7 Characteristics of Civilization

1
7 Characteristics of Civilization

• 1) Urban centers (cities)
• 2) Centralized government
• 3) Organized religion
• 4) Social classes
• 5) Writing or record-keeping
• 6) Monument building
• 7) Specialized jobs and occupations

2
Mesopotamia The Worlds First Civilization

• (Began c. 3000 BC)

3
(No Transcript)
4
Geography

• Literally land between two rivers (Tigris,
  Euphrates)
• -Soil is fertile
• -Food supply is stable
• -Flooding is unpredictable
• -Few natural barriers

5
The Sumerians

• By 3000 BC, villages grew into city-states (ex.
  Ur, Erech, Kish)
• -Each was independent
• -Controlled surrounding farmland
• -Constantly battled w/each other for
  resources and control

6
(No Transcript)
7
Sumerian City-State of Ur
8

• Lugals (leaders)
• were the representatives of the gods on earth
• commanded absolute power

9
Religion

• Sumerians believed
• -in many gods (polytheistic)
• -that a council of gods and goddesses ruled
  the earth
• -that the gods decided the fate of
  individuals and cities
• -in an unhappy afterlife

10
Ziggurats- temples to the gods of the
city-states
11
(No Transcript)
12
Written Language

• Need for accurate records led to the development
  of writing
• -System began with pictograms and
  ideograms
• -Later simplified with the use of
  symbols to represent sounds and
  syllables (cuneiform)

13
A stylus was used to make
wedge-shaped symbols on tablets of wet clay.
14
Legacy

• Worlds first civilization
• First to use the wheel, sail, and plow
• Developed a base 60 number system
• 12 month calendar
• Ziggurats may have influenced Egyptian pyramids