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Mesopotamia quiz
Mesopotamia pre-history history
Mesopotamia pre-history history
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Sumerian DBQ Imagine a world without the wheel. Picture a world without math. Now, without knowing time. Well, these are some of the many contributions that the Mesopotamians made to society. Without the Mesopotamians we would not have all the luxury we have today. Could you ever imagine a world without writing? You may think, life would not be so bad without it, but without writing we would not have stories, we could not write to the bank, we could not text. Two major contributions made to society were the first forms of writing known as Cuneiform and Hammurabi’s Code. Cuneiform was the first ever form of writing. The Sumerians were the main inventors of this writing. The symbol as we know them now consist of lines and wedges. One of the
main ways cuneiform was used to show what to trade. If the civilization did not know what was meant to be traded it might just be unfair. Another way the Mesopotamians used cuneiform was to organize businesses. As you can see, without cuneiform we would not be where we are today. Another of the great contributions this civilization made to society is Hammurabi's code. Hammurabi’s code was the first set of laws. The king’s goal was to create equality among the rich and the poor. So this being said, his laws were ruthless. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Such laws were used because King Hammurabi desired a perfect community. There were 282 laws. Law 229 says: If a builder builds a house for someone and does not construct it properly and the house falls, the builder is to be put to death. As I said the laws are strict. Many consequences included being a slave, or having a limb cut off. Sound harsh right? Well really we should thank Hammurabi; Without him we would be living in a psycho, lawless society. So now do you understand the difference the Mesopotamians made in society? Without the wheel we would only walk. Without the Mesopotamians we wouldn’t have our education, we wouldn’t be where we are now. The Mesopotamians built the base we have for society. Thanks to them we are here now.
The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt developed into successful civilizations. One civilization the Egyptians developed was in the Nile River valley. Based off the "Mesopotamia and Egypt DBQ" packet, "Ancient Egypt was an advanced civilization in many areas including religion, architecture, transportation, and trade. Ancient Mesopotamia was one of the first civilizations that developed a form of government as well as organized people in political states." Based on the documents, Egypt and Mesopotamia developed into successful and advanced civilizations by effectively using the resources that surrounded them to solve problems and live happily.
Mesopotamian temples were run like great households where the gods were fed lavish meals, entertained with music, and honored with devotion and ritual. Mesopotamians were religiously tolerant and accepted the possibility that different people might have different gods. They had a gloomy picture of the afterlife. Mesopotamian families had ceremonies to remember/ honor their dead. Religious teaching influenced daily life in a huge way. Religion played a big part in literature and art of Mesopotamia. Epic poems told how the world was created and of hero-king Gilgamesh, who tried to escape death by going on a journey to find the sole survivor of the great flood. The most imposing religious structure was the ziggurat, a tower in stages. Poetry about ziggurats was often compared to
The Epic of Gilgamesh is generally regarded as the greatest literature about tales of a great king. The Epic of Gilgamesh served to show us a lot of things. The time period of BCE is very blurry, and this story attempts to describe many different things in not only Sumerian beliefs, but also Sumerian's culture as a whole. Like many stories from BCE the truth itself is questionable, even though a lot of the information is fact. The factual information that Gilgamesh teaches us about Sumerian Civilization is that had had many craftsman and artistic skills, and also a strong belief in Gods.
The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt are a factor of the evolution of civilizations in present-day. Though, it wouldn’t occur if both of these ancient civilizations didn’t develop into successful ones. There are three similar components that led Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia to become prosperous. These are the locations, their way of life, and their beliefs. All of these elements will be explored more thoroughly throughout this essay.
Writing is perhaps the most important building block of communication - after verbal speech, of course. Writing, like most of human civilization, has its roots in ancient Mesopotamia. The first writing systems began in a style known as cuneiform (Cuneiform, 2013). These wedge-shaped markings have their roots in Sumerian culture and were used predominantly for record keeping and accounting. At the archaeological site of Uruk in what is modern day Iraq, a great wealth of knowledge has been gained from the artifacts located there. Uruk was a ceremonial site and is home to the world’s oldest known documented written documents (Price and Feinman, 2013). The documents discovered list quantities of goods that may have been stored at Uruk, leading archaeologists to believe that writing in this part of the world was developed primarily to keep lists of transactions and stockpiled quantities of goods located at the site.
The Mesopotamian people valued a strict, rules-oriented society. This can be seen by examining the Mesopotamian social classes, government and job specialization. In The Code of Hammurabi, created by the King of Babylon in 1780 B.C.E. it was evident that there were rules for every thing, and every thing you do has a consequence. The Mesopotamian life style was very rigid; this lifestyle can lead to disputes and outbreaks, which can have negative consequences in society.
This Sumerian Government Constitution begins with its preamble, which summarizes the main principles that influence the articles that follow it. There is a few references paying homage to God because of the strong Islamic presence in the country. The ideas of universal suffrage and anti-discrimination are included as a means to show the more prevalent ideas of a democracy. Language of a more unified government is added to show that the central government shall be powerful and not one that allows more power to be given to the states making them prone to disobeying federal law. This idea comes from the weakness of the U.S. central government during the time of its articles of confederation. The states were at war with each other, did not obey federal law, and as a result countries did not trust doing business with such an unorganized state. I wanted to create a sense of nationalism in the preamble that stems from the Sumerian people overthrowing an iron fist authoritarian. Civic nationalism can sometimes be an appropriate choice for binding the people together as one nation;
Abounding similarities exist between the Mesopotamian and Greek societies. As history progresses many cultural advances occur, but societies also adopt some of the same characteristics as preceding societies, you will notice this between the Mesopotamian and Greek civilizations. After learning about the Greek civilizations I immediately began generating connections to Mesopotamian societies. I noticed similarities in all aspects of society, whether it was religion, military, architecture or any other cultural idiosyncrasies.
The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt began to develop circa 3,000 B.C. Located near rivers, the lands offered fertile soil and an excess of crops that drew in many people. As more people arrived, the small settlements flourished into large, thriving civilizations. Many aspects of Mesopotamia and Egypt, such as their cities, their strongly organized government, and their religion, greatly contributed to the success of these two civilizations.
We learn about ancient civilizations through literature, artifacts, and stories passed down from generation to generation. The Mesopotamian civilization is one of earth's earliest civilizations, and it's also one we know very little about. We can gather information about these people's way life, beliefs, and geographical location. The Epic of Gilgamesh, a literary work from this time period, shows us several important pieces of information that helps us understand this ancient civilization. This epic shows us the Mesopotamian peoples belief system, their views on death, and their description of the after life.
First, and possibly the most important attribute that have come from the ancient civilizations is the art of farming. The ancient Mesopotamians are credited with inventing farming. Farming is in our civilization today is crucial for the survival of all mankind. (Roberts, p.48-50) Due to overpopulation, and the increase of housing and development, there are no natural areas for people to gather, so farming is essential. Without the development of farming people of the United States and people of the world would be starving. Not only did the Mesopotamians develop farming, but they also were able to use engineering to help make farming work. For example, the Mesopotamians developed dikes and cisterns that they used for irrigation. Irrigation is still a significant part in farming today. (Roberts, p.48-50)
Sumerians specialized, cooperated and made many advances in technology. Sumerians had built cities along the rivers in lower Mesopotamia in 5,500 BC. Sumerians made several advancements that had impacted their society and us humans still today. They were named the Plow, the Wheel, and the Cuneiform there are many more advancements. Those three were the most important because theyŕe the three that impacted the most to society.
The ancient Mesopotamian world triggered many future technological advances that have allowed our society to be as sophisticated as it is today. Some of the main impacts that Mesopotamia had on the modern world was the first writing system of its kind, along with the most complete set of laws created as a governing system. Cuneiform was a new alphabetical written language developed by the Sumerians during the ancient Mesopotamian times. Cuneiform allowed them to write down very
Making tools was one of the first things that the Mesopotamians accomplished and they were one of the first ones to get to it because they were one of the first civilizations. They made some of the first tools but one thing is that they were also very useful. Just as well that they made tools, they made them better. One of the things that they used was the sickle because since they were next to rivers, and when they would over flow that would make them sprout faster. I think that this was a great thing because throughout the 1900’s it would have been very hard for people to survive with the production of
From Ancient Mesopotamia came a revolutionary tool that has crystallized the world into the complex civilization it is today, the wheel. The wheel has commutated the very way we live and think about the world and all credit goes to Ancient Mesopotamia for providing this life changing invention. Wheels are everywhere we look and in places that you wouldn't even think. Wheels are used everyday in some way or another and come in many sizes and innumerable different materials and purposes. This prodigious invention has helped ancient Mesopotamians work, move, and live and still helps us today.