MESOPOTAMIA 6-1.36-1.3: Compare the river valley civilizations of the Tigris and Euphrates (Mesopotamia), the Nile (Egypt), the Indus (India), and the Huang He (China), including the evolution of written language, government, trade systems, architecture, and forms of social order.

I. Brief History A. One of the first civilizations to develop after hunter-gatherers was Mesopotamia.     B. Civilized Society - Has MOST of the following characteristics:          1. Permanent Structures (buildings)          2. Government          3. Agriculture          4. Specialization of Labor          5. Traditions like religion, family structure, certain foods and clothing (culture).     C. Cradle of Civilization - Mesopotamia is called this because the earliest people and cultures were located here

II. Geography A. Mesopotamia - "the land between the rivers"; early civilization between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.  It is located in the current country of Iraq.     B. Rivers - Offer food, water, good soil, natural protection, and transportation for trade.

II. Geography Continued… C. Fertile Crescent -  A fertile area between the Tigris and the Euphrates River in the area of modern day Iraq (Mesopotamia) in the shape of an arc (crescent).     D. Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flood unpredictably making them dangerous and destructive.         1. Silt -  A mixture of fertile soil and tiny rocks that can make land ideal for farming brought from the rivers when they flooded.

III. Groups of People Who Lived near Mesopotamia

 A. Sumer (Sumerian) - Civilization in Mesopotamia around 3,000 B.C. (BCE)     B. Babylon (Babylonian) - It became the most powerful city-state in Babylon around 1800 B.C. (BCE)          1. City-State - A city with political and economic control over the surrounding countryside.     C. Phoenicia (Phoenicians) - small civilization on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea around 1500 B.C. (BCE)

IV. Written Language      A. Cuneiform - a form of writing by the Sumerians using symbols called pictograms (The earliest form of writing in which pictures represented word or ideas).  Later the symbols would represent sounds or symbols.          1. Wrote on clay tablets using a stylus to create wedge-shaped symbols.          2. Was used to keep business records (receipts), trade, commerce, livestock, record history, and government records.          3. Scribe - A person who writes

V. Government - Someone or some people gain authority over others, laws are created.  A. Sumer government - Monarchies - A government ruled by a king or queen.     B. Babylon government - A monarch named Hammurabi came to power.          1. He created a set or code of laws called Hammurabi's Code of Laws - a set of 282 laws that dealt with daily life including murder, injury, trade, loans, and marriage.          2. He had them posted on stele (stone monuments) so ALL of the people could read and know the laws and punishments. 

VI. Trade Systems  A. With agriculture and Specialization of Labor (Worker has a specific task or job to do), people were free to do other jobs including make tools, lead religions, and government.     B. Larger jobs such as construction allowed for division of labor - Division of work into a number of separate tasks to be performed by different workers. Example - One worker pours the concrete, another builds the frame, and another builds the roof.

VI. Trade Systems      C. Phoenicians - Became expert sailors living close the the Mediterranean Sea.  Would trade with the people of Egypt, Greece, Italy, and Spain.          1. They traded cedar lumber, silverwork, ivory carvings, glass objects, and slaves.

VII. Religion   A. People of Mesopotamia practiced polythesism - the belief in more than one god.     B. They believed these gods and goddesses had a lot of power and could bring floods, harvests, illnesses, health, wealth, etc. Pleasing the gods was important.     C. Priests, people who performed religious ceremonies, were to win the gods' favor. Made offerings to the gods.          1. Priests were believed to have direct communication with the gods and could make them happy.

VIII. Architecture A. Ziggurat - pyramid shaped temples built by Sumerians to honor the gods and goddesses they worshiped. They were highest point in each city.     B. irrigation - A way of supplying water to an area of land using canals, dams, and waterwheels. Helped them to better control the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

IX. Social Order  A. Social Hierarchy - The division of society by rank or class.          1. At the top of society was a monarch (king or queen).          2. Next were the priests.          3. Below them were the skilled craftspeople, merchants, and traders.          4. Farmers and laborers were next.          5. Slaves were at the bottom of the Social Hierarchy.

X. Achievements      A. Sumerians - the strong metal bronze (copper + tin), the plow, math (developed a number system based on 60), 12-month calendar     B. Phoenicians - alphabet, purple dye from mollusk shell fish