center

plus surrounding countryside.
Each was also an independent
political unit
• Men generally held the political power and
made laws.
• Women generally took care of the home and
children.
• Education was generally reserved for men,
but some upper class women were
educated.
• Some women were priestesses in Sumerian
temples.
- Enheduanna, a priestess who
wrote hymns, is the first known female
writer in history.
CUNEIFORM WRITING
Sumerian had a system of
writing called “cuneiform” which
means “wedge-shaped”.
They wrote on clay
tablets with wood
stylus.

Originally it has
2,000 symbols but
was reduced to 500
over time.
CUNEIFORM WRITING

 In Sumer, only
small group of
professional scribes
could master the
cuneiform after 15
years of training

 The mastery of
cuneiform was a
secret held by only a
few specially-trained
individuals.
• The Sumerians were
polytheistic which means they
believed in more than one god.

• In Sumer, religious beliefs

influenced every part of daily
life.

• Sumerians tried to please the

gods in all things from GROWING
CROPS to settling disputes.
Religion bound them together in
a common way of life.
 ZIGGURAT
 Most dominant structure in
each city was its temple
– It was usually the largest
structure in city and
dedicated to patron god of
the city
– It resembled a gigantic
stepped pyramid and
designed to look like
mountains because
Sumerians believed their
gods liked to live on top of
mountains
• Social hierarchy: the division of society by
rank or class
• Kings were at the top of the order because
they claimed to be chosen to rule by the
gods.
• Social order
 Kings
 Priests
 Craftspeople, merchants, and traders
 Farmers and laborers
 Slaves
Plow and Wheelbarrow
Sexagesimal System
 It was a numeral
system with sixty as its
base.

 It was used to count

things slaves, animals
and basis for time and
calendar
Each of the Sumerian city-states
had a ruler, and these city-states
began fighting each other. They
fought over land and the use of
river water. Since the Sumerians
were constantly at war with each
other, they became weak.
By 2000 BC, Sumer was a weakened
area, and by 1759 BC, Sumer was
conquered by another group of
people - the Babylonians, who were
from the north.