Sumer

  1. Why do we know about Sumerian Civilization?
    They left written records
  2. Facts about Sumer
    • Only boys were educated and had power and wealth
    • Created 60 minute hour, 60 second minute 360 degree circle and use geometry to measure fields.
    • 12 month calendar based on cycles of the moon
    • Impossible to live forever if you are not a god
    • Sumerian City States would always go to war with other city states to gain more territory and power
  3. What is Polytheism?
    Belief in many gods
  4. What is a ziggurat?
    • Hill of Heaven or Mountain of God
    • Large temple that only priests are allowed to enter
  5. How are city states separated?
    Distance and land forms, mud and scorching deserts
  6. How would city states protect themselves?
    Surround themselves with a wall
  7. Who headed Sumerian City States and what did they do?
    • Kings
    • Ran government
    • Led armies
    • Led Building Projects
  8. Main Jobs in Sumeria
    • Farming
    • Artisans
    • Merchants/Traders - traveled to other cities to trade for things Sumer did not have
  9. What were the 3 social classes in Sumer?
    • Upper - Kings, priests, government
    • Middle - Artisans, merchants, farmers, fishers
    • Lower - Slaves
  10. Greatest Sumerian Invention
    Writing. Cuneiform. Allowed people to keep records and pass on ideas. Only a few people learned how to write - scribes
  11. Cuneiform
    • Marks cut into a damp clay tablet with sharp reed
    • All symbols have triangle
  12. Epic
    • Long poem that tells about adventures of hero
    • Example - Gilgamesh, a king who travels around the world and performs great deeds
  13. Scribes
    • Number system
    • government
    • songs, prayers, poems
Author
squirty99
ID
52596
Card Set
Sumer
Description
Chapter 4
Updated