Transcript Mesopotamia - Sampson County Schools

Beginnings of
Human Society
Agenda 2-5-16
• Warm-up: Finish/Collect Current
Events/Charts
• Stone Age Video
• Intro to Stone Age (Notes)
Section One
Prehistory
Stone Age
• Paleolithic Age: “Old Stone Age”
2,500,000 B.C.E - 15,000 B.C.E
• Mesolithic Age: “Middle Stone Age”
15,000 B.C.E. – 10,000 B.C.E.
• Neolithic Age: “New Stone Age”
10,000 B.C.E. - 3,000 B.C.E.
Paleolithic
• Humans were hunters and gatherers
• They were nomadic- traveling in groups of
20-30
• They made tools, lived in caves, created
art, and developed fire
Mesolithic
• Humans started to sharpen their stone
tools for hunting
• They started settling in one area for longer
periods of time, but were still hunters and
gatherers.
Neolithic
• Humans transitioned from hunting and gathering
to a settled, stationary life
• They learned about agriculture and planted
seeds to grow crops
• They made plows out of antlers, wood, and
stone
• They also domesticated wild animals and used
them to cultivate the land
Stone Age Tools & Art
Agricultural Revolution
• This transition from hunting and gathering
to the advancements of agriculture, led to
the Agricultural Revolution.
• Because of the new farming methods and
more food, large, settled populations
emerged around the world.
Section Review
• 1) Describe the life of Paleolithic people
• 2) How did life change in terms of
movement and food collection moving
through each of the three Ages?
• 3) What do you think is going to happen
to society as we moved to the next stage
of development?
Cities to Civilizations
Section 2: Civilizations
• The next step in the development of
human settlement is civilization.
• Civilizations were advanced cities that
had: (why they were created)
– Government: safety/security, prevent chaos
– Cities: to have a main central gathering place
(govt, religion, markets)
– Religion: Connected to government, priests
run the government, rulers say their power
comes from: the gods
Civilizations Cont.
• Social structure: shows how people are
grouped according to power/wealth. In
early civilizations, people are grouped by
what they do.
• Art: the earliest art is created to show
daily life activities (cave paintings), could
be a form of expression
• Writing: Record keeping. Births/Deaths,
Laws
Assignment:
• Prove we live in a civilization.
Section 3
History and Geography of
Mesopotamia
River Valley Civilizations
• Mesopotamia
3500 B.C.E
• Egypt
3000 B.C.E
• Indus Valley
2500 B.C.E
• China
3950 B.C.E.
“The land between the rivers.”
Geography
• Mesopotamia was located in the Middle
East, which is mostly a dry desert, except
for the land near the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers (Mesopotamia).
• Because of this region’s flat land, shape,
and the richness of soil, it was known as
the “Fertile Crescent.”
History
• Attracted by the rich soil, people settled in
Mesopotamia.
• Many city-states formed along the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia.
• They each had their own form of government,
and the people worshipped different gods and
goddesses.
• Eventually, they each had their own kings.
• The first people to settle this area were the
Sumerians, named after Sumer, the region
where the two rivers met.
History
• With the fertile soil, farming was very
successful and the people cultivated
plenty of food.
• This meant the people could spend their
time doing other things, like building cities.
• Many also became artisans or craftsmen.
• The people of Mesopotamia developed a
civilization sophisticated in building,
writing, and in the arts.
Review Questions
• Describe the geography of the area
around Mesopotamia.
• Were the city-states of Mesopotamia
united as a group? Explain.
• Where did most of the people in
Mesopotamia settle? Why?
• Where did the fewest amount of people in
Mesopotamia settle? Why?
Section 4
Government and Society
Government
• To solve their problems, Mesopotamians
required an organized government.
• Each city-state had its own rulers,
warriors, farmland etc.
• In the beginning, powerful priests held the
political power.
• Military commanders eventually became
the rulers, and passed rule to their heirs .
• This created a new structure of
government called a dynasty- a series of
rulers descending from a family line.
Obstacles
• As city-states began to develop, the people were
worried about invasions, so they built brick (sundried mud) walls around their cities to protect
themselves from enemies.
• Unexpected floods occurred at least once a
year, and during the dry summer months, crops
needed proper irrigation systems.
• The people of Mesopotamia had limited natural
resources like stone, wood, and metal. They
traded with other groups around them for the
products they lacked.
Mesopotamian Society
• There were three main
classes in Mesopotamian
society.
– Upper Class: Nobility,
Warriors, Priests
– Middle Class: Merchants,
Traders, Craftsmen, Artisans,
Farmers,
– Lower Class: Serfs and
Slaves
Mesopotamian Society
• The Mesopotamians had a very strict
justice system. “There was no room for
mercy.”
• They had an" eye for an eye” mentality,
especially for the upper class. They felt
they should act like the elite, and be
punished for not doing so, while the lower
classes may pay fines instead.
Law-Making Activity
• Create a made up civilization where there
are approximately 10,000 people. Give it
a name.
• Describe the physical characteristics of the
area.
• Create 10 laws for your civilization. For
each, describe the law, the punishment if
the law is broken, and the reason for the
law.
Section Five:
Culture
Invention of Writing
• Writing first began in Sumer over 4,000
years ago, where boys began school at
age 8.
• Those who graduated (at age 20) became
professional writers called scribes.
• Scribes were the only people who could
keep records for the kings and priests.
• The records were kept very carefully.
Invention of Writing
• Cuneiform was the
system of writing
the Mesopotamians
used.
• The cuneiform
script began as
pictographs.
• Scribes used a
sharp point called a
stylus to etch words
into clay tablets.
Other Important Discoveries
• The wooden plow pulled by a tame ox
• The use of the wheel for irrigation and wagons
• The use of sails and wind as sources of power
for boats along the rivers
• The use of copper and bronze to make cooking
utensils and weapons of war
• Divided the sky into 12 regions (zodiac)
• Modern units of time (60 seconds, 60 minutes)
• 360 degrees in a circle
Religion
• Mesopotamians worshipped many gods, not just
one. This belief in many gods is called
polytheism. “Poly” means many and “Theism”
means gods.
Religion
• There were over 3,000 gods people throughout
Mesopotamia worshiped.
• Enlil- god of air/wind
• Anu- sky god
• Enke- earth god
• Inanna- goddess of love
• Utu- god of justice
• Nanna- moon god
• Adad- storm god
Religion
• Mesopotamians worshiped their gods in
temples called ziggurats.
• People believed rulers had divine power.
• Ziggurats were built in the center of the
city.
• They had steps and ramps, and it was
believed that the gods descended to the
Earth using the ziggurat as a ladder.
Review Questions
• Why was being a scribe in Mesopotamia
an important position?
• How was cuneiform preserved for so long?
• Why did people in Mesopotamia believe
rulers had so much power?
• Describe the religion of the people in
Mesopotamia.
Section 6
The Persians and Assyrians
The Assyrians
• The Assyrians were people who lived in
Mesopotamia, parts of the Iranian Plateau,
Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt
• The empire was established around 700
B.C.
• They were most known for making tools
and weapons out of iron.
• They only lasted 100 years before fighting
tore them apart.
Government
• Ruled by a king who had absolute power
• Had a group of local leaders that ran
territories
• Had a strong communication system run
by people riding horses where the longest
wait time for an answer from the king was
one week.
• The empire was held together by a strong
military
Fall of the Assyrians
• The different groups in the Assyrian
Empire could not work together.
• They were conquered by the Chaldeans
and Medes
• The Chaldeans over-powered the Medes
and established a government at Babylon.
• Babylon fell to the Persians in 539 B.C.
Persian Empire
• Cyrus was one of the most famous
Persian leaders.
• He conquered the entire Middle Eastern
empire including Egypt and Libya making
his empire the largest in the world at the
time.
• Unlike previous leaders of Assyria and
Babylon, he had a reputation for mercy.
• The Persians had a monotheistic religion.
Persian Collapse
• Persia, like other places had a dynastic
government
• Cyrus’ son Darius began plans to expand
throughout Europe.
• Darius lead an unsuccessful attempt to
conquer Greece beginning in 490 B.C.
• Darius was replaced by Xerxes and
continued to fight what has become known
as the Persian Wars
End of the Persian Wars
• Ironically, the Athenians and Spartans who
were brutal enemies in Greece, worked
together to defeat the Persians.
• As depicted in the movie “300”, a small
group of 300 Spartan soldiers fought a
brave battle waiting for Athenian
reinforcements which eventually defeated
the Persian army in 479 B.C.
Review Questions
• Explain 2 ways the Assyrians and
Persians were similar.
• Explain 2 ways the Assyrians and
Persians were different.
• What was the impact of the Persian Wars
on the history of the world?
• How did greed factor in what we have
studied in this section? Explain.