How Sumerian City‐States Emerged
• In this activity you will learn about and respond to problems faced by people in ancient Mesopotamia, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
• Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means “land between the rivers.”
• You will learn how the lives of people living in Neolithic farming villages in Mesopotamia changed in the third millennium B.C.E.
Zagros Mountains
Finished Reading?
• On your note paper you will write A,B,C or D.
• Write 2 reasons why you made your choice
Event A: Food Shortage
• About 5000 BCE food shortages in Zagros foothills
• People forced to find more land to settle and farm
Solution
• People move to Mesopotamian plains to settle along Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
• Farmed and fished for food
Euphrates River at Anah
Finished Reading?
• Write some things you might draw
• When your group is ready:
– Round Robin – each person say what they might draw to get water from rivers to crops
• Each person in your group needs their OWN colored pencil crayon
• Begin drawing – EVERYONE DRAW!!!
Event B: Uncontrolled Water Supply Solution
• Members of villages start irrigation system to keep year‐
round water for crops
• People dug ditches and built waterways to bring water to fields miles away
• Along rivers people built levees to stop flooding of villages
Irrigation Canal on Euphrates River in Iraq
Finished Reading?
• On your note paper:
– Choose your solution (A, B, C or D)
– Write 2 reasons why you made your choice
Event C: Building and Maintaining a Complex Irrigation System
• Farmers from different villages cooperated to maintain the irrigation system
• People joined village work teams to clean and repair canals, reservoirs and dams
• Villages may have fought but many others developed strong ties from working together
Ruins of Mari in Samaria
Finished Reading?
• If you are the first person in your group, draw the image shown on your paper onto the back of your group’s white paper. – Sketch, boxes, don’t have to be perfect.
• When your group is ready:
– Draw your city’s defense system onto the white paper.
– Use different colored pencil crayons
Event D: Attacks from Neighboring Communities
• Because Sumerian cities fought over water people built thick walls around cities
• Had strong gates at cities entrances to prevent attack
• Cities grew larger and more organized • They created armies and governments
• New kind of city and its villages around it are called CITY‐STATES
Sumerian City‐States
• What do you see here?
Sumerian City‐States
• Where do you think most of the people live?
Sumerian City‐States
• What kinds of activities may have taken place outside the city walls?
Sumerian City‐States
• How did this city protect itself from attack?
Sumerian City‐States
• In what ways is the Sumerians’ defense plan different from the plan your group developed?
Sumerian City‐States
• About 15 city states in Tigris and Euphrates River Valley
• Had high walls stretching six miles around city
• Bronze entrance gates
• Moats around city
Sumerian City‐States
SUMERIAN HOMES
• Homes inside city walls but farmland outside city walls
• Populations of about 50 000 people
• Upper class priests and merchants
– Lived in center of the city
– Lived in two story homes
– Had woolen carpets, whitewashed mud walls
• Middle class Sumerians government officials and crafts people
– Lived just outside center of city around upper class – One‐story houses
• Lower class Sumerians (fishers, farmers)
– Lived in small mud brick houses at edge of city
• Slaves had no homes, lived in owners’ homes
Social Classes
Priests and Merchants
• Very Powerful
• Made sure the people made the gods happy
• They were the doctors
• Shaved Heads
Social Classes
Upper Class
• Wore Jewelry
– Men
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•
•
•
Skirts
Long Hair
Moustaches
Long Beards
– Women
• Dresses (Off one shoulder)
• Long Braided Hair
• Wore Cloaks made from sheep wool
Social Classes
Lower Class
• Paid for their work
– If they had a show or worked in fields, they were paid for their goods
– Stealing was a serious crime
– Even the King Paid
• Lived comfortable lives
• Wore Jewelry (No Gold)
Social Classes
Slaves
• Prisoners from wars
• Worked for the King, Temple, and wealthy
• Slaves were bought and sold
– Slaves cost less than a donkey but more than a cow.