7 Characteristics of Civilization1) Urban centers (cities)2) Centralized government3) Organized religion4) Social classes5) Writing or record-keeping6) Monument building7) Specialized jobs and occupations

Mesopotamia: The World’s First Civilization

(Began c. 3000 BC)

Geography

Literally “land between two rivers” (Tigris, Euphrates)

-Soil is fertile -Food supply is stable-Flooding is unpredictable -Few natural barriers

The Sumerians

By 3000 BC, villages grew into city-states (ex.: Ur, Erech, Kish)

-Each was independent

-Controlled surrounding farmland

-Constantly battled w/each other for resources and control

Sumerian City-StatesSumerian City-States

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Sumerian City-State of Ur

Lugals (leaders)…

• were the representatives of the gods on earth

• commanded absolute power

Religion

Sumerians believed…

-in many gods (polytheistic)

-that a council of gods and goddesses ruled the earth

-that the gods decided the fate of individuals and cities

-in an unhappy afterlife

Ziggurats- temples to

the gods of the city-states

Written Language

Need for accurate records led to the development of writing

-System began with pictograms and ideograms

-Later simplified with the use of symbols to represent sounds

and syllables (cuneiform)

A stylus was used to make wedge-shapedsymbols on tablets of wetclay.

Legacy

• World’s first civilization• First to use the wheel, sail, and plow• Developed a base 60 number system • 12 month calendar • Ziggurats may have influenced Egyptian

pyramids

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