The Fertile Crescent
What foods grew in Mesopotamia? ¿Qué alimentos crecían en Mesopotamia?
Apricots, pistachios, olives, grapes, figs, dates
What is the Mesopotamia? Que es Mesopotamia?
A collection of civilizations that developed in the fertile crescent
What are swapes, canals, and dams? What were they used for?
Swape:An irrigation tool where people could lever buckets of water into new locations
Dams:An irrigation tool where a blockade is build through a river, redirecting the water flow
Canals:An irrigation tool where water pathways were dug into the ground to lead water to crops
What is cuneiform? Where is from?
The writing of Mesopotamia. "wedge shaped" Sumer
What is polytheism?
Belief in multiple religions
What two rivers make up the fertile crescent?
¿Qué dos ríos forman el Creciente Fértil?
Tigris and Euphrates
What are the four civilizations of Mesopotamia that we learned about?
Sumer
Akkad
Assyria
Babylonia
What is Irrigation?
The process of moving water in order to care for crops. El proceso de mover el agua para cuidar los cultivos
What is the EPIC OF GILGAMESH? Which civilization did it come from?
The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of our best preserved ancient poems! - 12 incomplete tablets
Came from the Akkadians.
Described the king of Uruk on his search for immortality. He went on many missions on behalf of the gods. There is even a ‘Great Flood’ story! (Utnapishtim)
Helped give us information about Mesopotamian culture, values, and gods.
What were Ziggurats for? What did they look like?
They were temples built to honour the gods. They look a little bit like the pyramids that Aztecs built (tenochtitlan)
What is the Fertile Crescent? Que es el Fertile Crescent?
A river valley in Iraq and the Middle East that is very fertile
Sumer is known for being the first civilization of Mesopotamia and had many innovations and inventions, including writing. La primera civilización de Mesopotamia
What are the three main inventions we discussed when it comes to Mesopotamia?
Wheel, Plow, Sail
What is The Library of Ashurbanipal? Which civilization did it come from?
One of the oldest royal libraries in the world! Collected by the last great King of the Assyrian Empire!
More than 30,000 Cuneiform Tablets
These texts depicted historical inscriptions, letters, administrative, legal, divinatory, magical, medical, literary and lexical texts
What are some examples of what the different gods in Mesopotamia would represent?
Things in nature, things that are important to society
- Sky, Sun, Moon, Crops
- Agriculture, writing, government, military proess
What are two or three reasons the Fertile Crescent so perfect for being the birthplace of civilization?
Farmers were able to use the rivers to irrigate their crops
Annual floodings of the rivers helped distribute silt, making the soil very fertile
Civilizations could use the rivers for trade, which allowed them to change ideas and goods
What is the civilization of Akkad known for?
Akkad is known for being the first empire of Mesopotamia, creating massive relief art, and standardizing units of weight and measurement. El primer imperio de Mesopotamia?
What Mesopotamian civilization is best known for first mastering these innovations? ¿Qué civilización mesopotámica es más conocida por ser la primera en dominar estas innovaciones?
Sumer
What are the cylinder seals? What were they used for?
A form of impression stamp (3-4 inches) → Used by royalty and slaves for communication and business (trade)
Originally made from clay, but then were made out of semiprecious stone (such as marble, obsidian, amethyst, lapis lazuli) or metal (gold or silver).
Worn on their wonders with a strip of leather around their neck or wrist and acted as a personal signature. When needed, they would roll it across moist clay.
What are some different ways Mesopotamians honoured the gods?
Rituals, ceremonies, reliefs, statues, ziggurats
What changed in the fertile crescent that helped lead to the development of complex societies around 5000BCE?
Changes in climate meant less rain throughout the year, so early Mesopotamians had to become more organized in order to grow their crops, which led to complex societies
What are the empires Assyria and Babylonia known for?
Babylonia known for its large empire with advanced laws, focus on beauty and innovation, and its presence in biblical references
Assyria is known for its large empire, advanced military and government, and library
These two empires often fought with one another
What are the four innovations that Mesopotamians had that helped them develop complex societies?
Metallurgy, Agriculture, Irrigation, and Writing
What is THE CODE OF HAMMURABI? Which civilization did it come from? What is an example of one of the rules it might declare?
It is one of the earliest and most complete legal codes, created by the Babylonian King Hammurabi (1792 to 1750 B.C.) King Hammurabi expanded the Babylonian Empire to unite all of Southern Mesopotamia.
A collection of 282 rules carved onto a massive black pillar (7ft 5in) using if/then statements
Standards for trade
Set fines and punishments for injustice (removal of tongue/eye/ear)
Innocent until proven guilty
An eye for an eye
Why did Mesopotamians have religion? How does this show they are a complex society?
Religion is used as a way of explaining nature and the world around us
→ It’s a facet of complex society because it means people have enough time nad energy and intelligence to look at the world around us and wonder, “Why?”