Sumerian soldiers depicted on the Standard of Ur, from tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur, Iraq, ca 2600 - 2400
British Museum, London
top view of a ziggurat
Sumerians making an offering at the ziggurat
Enki, god of water, vegetation and wisdom
Nammu, goddess of primordial sea, creator of all things
A Sumerian priest
A Sumerian king
Barter trade
Cuneiform writing on a clay tablet
A reconstruction in the British Museum of headgear and necklaces made by Sumerian craftsmen.
Musical instrument called Lyre
Mesopotamia - A Greek word that means "the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers".
Mesopotamia,often called the Fertile Crescent and the presumed location of the biblical Garden of Eden, was where humans first learned how to use the wheel and plow and how to control floods and construct irrigation canals. It is also the region that gave birth to three of the world's great modern faiths - Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
When the humans first gave up the dangerous and uncertain life of the hunter and gatherer for the more predictable and stable life of the farmer and herder, the change in human society was significant. It is a momentous step towards building a civilization. This fundamental change in the nature of daily life first occurred in Mesopotamia.
6 characteristics of a civilization
It has cities.
It has architecture.
It has a central government ran by official leaders.
It has arts.
It has workers specializing in various jobs.
It has writing.
ANCIENT SUMER The people of ancient Sumer, the first great Mesopotamian civilization, not only invented writing, they may also been the first culture to use pictures to tell stories as seen in the Standard of Ur (above). Ancient Sumer is in southern Iraq today.
The Sumerians were the people who transformed the vast and previously sparsely inhabited valley between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers into the Fertile Crescent of the ancient world.
Belief System BIG IDEA:Religion in ancient Sumer was used to explain many things like floods and droughts which the Sumerians had no answer for.
Traditions and Rituals The ancient Sumerians worshipped many gods (polytheism) because they believed that there is a god for every purpose. They believe that gods controlled the forces of nature such as rain and wind, as well as other aspects of their lives such as agriculture. The Sumerian rulers were the gods' representatives on earth and the stewards of their earthly treasures. Each city within the ancient Sumerian civilization worship different gods. However, there are similarities between the main gods that they worshipped. They believed that their gods were human in form and behaved like people. The Sumerians believed that their role in the universe was to serve the gods. They built temples to house the gods who lived in the sky and they descended to earth via the temples called ziggurat.
Attitudes towards Death To the Sumerians, the afterlife did not hold the promise of paradise or a heaven. Death began a depressing descent into a dismal underworld spent as a ghost or gidim. Unlike the ancient Egyptians, the dead were buried with no attempts made to preserve their bodies. Sumerians buried their kings with luxuries to take with them into the next world. Kings were buried with servants, court attendants and musicians who would serve them in the next life. Eg: Standard of Ur, burial object for the Queen. (picture above) The ordinary Sumerians were buried with their family members beneath their homes in a family crypt. The dead were buried with personal possessions.
Agriculture BIG IDEA:Development of agriculture in Sumer resulted in only a portion of the population having to produce food while the rest of the population could specialize in other activities like manufacturing, trade, administration and the arts. (characteristics of civilization)
The rulers and priests directed all communal activities, including canal construction, crop collection and food distribution. The fertile land the Sumerian lived in provided a successful agricultural industry. Farmers grew crops such as barley, wheat, onions and grapes.
Social Classes BIG IDEA: Ancient civilizations developed different social classes with the arrival of job specialization.
The ancient Sumerians developed a social order with 3 main classes:
Upper class Priests had a very important role due to the strong religious beliefs of the ancient Sumerians. They lived in and operated the temples (ziggurats) and controlled the main food supply (grain) for the city. They were powerful as the Sumerians believed that only they could communicate wit the gods, and the people were afraid of punishment if they should offend the gods. The priests chose kings in ancient Sumer. Hence, the kings needed the support of the priests in order to stay in power. The Sumerian kings were god's representatives on earth and the stewards of their earthly treasure. They directed all communal activities, including canal construction, crop collection, They hired workers to build new canals, road and temples. They also served as the city's chief lawmaker and judge. Warriors also belonged to the upper class in ancient Sumer as they were needed to defend Sumer in their fights over resources such as territory (land) or trade. Scribes were people who spent their days recording business documents onto clay tablets and keeping records. They used a writing system developed by the ancient Sumerians called cuneiform. These clay tablets that they kept record of trade and commerce.
Middle class It is made up of people with occupations such as craftsmen, traders and farmers. Craftsmen included weavers, potters and metalworkers who would sell their wares to traders who who then travelled and traded with neighbouring city-states. Money was not invented so the Sumerians used the system of barter trade. Barter trade involves people exchanging goods directly with one another without the use of money.
Lower class Slaves were often captured in war when another city-state was conquered. There were also people sold into slavery if they were in debt. Slaves worked for the wealthy families and had a few rights. The slaves were identified by a distinct hairstyle.
Achievements Writing In 3400 BC, Sumerian priests created a writing system called cuneiform. It uses triangular-shaped symbols to stand for words, ideas or sounds. The scribes used a pencil-like writing instrument called a stylus on the clay tablets. By combining the marks in different ways, the Sumerians could create thousands of symbols. The Sumerians used the writing to record sales, taxes and agreements. It was later used to compose poems and stories.
Arts The Sumerians made jewelry and other beautiful works from gold, silver and gemstones. Their realistic sculptures were made from ivory or wood. The Sumerians believed that music could bring joy to the gods and people. They created the music using a variety of instruments like drums, pipes and lyre (commonly seen in the artefacts).