ANCIENT SUMER - History
Mesopotamian Civilisation - school site
Yr 8 students (Semester 1, 1999) expressed an interest in contributing to a
Class Home Page on Ancient Sumer . . .
. . . a good idea - let's see what happened!
(This page was developed over several months)
This is the Year 8 Home Page on Sumer
To start with, how much do you know about Sumer?
Try this QUIZ below...
SUMER
QUIZ: |
|
A. |
B. |
C. |
D. |
E. |
F. |
G. |
H. |
I. |
J. |
Sumer was found in Mesopotamia.
What is the meaning of Mesopotamia?
Mesopotamia = land between the rivers (Greek name)
Sumer developed a civilisation in ancient times -
perhaps the first civilisation.
(please note that it is not certain if civilisation first
arose in Sumer or Egypt)
What is meant by civilisation?
(please note that the spelling civilisation
is frequently used in Australia)
In our discussions on civilisation we refered to most of the meanings below.
| civilisation noun |
1
the state of being, or process of becoming, civilised; the act of civilising. |
Chambers Combined Dictionary Thesaurus (1997) |
LET'S CONTINUE LEARNING ABOUT SUMER
How did students of Class 8 White find out about the civilisation of Sumer?
... work was carried out in the Library and Computer
Rooms ...
- students found and summarised relevant information and drew
sketches for scanning (digitising)
- one student (Daniel) made his own home page on the topic.
WHAT HAVE WE FOUND OUT ABOUT SUMER?
The stories told by books describe a brilliant, creative and sparkling civilisation that arose from what was previously a state of 'uncivilisation'. A people able to develop writing, irrigation engineering, huge buildings from mud bricks, wheeled transport, a law code, astronomy, and more, must be acknowledged as significant contributors to human well being! Perhaps there is something special about studying what is most likely the earliest of civilisations. |
Where did Sumer's people and culture come from? It seems as though the the Ubaid people came down from the hills in the north east. Early settlements may date back as far as 9000 BC. Pottery was made before 6000 BC and metals were worked from 5500 BC. An urban area had developed at the head of the Persian Gulf by about 4000BC. The people grew crops, made mud bricks, learnt to use carts for transport, water for irrigation, and traded extensively. As their settlements (independent city-states) spead across Mesopotamia, the basis for Sumer and its civilisation (from about 3500BC) was established. Later, drainage systems were constructed. Uruk was the earliest city of Sumer. Several cities developed between 3500 and 3000BC - writing and boat making also began at this time. In the 24th century BC the city-states were unified under Sargon - forming the first Mesopotamian empire.
STUDENT INFORMATION ...
If you could look around where you lived in ancient Sumer you would see a flat land with palm trees, cultivated fields and irrigation channels, mud brick houses and The River. The best views were from the walls or ziggurats built by people for various purposes (protection or worship). Mountains were at the edge of the known world and would not have been visited by most people.
Sumer does not claim to have the world's oldest settlements and cities, but it does claim the oldest civilisation. [Editor's note: Our text book claims that Sumer is the oldest civilisation, BUT a video we have seen suggests that Egypt is actually older than originally believed - and thus older than or at least equal to Sumer in age!]
Sumer was found between two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. The use of water was important to the people of Sumer - for travel, trade, fishing, drinking and farm irrigation. People were even punished by being drowned in the river. Sumerian stories often include mention of the (two) rivers. Reeds grew along the river banks. Palm trees grew near the river; they were used in many ways. Mud from the river banks was used to make bricks for building and clay tablets for writing. The rivers flooded at the wrong time of year for crops.
Sumer didn't get many 
(storms)
so the inhabitants invented irrigation systems for farming. Periodic flooding led to the
development of drainage schemes and schemes to tell the seasons / time of year.
The great ziggurats of Sumer hold particular fascination for those of later times (including students). Here is some student work.
SUMMARY
Sumer was perhaps the world's first civilisation - much of its legacy has endured. While it achieved considerable heights, eventually the sun set on the kingdoms of Mesopotamia. Later, other kingdoms and empires rose and fell in Mesopotamia (eg. Assyrians, Babylonians, etc). Today, we are still learning about the story of Sumer from the work of archaeologists in present day Iraq, near the two rivers. You may learn more by visiting LINKS below.
| LINKS TO YR 8 STUDENT SITE on Sumer |
| Sumer Achievements (by Daniel S.) |
| More on Sumer |
| Yr 8 Sumer 2000 Page |
| Yr 8 Sumer 2001 Page |
LINKS TO EXTERNAL SITES on Sumer |
|
| Sumerian proverbs | Sumerian literature |
| Sumerian language | the Gilgamesh Epic |
| more about Mesopotamia (timeline, map, art, religion, etc) | |
| ancient Mesopotamia Page | |
| satellite photo of Plain | the First Emperor |
| Nippur Project: excavation sacred-city occupation | |
 |
full map of Ancient Sumer (Map by John Halloran - 1996. The full map is found in a written article.) |
THANK YOU FOR VISITING OUR SUMER
HOME PAGE
(more will be added in Semester II, 2000)
Mesopotamia = land between the rivers
| to Sumer Symbols Quiz | |||
A. YES. (Palm trees grew in Sumer. People used them and their products in many ways.) |
B. NO. (These features are pyramids - made of stone - and are found in Egypt, not Sumer.) |
||
| C. NO. (Sumer was a dry region, with its water mainly from the rivers rather than rain.) | D. NO. (Sumer was not mountainous. Being on a river flood plain it was very flat.) | ||
| E. YES. (Large animals lived in parts of Sumer and were hunted for food.) | F. YES. (Water birds lived in wetland areas. They also were hunted for food.) | ||
| G. NO. (Sumer, while advanced for its time, was well before the modern industrial factory era.) | H. YES. (The sun was prominent above a land that had clear skies and was hot in summer.) | ||
| I. YES. (The people of Sumer were good farmers, and mostly had reliable food supplies.) | J. NO. (Farm buildings in Sumer were smaller in scale and built differently from those shown.) | ||
| How well did you do? (Out of 10) | |||
| 9 to 10 - excellent!!! | 7 to 8 - good! | 5 to 6 - reasonable! | 0 to 4 - keep trying! |
[go to top of page] |
[return to QUIZ] |
[go to Sumer 2000] | |
[go to Mr G's task list] [go to Villanova Home Page] |
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Last Update: 11/02/06 by Mr C.Grant Site e-mail
