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SETTLEMENTS
The
living density in a Sumerian city was very high. It has been estimated that at
least 2000 people lived in the 10 hectares of one of the earliest cities, Eridu.
The largest cities had up to 50,000 people. Streets were not always planned, and
may have run at various angles. Houses were build against each other, sharing walls, and
thus reducing
building materials and space required. The temple was the most impressive
building of each town. From the top of a large temple, the view would have
included all of the town, the protective wall, and the fields and farmlands beyond the
wall. It is estimated that by 2500BC the population of Sumer exceeded half a
million. Perhaps 4 out of 5 people lived in cities at that time, giving rise to
the world's first urbanised society. The larger cities developed into
city-states, whereby control of surrounding centres was incorporated into the
city's government. By 2700BC Uruk controlled 76 nearby villages and was enclosed
within a 10km long wall of burned brick. Continual warfare made walls essential
for the protection of the main cities.
Question
In addition to providing good views, do you think there might be
any other reasons for a temple being the highest building of a Sumerian town?
WATER TECHNOLOGY
Settlement growth and technological developments went
hand-in-hand in Ancient Sumer (as in all civilisations). As water began to be
controlled through the construction of irrigation systems, agricultural
productivity increased. This allowed for the growth of population, as well as
the creation of groups of people who did not have to work on the land. Cities
taxed the farmers quite heavily, and thus many more people were able to work as
priests, scribes, administrators, builders, soldiers and craftspeople. While the
largest water works project, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, came after Sumer's
time, it would have made use of Sumerian technology. However, exactly how so
much water was able to be lifted every day to irrigate the gardens in this dry
climate is still not known.
Question
Do you have any ideas how the Sumerians (and the later
Babylonians) could have lifted large
volumes of water? Give reasons for your answer.
THE WHEEL
Invention of the wheel in Sumer allowed a great increase in the
trading of food surpluses and other produce and resources. A donkey can haul
several times the load on a wheeled cart than it can upon its back or by pulling
a loaded sled. Also, chariots pulled by donkeys allowed for greater military
mobility, and the successful use of this method of fighting imparted an
advantage to that side. One man drove while another threw javelins
at the enemy. Sumerian paintings show victorious soldiers driving chariots over
the bodies of slain enemy soldiers. Perhaps the idea of using the wheel for transportation came from
the smaller potter's wheel used to mould lumps of clay into jars and vases.
Question
What are some of the ways that modern society would be different
without the use of the wheel?
MATHEMATICS
It
is interesting to note that societies of Mesopotamia based their mathematical systems
upon the
number 60 (compared to our number 10). You should be aware that even in modern
society some things are still based upon the number 60 (minutes in an hour, 60
seconds in a minute, 360 degrees in a circle).
Questions
Do you think there could be a connection between
ancient mathematical systems based upon the number 60 and our present day uses of the number 60?
WRITING
The development of writing
was closely connected to the growth of Sumerian civilisation. Writing allowed
for the permanent recording of records, stories and laws, and permitted the formation
of an educated class (scribes). The original writing made use of thousands of
pictographs. As the language altered, adopting wedge-shaped symbols, about 600
of these characters could be used to write all that was expressed in the spoken
language. Sumerian began by writing in columns from right to left. As it
developed, it became easier to write in rows from left to right.
Question
Are there any languages today that write (a) in columns, and/or (b)
from right to left?
SCHOOLING
To teach writing it was necessary for formal education to take
place; thus the first schools in the world were in Sumer. Schooling was only
available to boys. These schools were attached to temples. The teachers
(Masters) used harsh methods to encourage student attention and learning.
Students had to learn to write correctly through repetitive exercises. While the
time at school for a student was difficult, it made available good career opportunities to
those completed it.
Question
What topics/subjects in addition to writing could have been of value to
school students of Sumer?
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