Transcript Sumerians and the Fertile Crescent

City-States in Mesopotamia
Chapter 2 Sec. 1
2.1 Old Stone Age
(1.2 reference info)
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Nomadic
Hunter-gatherers
Moved with weather & herds
New tools= food supply = larger population
2.1 Neolithic Revolution
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Agricultural revolution
Beginning of farming-shift from food search to
food producing.
Slash & burn farming
Domestication of animals= constant source of
food.
Permanent settlements
Increased populations
Social changes
2.1 What is a Civilization?
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Definition: Complex culture with the following:
1. Advanced cities –large group living
together,& center of trade.
2. specialized workers –Trade, government
officials, priests, artisan, etc.
3. complex institutions –Government,
system of ruling, religion & type of economy.
4. record keeping – Need to keep records.
Ex: histories, taxes, religious events, laws,
calendars, etc.
5. Science and Technology – fire, wheel,
plow, irrigation, etc.
2.1 THE FERTILE CRESCENT
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What is it?
A crescent shaped
land between the
Mediterranean and
Persian Gulf that
has rich soil for
farming.
2.1 Mesopotamia
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The eastern part of the fertile crescent is where most people
lived
Mesopotamia – “land between two rivers”
Tigris and Euphrates River were very unpredictable and
flooded often
Farmers built dams and ditches to channel the floods
2.1 Sumerians
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Around 3500 B.C.
arrived in Mesopotamia
and lived in the city of
Sumer
Set up 12 city states –
walled cities with land
surrounding for farming
Made temples called
Ziggurats to worship
gods – Priests only!
2.1 Sumerian Government
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Times of war: Sumerians
chose a general to have
full control
Military leaders eventually
became full-time rulers or
monarchs.
Established dynasties:
rulers passed power to
their heirs.
Priests ruled/controlled the
government.
2.1 Roles of Men and Women
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Men – Had complete
control over family
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Easy to divorce wife
Could sell family into
slavery
Women – Very hard to
get a divorce
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Could buy and sell
property
Could own a business
2.1 Writing
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Cuneiform – oldest
system of writing in the
world
Deities: Polytheistic –
belief in 3,000 gods & a
horrible afterlife.
Believed gods didn’t care
about them and they did
not look forward to the
afterlife
2.1 Inventions
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The Arch
Wagon wheel
Potters wheel
Sundial to keep time
12 month calendar
Metal plow
2.1 First Mesopotamian Empires
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By 2000 B.C. Sumerian city states fell to
invaders
Sargon I - established a kingdom called
Akkad in northern Mesopotamia
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United all city states under him and launched a
military campaign
Established the worlds first empire.
2.1 Hammurabi
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Hammurabi – leader of
the Amorites who
strived to make
Mesopotamia rich and
have an organized
government
Capital – Babylon –
great for trade with
China and India
2.1 Hammurabi's Code
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First ever written law!
282 sections that dealt
with everyday crime
Hammurabi’s law was
based on the bible’s
“an eye for an eye”
2.1 Examples of Hammurabi's Code
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If a man steals from another and is caught, the thief
must return the item and also have his hands
chopped off.
If a man builds a house for another person and the
house collapses and kills a family member, the
house builder must give up a family member to be
executed.
If a man kills another mans son, the killer must give
up his own son to be killed.
2.1 Social Class
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1. Kings, Priests, Nobles
2. Artisans, Merchants,
Farmers and Scribes
3. Slaves
All laws varied according
to what class you were in
2.1 Decline of Hammurabi
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After Hammurabi’s
death in 1600 – the
Babylonian empire
declined
Babylonians were
invaded by the Hittites
of Asia Minor who
demolished the city
INDUS RIVER VALLEY
CIVILIZATION
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CHAPTER 2 SECTION 3
INDUS RIVER VALLEY
CIVILIZATIONS
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Barriers:
Bay of Bengal to the
east and Arabian Sea
to the west
2 mountain ranges in
north (Himalaya’s and
Hindu Kush)
Indus River flows
through the land
CLIMATE
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Monsoons – heavy
gusts of wind and
torrential down pour of
rain
Monsoons were
unpredictable and killed
many people, animals
and crops
Major Cities
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Mohenjo-Daro- a
grid patterned city
with an extensive
plumbing system
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Harappa – built well
crafted brick houses
that had bathrooms
and chutes to take
waste below the city
Records and Religion
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Language – inscribed
pictograms on traded
goods – yet to be
deciphered
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Religion – Don’t know
much, but believed to
be polytheistic and
worshiped gods with
natural forces
Where Did They Go?!?
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Theory #1 – Killed off by an invasion
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Theory #2 – Devastating flood wiped them out
EARLY CHINA CIVILIZATION
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CHAPTER 2 SECT.4
GEOGRAPHY
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1/3 of China is made up of
mountains
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Himalayan mountains on S.W. side
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In the north lies the Gobi Desert
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Pacific Ocean - East
MAJOR
RIVERS
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Huang He “the Great
Sorrow”
Chang Jiang
Yangtze
Xi Jiang
Controlled flooding
and snow melt from
the mountains make
for rich agriculture
People began living in
China along these
rivers beginning in
2500 B.C.
RELIGION
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Kings would go to
priests to find answers
Priests would scratch
the question on a
oracle bone
Next, they would apply
heat until it cracked
Priest would then
study the crack for an
answer
Spirits of family
ancestors brought
good/bad
Polytheistic society
WRITING
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Writing on oracle bones
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Used character script
as well
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100 characters = literate
10,000 characters =
scholar
SOCIAL STRUCTURE / POWER
AND AUTHORITY
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1) Kings, warrior nobles
2) peasants
Authority = Feudalism
and the Mandate of
Heaven
ANCIENT
CHINESE
WEAPONS
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Perfected bronze metal to
make weapons
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Fine knives and swords
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Zhou Dynasty invented
the blast furnace – made
cast iron weapons
ACHIEVEMENTS
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The great city of Anyang
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Panlongcheng – great trade
city
Carved statues and figures
out of jade and ivory - trade
Perfected the cloth silk, and
the art of pottery
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Had elaborate temples, buildings
and homes
Both were excellent for trade all
around the world
Coined own money for trade
Built canals and roads for
trade
EXPANSION
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DECLINE
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Shang Dynasty – took
over China with bronze
weapons and chariots,
but lacked strong
leaders – overthrown
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Zhou Dynasty – took
over after the Shang
and ruled from 1000
B.C. to 200 B.C.
END OF CHAPTER 2
QUESTIONS?