The Worlds First Civilization By Christian Musil, Sam Blythe, David Northey, Muhanid Aldasoqi, and William Chia.

The Worlds First Civilization

By Christian Musil, Sam Blythe, David Northey, Muhanid Aldasoqi, and

William Chia

Geography Mesopotamia is located in the Tigris-Euphrates river

valley They were located in what is now know as modern day

Iraq Mesopotamia in Greek means “between the rivers”

This is a map of where the Mesopotamians were located.

War and Conflicts There were many rival Mesopotamian

civilizations that fought over many things such as territory

Mesopotamians fought often because of their geographical location

There were many gaps in the society

Technology

Agriculture They transported on land with wheels Used irrigation for water Wrote in cuneiform They traded through the Nile

This is a picture of a wheel

Mesopotamian Society The society was split into three basic ranks

priests and government officials, normal citizens, slaves

Priests were ranked very high in Mesopotamian societies

Society changed depending on who was ruling at the time

Bureaucracy

Hammurabi’s Code of Laws Based on the “eye for an eye” rule For example, rule 195. If a son strike his

father, his hand shall be hewn off. This is a picture of a part of Hammurabi’s Code of Laws

Mesopotamian Religion Patron deities for each city Figurines There were many gods that they

worshiped for such as the Gods of Sun, Sky, Earth, Water, and Storm

Economy

The Mesopotamians traded with many other societies including the Egyptians

They used the rivers to trade with other civilizations

They transported their goods on animals such as donkeys

Arts and Communication Mesopotamians were able to convert their

everyday conversations into cuneiform onto clay tablets

With cuneiform, Mesopotamians were able to record many things which made it possible for historians to learn about them today

This is a clay tablet that has cuneiform, Mesopotamian writing, on it

Decline of Mesopotamia Rival civilizations such as the Persian Empire were

becoming more powerful Famine, or scarcity of food The people eventually disagreed to some of the

orders that the Monarchy type of government asked for

It is a picture of a crown to show that the Mesopotamian government was a Monarchy

Important Facts Mesopotamia was the first civilization of the world Mesopotamians were located in the Tigris-

Euphrates river valley The Mesopotamians traded with many other

civilizations including Egypt The Mesopotamians declined mainly because of

rival civilizations They created many important items useful for

transportation such as the wheel

"Cunieform." Edsite. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/cuneiform-writing-system-ancient-mesopotamia-emergence-and-evolution>.

"Foundations." Foundations. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://history4us.wikispaces.com/Foundations>.

HARTMAN, L. F., et al. "Mesopotamia, Ancient." New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol. 9. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 525-538. Gale World History In Context. Web. 27 Sep. 2011.

“Mesopotamia." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 27 Sept. 2011

"Sumerians." CHW3M World History. Kevin Leibold , 2006. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.<http://www.markville.ss.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/projects/classof2008/chong2/leibold/sumerians.htm>.

Way of the World. Bostion: BEDFORD/ST.MARTIN'S, 2009. N. page. Print. "Writing." Mesopotamian Writing. British Mueseum, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2011.

<http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/writing/home_set.html >.

Citations