The+Mesopotamian+Moment

=Unit 3: The Mesopotamian Moment=

Unit Objectives

 * Describe the work of archaeologists and historians in piecing together clues to describe the human past.
 * Define culture and recognize characteristics of culture
 * Describe important characteristics, individuals, and contributions of Mesopotamian civilizations
 * List examples of the ways in which Sumer meets the criteria (surplus food, division of labor, cities) of a civilization
 * Explain specific examples of the relationship between geography and the rise and fall of civilizations
 * Describe major ways in which civilization spreads from one region to another
 * Locate Mesopotamia on a map and name the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers as the two rivers that give the region its name
 * Recognize examples of human and physical characteristics of place in Mesopotamia

Keywords

 * culture:** the traditions and customs of a people; their way of life and thought
 * ziggurat:** a stair-stepped temple built by Sumerians
 * cuneiform:** an ancient Sumerian form of writing that used wedge-shaped marks
 * scribe:** once of an elite class of scholars whose main role in society was reading and writing
 * salinization:** a buildup of salts in the soil caused by long periods of irrigation and/or flooding
 * codification: ** arranged or ordered in a systematic way

Lesson 1: How Do We Know?
Prehistoric people did not leave any written records; therefore, archaeologists and historians must piece together information about the past. They study human fossils and artifacts such as tools, jewelry, or pottery. Studying artifacts and fossils ins't easy or exact, but the results are fascinating.

Lesson Objectives

 * Distinguish between the work of historians and archaeologists
 * Describe ways in which archaeologists draw conclusions about people of the past

Why Study Ancient People?


 * 1) Read Chapter 2, pages 37-42, in // The Human Odyssey: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages //
 * 2) List at least 3 clues in your history notebook that helped archaeologists and historians document the existence of Sumer
 * 3) Complete the Venn diagram: [[file:MS_WDHISTA_03_01_venn.pdf]]
 * 4) Go to Ask Dr. Dig and click on General Archaeology and read "How are artifacts classified?" and "Why is it important to draw artifacts?"

Lesson 2: Finding Sumer
Just when the archaeologists and historians studying the ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia thought they had the answer, another clue would pop up.

Lesson Objectives

 * Explain that archaeologists and historians piece together clues to describe the human past
 * Name at least three clues that helped archaeologists and historians document the existence of Sumer
 * Identify methods and work of historians and archaeologists


 * 1) Read Chapter 2, pages 42-45, in //The Human Odyssey: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages//
 * 2) Complete Part 1 of the Who, What, Where sheet as you read: [[file:MS_WDHISTA_03_02_whowhatwhere.pdf]]

Lesson 3: Cities of Sumer
What is culture? Culture includes a people's traditions, language, religion, customs, government,and family structure. it also includes the everyday details of what the people wear and eat and how they work and play--their whole way of life. These characteristics reflect the society's experiences, resources, values, and habits.

Lesson Objectives

 * Define culture, surplus, and division of labor
 * Explain how Sumerians were able to irrigate their crops and grow a surplus of food
 * Describe key physical and governmental features of Sumerian cities
 * Name three characteristics of culture

The History of Ancient Sumeria

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 * 1) Read Chapter 3, pages 47-53, in //The Human Odyssey: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages//
 * 2) Complete The Reading Guide.

Lesson 4: Growing Trade
The Sumerians were among the first to produce enough surplus food to trade with people in far-off places. t first they bartered their extra food for products they did not have, but eventually they developed money and began using it to pay for foods. Trade led to another important innovation. Historians believe the Sumerians invented the wheel and used it on carts to transport goods. The wheel may not seem like complex technology today, but it turned out to be on of the most important inventions of all times.

Lesson Objectives

 * Analyze maps to find information about Sumerian trade
 * Recognize the characteristics of Sumerian trade, including the products traded, the location of trading partners, and the importance of trade in Sumerian life
 * Describe the advantages of using money instead of bartering
 * Identify the invention of the wheel as a major contribution of Mesopotamian civilization

media type="custom" key="23679596" 1. Refer to page 51 of Chapter 3 to identify the regions or areas where the Sumerians traded. What commodities did they get from the people of those regions? List at least three products the Sumerians traded for and the regions those products came from. One example has been completed for you.

Region: Commodity Traded

mountains to the north (present-day Syria and Turkey) stone and wood

2. On the Sumer's Growing Trade map, create a key. In the key, add symbols for each of the commodities you listed in step 1.

3. Use the map in the atlas on pages 626 and 627 to locate mountains and deserts that would have had an impact on trade routes and label them on the Sumer's Growing Trade map.

4. Using the symbols in your key, show where each commodity originated.

5. Locate possible trade routes that the merchants of Sumer might have followed to and from each of the regions you identified in Step 1. If there is water along the way, include both a land route and a water route. Draw the trade routes on the map.

6. Look at the trade routes you have drawn on the map. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using each route? What problems or obstacles might Sumerian merchants have faced trading with each place you listed in Step 1?

7. Why do you think merchants found it more convenient to pay for goods with money instead of bartering?

Lesson 5: Ideas About the Gods


The forces of nature are awe-inspiring and sometimes frightening. Throughout the ages people have tried to explain the powerful forces of nature and to make sense of the world around them.

Lesson Objectives

 * Identify the major religious beliefs of the Sumerians
 * Describe how religious beliefs helped explain the apparently unpredictable workings of nature
 * Describe what the Sumerians believed were humans' responsibilities to the gods

Sumerian Gods and Goddesses

> for each of these elements in nature: > a. rain > b. a long winter > c. hurricane winds > d. fertile soil >
 * 1) Read pages 59-64 in //The Human Odyssey: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages//
 * 2) Use the descriptions on page 64 of your text to identify the Sumerian god who would be responsible
 * 1) What did Sumerians believe about human responsibilities to gods?

Lesson 6: A Ziggurat to the Gods
Art and architecture reflect what a society considers important. In Sumer, people venerated the gods and built imposing stair-stepped temples as homes for the gods of their cities. The Ziggurat of Ur is one of the most famous examples.

Lesson Objectives

 * Describe ziggurats
 * Identify the purpose of ziggurats
 * Analyze artifacts to describe human creativity

The British Museum: Ziggurats (Build your own ziggurat by clicking on challenge) media type="custom" key="23679826" media type="custom" key="23680640"


 * 1) Read Chapter 4, pages 64-65, in //The Human Odyssey: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages//
 * 2) Answer the following questions in your history notebook:
 * What is a ziggurat?
 * What was the importance of the placement of the temples?
 * What role did temples play in Sumerian culture?

Lesson 7: Writing It Down
Writing is so much a part of our lives that most of us take it for granted. But it was actually very difficult for people to come up with a system of written communication. In fact, it took the Sumerians centuries to develop one. The system they developed--called cuneiform--was so complex that very few people could read and write it. Literacy in Sumer, therefore, was confined to just one social class--a special group known as scribes.

Lesson Objectives

 * Describe the development of the Sumerian system of writing
 * Identify the earliest known system of writing
 * List examples of the advantages of having a writing system
 * Describe the role of scribes in Sumerian society

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> archaeological skills by piecing together fragments of ancient clay tablets.
 * 1) Read Chapter 5, pages 67-73, in //The Human Odyssey: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages//
 * 2) Find out more about cuneiform at The British Museum: Writing. While you're at the museum, test your
 * 1) Complete The Scribe's Challenge.

Lesson 8: The Epic of Gilgamesh


The //Epic of Gilgamesh// is a famous epic poem that was handed down from generation to generation. Scribes eventually wrote the wonderful stories down on clay tablets, which were unearthed by archaeologists thousands of years later.

Lesson Objectives

 * Recognize the Epic of Gilgamesh as a classic of Sumerian literature and the source of information about Sumerian values
 * Identify the first major literary epic in world history

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 * 1) Read pages 73-77 //The Human Odyssey: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages//
 * 2) Complete The Hero and Gilgamesh [[file:MS_WDHISTA_03_08_hero.pdf]]
 * 3) Read //Gilgamesh the King by// Ludmila Zeman

Lesson 9: Sumer No More
A thousand years. A millennium. It's hard to imagine. After Sumer reached its height, it continued to thrive for a thousand years. Eventually, however, a combination of factors led to the decline of the remarkable civilization.

Lesson Objectives

 * Describe the concept of a millennium
 * Identify the major geographic and political reasons for Sumer's decline
 * Recognize examples of the interaction between humans and their environments

U.S. Department of Agriculture

2. Read pages 79-81 in //The Human Odyssey: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages// 3//.// Visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture to learn about Salinity and the environmental issues 4. What geographic changes contributed to the fail of Sumerian culture? Write your answer in your history notebook.
 * 1) To get a sense of how long a millennium really is, do the following math problem:
 * If there are 24 hours in a day and 60 minutes in an hour, how many minutes are there in a day?
 * Multiply the answer from step 1 by 365 days in a year. How many minutes are there in a year?
 * Now multiply the answer from step 2 by 1,000 years. How many minutes are there in 1,000 years?

Lesson 10: Sargon: A Mighty Ruler
As Sumerian civilization flourished for more than a thousand years, civilizations developed in other parts of the world. over time, the various civilizations started trading, and ideas and skills spread.

Sargon the Mighty and the Akkadians learned Sumerian ways and grew more powerful as Sumer declined. Eventually, Sargon brought all the Sumerian city-states under his rule. He built one of the first empires in the world by combining Akkad and Sumer and then conquering other lands. Fighting wars and conquering land proved to be easier in some ways than maintaining an empire.

Ancient History Sourcebook The Legend of Sargon


 * 1) Read pages 81-87 in //The Human Odyssey: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages//
 * 2) Sargon conquered and united the city-states of Sumer with his land of Akkad and then conquered other Mesopotamian lands to create an empire. But what is an empire? Complete the Empire Building worksheet.

Lesson 11: Hammurabi's Code
Why do we have laws? Is it to protect us from criminals? To make it clear to everyone what is allowed and what is not? To help the government control the citizens? Hammurabi wasn't the first ruler to have laws written down. but his ideas about the purpose and the organization o law have had a lasting impact on the world.

Lesson Objectives

 * Identify Hammurabi and his most significant accomplishment
 * Explain why codification of law is important
 * Explain the historical significance of Hammurabi's principle that "the strong shall not oppress the weak"
 * Analyze primary source material to recognize the significance of written law

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 * 1) Hammurabi is still famous today because he established order by giving his people a code of laws that applied to everybody. He tried to protect the weak from the strong. his legal code was an enormous step forward in civilization's concept of justice. Pretend you are a citizen of Babylon and Hammurabi's Code has just been "released" to the public. Read the sections of the code on the Extra! Extra! Read All About it! sheet and review the sections of the code in your book. Answer the questions.
 * 2) Visit You Be the Judge! View the situations that Hammurabi created rules to solve. Decide what you think would be a fair way to solve each problem. Then, click to see what Hammurabi's Code says.
 * 3) Read a play about Hammurabi's code: Hammurabi and His Law Code

Lesson 12: Nebuchadnezzar Builds
King Nebuchadnezzar's many accomplishments include creating an enormous empire and rebuilding Babylon, the magnificent capital of the empire on the shores of the Euphrates River. His most famous achievement, however, was creating the Hanging Gardens, later famed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. According to legend, Nebuchadnezzar built the gardens because his homesick wife missed the mountains and lush vegetation of her homeland, Media.

Lesson Objectives

 * Identify Nebuchadnezzar and his major accomplishments
 * Recognize the importance of the Euphrates River to the success and splendor of Babylon
 * Identify the Hanging gardens as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
 * Summarize the legend that explains why Nebuchadnezzar built the Hanging Gardens
 * Describe how the Babylonians overcame great architectural and engineering challenges to buil the Hanging Gardens

media type="custom" key="23681360" media type="custom" key="23681382" The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World History of Plumbing in Babylon


 * 1) Read pages 89-97 in //The Human Odyssey: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages//
 * 2) Review the other Wonders of the Ancient World
 * 3) Take the quiz to see if you can identify the Ancient Wonders @ Get Clued In

Lesson 13: Review and Reflect

 * 1) Review your history journal
 * 2) Review applicable chapters of //The Human Odyssey: From Prehistory Through the Middle Ages//
 * 3) Take Unit Assessment
 * 4) Complete the Sumer (Mesopotamia) section of the Comparing Cultures sheet [[file:MS_WDHISTA_03_14_CompCulturesChart.pdf]]and place in your history notebook for future use. Use the following to help you complete the chart:
 * Textbook: Part 1, Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
 * History Notebook
 * Activity Sheets
 * Websites listed