Geography
Economy & Trade
Economy & Trade
What were the main geographical features of Ancient Mesopotamia?
Fertile soil and water.
Where did the gods come from for the Sumerians?
NATURE.
The Sumerian religion has its roots in the worship of nature, such as wind and water. The forces of nature were originally worshiped as themselves. However, over time, the human form became associated with those forces. The gods in human form were now seen to have control over nature.
What was the basic organizational structure of Sumerian civilization?
City-states.
What were the main technological developments invented by the Sumerians? Why were they able to do so?
Sumerians invented or improved a wide range of technology, including the wheel, cuneiform script, arithmetic, geometry, irrigation, saws and other tools, sandals, chariots, harpoons.
SURPLUS OF FOOD.
What did most of their art works represent?
Sumerians developed art that was largely reflective of their religious beliefs (like many ancient civilizations). Some artistic archeological finds depict flora and fauna of the region.
What were the names of the main rivers in Ancient Mesopotamia?
TIGRIS and EUPHRATES.
Were they polytheistic or monotheistic?
POLYTHEISTIC.
They worshipped 7 main gods who represented forces of nature.
Is it true that in each city there was a god?
YES.
They were polytheistic and each city was specially protected by a God.
Which of their inventions is considered to be their main cultural contribution?
WRITING.
What materials did the Sumerians use in their art works?
CLAY was the most abundant material and the clay soil provided the Sumerians with much of the material for their art including their pottery, terra-cotta sculpture, cuneiform tablets, and clay cylinder seals, used to securely mark documents or property.
Why did they have to resort to trade in order to develop their economy? How did the barter start?
THEY DID NOT HAVE ALL THE RESOURCES THEY NEEDED IN THEIR AREA (e.g. METAL AND WOOD)
What was a ZIGGURAT?
A ziggurat is a temple in ancient Mesopotamia that is shaped like a pyramid. The purpose is to bring the temple closer to heaven, which is accessed from ground level by stairs.
They built temples with the shape of a stair to heaven called ZIGGURATS (the center of the city: prayers, offerings, and sacrifices to the gods were done there). They also stored food in the temple.
What is a city-state?
Communities that include a city and its nearby farmland. The nearby land might include several smaller villages.
Why did they develop a form of writing? What kind of information did they communicate by writing? What was the system´s name?
To record and communicate different types of information about crops and taxes (keeping records).
CUNEIFORM.
What was the most important building in each city-state? Why?
The ZIGGURAT (religious purposes, and also economic reasons)
How did they solve problems such as floods and droughts? How was this helpful for them?
SYSTEM OF IRRIGATION.
This helped people to grow healthy and strong crops: SURPLUS OF FOOD
Did the Sumerians write down their laws? If they did, how did they do it? And if they didn’t, who did it and how?
The Sumerians did not write down their laws. The king passed a law, and everyone was expected to learn it and obey it. If you broke the law in Sumer, you would be punished. If you stole something, you were punished according to what you stole. If you offended the gods, you were punished. Everyone knew what the punishment was so there was no escape by saying you didn't know. The thing is, the Sumerians were organized into city-states. Each city-state had it own royal family and its own military and its own king and assembly of people. So a king in one city-state might pass a law, and pretty soon, if it was a good law and stuck around, all the city-states adopted the same law.
How was Sumerian society divided?
SOCIAL DIVISION OF LABOUR: various people had various occupations, with a division of labour. There was a social hierarchy (kings, nobles, commoners, slaves, etc.)
What materials did they use in order to write?
They did not have paper or ink or anything like that, so they used tools made of wood or stiff reeds to press the symbols into clay tablets.
Why was trade important for the development of Sumerian art?
Sumerian artisans had to import some materials like stone and wood into their area, so trade was certainly important to the civilization as it grew.
What other phrases can we use to make reference to the area of Ancient Mesopotamia?
“The Fertile Crescen”
“The Cradle of Civilization.”
“The Land Between the Rivers”
Why did military leaders replace priests as permanent rulers?
Because of nomads´ attacks, and fighting over fertile land between the cities.
What was the situation for men and women in the Sumerian society?
In all classes of Sumerian society, men had more authority and more rights than women. Men controlled their households and could divorce their wives for any reason. Men also held most of the leadership roles in Sumer.
Why was their system of irrigation so important for their economy and life in general?
This helped people to grow healthy and strong crops. The system of irrigation allowed the farmers to use the uncontrollable flood water to their advantage. The farmers used the water to water their crops whenever they needed it. Eventually, this enabled them to produce a SURPLUS OF FOOD.
What was it that made the art of the Sumerians slightly different from the rest?
It offered some of the earliest examples of human artists seeking to achieve some form of naturalism in their figures (depiction of realistic objects in a natural setting).