Transcript Mesopotamian Achievements

Chapter 3 Lesson 3
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Explain how the Mesopotamians were able to
achieve all they did
Describe the development of Sumerian
writing
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Innovation – new ways of doing things
Almanac – writings that include information that
describes the best way to plant, irrigate land, and
care for crops
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Ziggurat – the largest and tallest temple in every
Sumerian city-state
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Cuneiform – a writing system based on wedge
shaped symbols
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Scribe – a person who records things for others
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By 2500 BC, many
farmers in Mesopotamia
used bronze plows
Other agricultural
innovations included
plows that could also
seed and written
almanacs that described
farming techniques
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To keep records of their rapidly
growing society, Sumerians
developed standard measurements
of land, weight and volume
Also developed a number system
based on the number 60
Measured time using a 360 day
calendar
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Sumerians lived in
mud-brick houses
The tallest structure
in each Sumerian
city-state was the
ziggurat, a temple
that served as a
center of religious
and economic
activity
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The Sumerians were the
first to attach wheels to
carts
Traders led caravans of
donkeys across
established trade routes
Sumerians also traveled
in various kinds of boats
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Sumerians developed
a writing system
based on cuneiform
Writing helped make
new developments in
government,
economy, and society
possible
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People in Mesopotamia, especially the
Sumerians, made many achievements
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They created innovations in agriculture,
measurements, building, and transportation
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They were perhaps the first to use the wheel,
the sailboat, and writing
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These innovations helped the people of
Mesopotamia build an early civilization