Transcript Ancient Mesopotamia Guided Notes Sheet

olitical
Power of the Priests
•Sumer’s earliest __________________
were controlled by temple _____________
–Farmers believed they needed blessings
conomy
• Metal tools and weapons (bronze, iron)
• Increasing agricultural surplus (better tools,
plows, irrigation)
for success of their crops
• Increasing trade along rivers – traded with
Egypt
–Priests were the middle man for the
• Development of the world’s first cities
Gods
Priests demanded portion of farmer crops
as tax
• Specialization of labor
eligion
•________________________: belief in
many gods
Sumerians in Mesopotamia believed in
almost 3,000 gods!!!
ziggurat
•Gods could be _________________ at
• Later followed _______________
rulers: when the power is ___________
down to ____________ ___________.
Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved.
any moment and to keep them happy
Sumerians:
–Built impressive
______________________ or temples to
sacrifice food, wine and animals
Souls of the dead wandered in the land of
no return
ocial
ntellectual
chievements
eography
Draw the social pyramid
Science and Technology
•Invented the _______________,
the ___________, the
____________
•First to use ________________
to make tools
•Developed system of writing =
cuneiform: wedge shaped writing.
Built
___________________________
________, buildings, surveyed
flooded fields.
• Rigid (strict) class
system where slavery was
accepted
Epic of Gilgamesh
•Myths and legends recorded
in this ___________ poem
•One of the
________________ works of
literature in the world
Copyright © Clara Kim 2007. All rights reserved.
The Fertile Crescent
•Arc of land
________________ the
______________________ and
the
__________________________
____________ in Southwest
Asia
One land…Two Rivers
•Mesopotamia means =
“_________________________
_________________”
–_______________ River and
__________________ River
•Both rivers flooded once a year
and left thick bed of silt.
*___________: rich, new soil
farmers could plant and harvest
enormous quantities of wheat
and barley