Ancient Sumer
web page
Section B: Ancient Sumer's
contributions to later
civilisations
This is the
SUMER CONTRIBUTION Page
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Ancient Sumer |
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(Note: in Australia we generally use the spelling 'civilisation')
Sumer: Overall contributions - by Conor & Eric Ancient Sumerians are believed to have invented the wheel, perhaps while spinning clay to make pottery containers on a simple wheel. Wheels were also used in transport, on a cart pulled by donkeys, and later on war chariots. Sumerians also created mathematical symbols based on the number 60. Consider a circle - it has 360 degrees. They created a lunar calendar based upon the lunar month. We still refer to months today. Their first form of writing was made up of pictures. Over the years the pictures were simplified, with symbols being used to represent the 'sounds' of the pictures. [Any people that invented any one of the above things would have made an enormous contribution to civilisation; Ancient Sumerians produced these things and much more!] |
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The Wheel - by Andrew & Paul The most famous invention of the Sumerians was the wheel. The growth of long-distance trade was made easier by river boats and barges, and on land, wheeled carts pulled by donkeys and workers. The wheel made it easier to pull. Wheels started off by being made from solid wood. Soon after they were made by pegging three planks of curved wood into a disk. They were then used on siege machines to be rolled along while attacking other cities. |
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Education - by Elliot & Luke Sumerian life involved laws, trading, government and keeping records. Therefore it was important for wealthy boys to learn to read and write. Sumerian schools were very strict. Pupils had to do their work perfectly or they would be punished. The teachers in Sumerian schools attempted to make work more interesting by using teaching games and by taking the class on excursions. |
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Mathematics and the calendar - by Thomas Sumerian mathematics seems quite difficult! The Sumerians used a system of counting based upon 60. Thus 60 years was the basic unit. 60 is still the basis for present-day geometrical measurements. A dating system was used for documents in which the year, month and sometimes the day, were listed. Years were named after great events such as a decisive battle. The year was divided into lunar months. |
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Irrigation - by Damian & Jonathon Large-scale irrigation by the Sumerians permitted considerable areas to be used for crops and animals. The extra food produced could allow people to live in larger communities and at a higher standard. Also, food and other products resulting from this greater production could be traded for goods that Sumer lacked - timber, metals and some other resources that were not local. Because of this, people would take on different jobs like metal working and scribing [i.e. led to specialisation of labour]. One modern theory is that centuries of heavy irrigation caused major salinity problems. This led to a decrease in crops and the wealth of cities dropped. |
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Cities - by Roberto & Chris The Sumerian city is regarded as a great achievement of the Ancient World. Eridu covered 10 hectares and had at least 2,000 people living there. Some of the largest cities had 50,000 people living there. The houses were small, and each house shared walls with ones next to it [see plan, right]. Roads were narrow. |
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Cities - by Dennis, Dominic & Brent The Sumerians were the first people to develop cities. Several factors were involved in bringing this about. Firstly, the Sumerians made use of slaves, a labour force available to carry out building. The rivers provided water to support a growing population, and allowing irrigated farming, which provided a food surplus. [The rivers also provided the resource for brick making, i.e. mud.] The cities gradually extended their influences outwards, over larger areas of land and people. [Eventually, as cities' influences spread, they began to clash, and then began warring against each other; constant warfare was a problem that eventually contributed to the decline of Sumer.] Their cities were very densely settled compared with cities of today. |
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Cities - by Sam & Brendan The most common Sumerian buildings were mud and clay. Temples were made of clay bricks but some had stone foundations. They took up a lot of city land. Sumerian houses were also made of mud bricks. The ruler who controlled a city also had power over the surrounding villages and countryside. While clay and mud were found locally, the Sumerians imported timber, metals and other resources. The earliest known city was Eridu, over 10ha in size and had at least 2,0000 people living in it. |
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Cities and the economy - by Matthew & Nick There were twelve cities of Sumer. These included Ur, Uruk, Kish, Nippur, Lagash, Umma, and Babylon. The biggest city, Ur, had a population of 24,000 people. In the centre of this town was a giant ziggurat. This ziggurat allowed the priests to contact the gods. The city was surrounded by grain fields. [The city protected the people of the surrounding farmlands.] People hunted, farmed crops and kept livestock. The Sumerians were also traders. They had well-built ships so traded with people from far away. |
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Writing - by Sam & Brendan The earliest cuneiform tablets are dated at 3000BC. Most Sumerian citizens could not read. Sumerian writing had hundreds of symbols; most of these originally came from pictures. Each of these symbols would stand for a word or a syllable. The earliest writings were mainly administrative (eg. book-keeping records). Later on Sumerian scribes began to write down their myths and legends. Two of these stories were 'The Epic of Gilgamesh' and 'The Deluge'. |
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Writing and law - by Daniel & Alex Sumerians are believed to have developed the earliest known writing system sometime from 3500 to 3000BC. They wrote on clay tablets. Their style of writing eventually became known as cuneiform, written as a series of 'wedges' pressed into soft clay. This writing was still used in Mesopotamia after Sumerian civilisation had been replaced by other civilisations. 'Hamurabi's Law Code' was written using cuneiform on a stone column. Although we may think these laws are cruel, it represented an improvement over earlier laws. Sumer also had schools. One of the subjects was learning to write. |
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Writing and libraries - by Matthew & Nick One of the key inventions of Sumerian civilisation was writing. Writing permitted Sumerians to record their business progress and stock levels. Writing was carried out on wet clay which was then dried in the sun to make a permanent record. By 2500BC libraries were formed to store large numbers of temple records and lists of the king's property. [During excavations of ancient sites in Sumer, archaeologists found some collections of tens of thousands of clay tablets.] The first writing was in pictures, and later cuneiform writing was developed. [Cuneiform was used to write Sumerian, as well as later languages such as Akkadian, Babylonian, and others]. Cuneiform writing disappeared about the time of Christ. |
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The Military - by Ryan & Cameron One of the greatest contributions to later civilisations was a controlled military. Soldiers would carry a pointed spear to drive away their enemies. Later development led to a wheeled war chariot in which one man would control the mule-driven chariot and another soldier would cast spears at the enemy. The mounted soldiers were surrounded by foot soldiers who attempted to protect them. [Obviously, military tactics also developed at this time.] The soldiers would be ruthless and would slaughter their enemies for opposing them. |
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Warfare - by Lachlan & Sam The Sumerians sometimes rode chariots into battle, but they used donkeys, not horses. The chariots were slow but could still carry weapons and gave the riders a height advantage. Also, small models recovered from a ruined Sumerians city showed that soldiers wore copper armour and carried well-designed spears. Also, many of the ancient cities were fortified against attacks, showing that the Sumerians were advanced in war. |
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