Writing
This system of writing developed in Sumer over 5000 years ago.
Cuneiform
What does Mesopotamia mean in Greek?
The land between two rivers.
Sumerians believed in many gods. What is this belief system called?
Polytheism
What were two Sumerian improvements to farming?
The use of irrigation and the seed plow.
What were the two main rivers of Mesopotamia?
The Tigris and the Euphrates rivers
a written collection of laws
Hammurabi’s Code
What is a city with the surrounding land it controls?
A city-state
Why were priests so important in Sumerian religion?
The people believed only they could communicate with the gods.
What did use use of writing allow them to do?
They could keep records and communicate.
Who was at the bottom of the Sumerian social class pyramid?
The slaves
What material did Sumerians usually write cuneiform on?
Clay tablets
What was the large religious building in each major Sumerian city?
a ziggurat
What did Sumerians believe the gods controlled?
nature, weather and many parts of human life.
Why was two big inventions attributed to the ancient Summarians
The wheel, the clock, and sail
Who was in the middle of the Sumerian social class pyramid?
Scribes, farmers, merchants, craftsmen
Sumerian writing developed for this purpose.
Records needed to be kept to keep track of the grain and crops brought to the temple.
What was the region of the Middle East that stretches in a large, crescent-shaped curve from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea?
The Fertile Crescent
How were Sumerian gods described as similar to humans?
They were believed to eat, drink, sleep, marry, and behave much like people
Why was the development of the metal, bronze, important?
Bronze weapons were harder and stronger. They made better weapons and tools.
Who was at the top of the Sumerian social class pyramid?
The king, the priests, and the wealthy merchants
The most famous piece of Sumerian literature about a legendary king and a monster.
The Epic of Gilgamesh
What is a trading system in which people exchange goods directly without using money?
Barter
What role did Sumerian priests fill in early Sumer?
They were the leaders and rulers over everything and not just religious stuff.
Name two areas in which the Sumerians made important achievements.
writing, transportation, farming, mathematics, astronomy, bronze-making
Why was irrigation necessary in Mesopotamia?
Because the region was hot and dry, farmers needed river water for their fields