1b. Mesopotamia

David Wang Mesopotamia(land between river) • Indicators of civilization • Cities served as administrative centers • A political system based on control of territory rather than kinship • A sign. # of ppl engaged in non food productions • Status distinctions accumulation of wealth • System for keeping permanent • long distance trade • Major advances in sciences and arts

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Located between Tigris and Euphrates rivers, present day Iraq 3000BCE, learned to construct wells 4000BCE, cows farms, tunnels

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Sumerians earliest living in Mesopotamia 2000 BCE nomads the sumites dominate Transformation

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Irrigation systems (lost of ppl make) Villages to city City to city state (urban center in agri area) Protection tech exchange for food Mesopotamia early place w/ lots of city states, charismatic leader unites Leadership type Priest= more power, there first (more est power)

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Lugal (big man) building not centrally located Mesop- poly. Priest control temple

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Prob between religious and political leaders Saragon 2350 BCE (first ruler whose name is known)

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1st to united cities Semitic stock Uniform system of weigh and masses Documentation Third dynasty of UR 2112- 2004 BCE Followed akkad city-state Smaller Good roads Good system of communication and trade

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Hammurabi 1792- 1750 BCE Babylon Aggr. Milit campaigns Code of law Barter system Mesopotamia system 3 class Free landowning/ farm and artisan, pottery, wood, attached to land) slaves employed and domestic service Penalties on crime depend on class higher class lets ppl get away more Slaves forced to wear hairstyle Slaves can buy freedom Men more dominant because there stronger, more food getting

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More food more children, woman preg with children Woman out of preg into hoe more causes loss of status Lots of gods Social classes Free landowning class (royalty, officials, priests, warriors, and merchants) Dependant farmers and artisans (legally, attached to land) Slaves (primarily, domestic service) Law justice and inequality Hammurabi’s code Penalties for crimes depended on the offenders class All slaves, dependant workers, free labored were compensated Woman lost social standing and freedoms Religion Many gods who embodied the forces of natures Gods were anthropomorphic (live like human and behaved like ppl) Office of priests was hereditary One god w/ a lot of names technology Irrigation Writing Carts and sleds Metallurgy (bronze) Pottery/ pottery wheel Basic 60 number system Used wedge to write Literacy not very imp Back then wedges drawn by cattle Bronze better than stone doesn’t break sharp Hear classes had bronze Cuneiform Appeared 3300 BCE Might have originated from a system of token used to keep track of property Used a sharpened reed – wedge shaped Several hundred signs Small percent literate Metallurgy Mixed copper and arsenic to make bronze More malleable than stone Poured in molds Can be repaired Poor couldn’t afford Pottery Clay was used form many things because of its abundance Pottery bricks etc Pottery wheel used by 4000 BCE