*History 8 Mesopotamia Concepts
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1. What are the common markers of material civilization?
Some of the common markers of material civilization, according to page 80 of the Manual for Cultural Foundations of Ancient Civilizations, are "cities, bronze technology, writing, great ceremonial buildings, temples, monumental art, hierarchies and class division, all sanctioned by some form of law, and held together by organized military force." These things were left behind by civilizations and are things created by the citizens, which tell us an extraordinary amount of information about their every day lives.
Here is an example: 
Sources: Manual for Cultural Foundations of Ancient Civilizations, [1]
2. According to Michael Wood, what do the material markers hide?
Michael Wood believes that the basis of a society isn't the technology, social class, military strength, or cities. He believes that these actually hide the true values of civilization and the deeper parts of society from spiritual to political. To learn more read Legacy by Michael Wood or Manual page 80 By: Lauren Biegel
3. What are the basic tenets of the Modern West?
The basic tenets, or beliefs, of the Modern West include possessive individualism, scientific utility, and free market philosophy. First, possessive individualism is the idea of a person taking control of themselves. This one was of the first major ideas of freedom and taking your own life into your own hands. Second, a utility is the list of pros and cons for each cause and effect.. Lastly, free market philosophy is the idea that a nations economy is not monitored by the government and the economy functions because of multiple companies offering the same product or service. These ideals create a functioning modern society. Finally, these ideas developed along the same time as the first visions of freedom.
Sources -
"utility." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 06 Nov. 2012. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/utility>.
"free market." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 06 Nov. 2012. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/free market>.
"“Canadian Political Culture: The Problem of Americanization” Definitions." “Canadian Political Culture: The Problem of Americanization” Definitions. Markville Secondary School, 14 Feb. 2003. Web. 6 Nov. 2012. <http://www.markville.ss.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/politics/exemplars/meg2.html>.
Beniretto, Rosie, and Clay Elliott, comps. Manual for Cultural Foundations of Ancient Civilizations. Vol. 1. Houston: St. John's School, 2012-2013. 80-80. Print.
Jonathan Bloom
4. The Sumerians were particularly vulnerable to outside attack. Explain why.
"The creation of the artificial landscape in the southern plain, with the elaborate irrigation systems needed to sustain city civilization, made the Sumerians peculiarly vulnerable to outside attack." RB The Sumerians were particularly vulnerable to outside attack because they had no natural frontiers. This means there was nothing (like a river or mountain) to separate them from their neighbors except land. They were completely open and at risk from their neighbors, the Elamites and the Persians, because the Sumerians lived in the lowlands and did not have the advantage of being on higher land. This eventually led to the capture of the Sumerians by the Akkadians.
Sources:
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/world/sumeriadef.htm
Manual Page 182
Picture:
Gwendelyn Butler
5. Explain what Wood means by "landscape and climate are the key determining factors in the rise of civilization."
Overall, near Mesopotamia, long-term climate and landscape patterns changed this area's history. This region of the Middle East was very dry and flat, except for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which helped make the soil there very fertile. This is very important because this gave Mesopotamia the ability to farm, which gave them an abundant food source. There was a lot of clay in this area that was used to make bricks. This was what buildings in Mesopotamia were made of at this time. Even though it was very dry there, the Mesopotamians used the rivers for irrigation and obtaining water for other purposes. Agriculture in the Fertile Crescent required more organization in Mesopotamia, so population centers grew, technology advanced and these early civilizations turned into city-states. Government and religion then began to develop as Mesopotamia grew. There were also some problems that had to do with this landscape and climate. One problem is that this area had almost no metals or stone. This was a problem because stone was used for most building materials, and metal was was used in a lot of technology from that time. Second, even with rivers nearby, there was still not very much water in this area. Finally, the rivers in the area occasionally flooded, destroying a lot of crops. As you can see, climate and landscape have a big impact on how civilizations develop, or fail. They help determine a civilization's economy, religion, government, beliefs, and food source. Humans also effect the environment around them. They can destroy the environment, like what happened in Iraq, and the environment will in turn destroy them. There are many advantages and disadvantages to all types of landscape and climate. For these reasons, Wood is correct when he said "landscape and climate are the key determining factors in the rise of civilization."
http://www.indepthinfo.com/history-ancient/mesopotamia.htm
Sources of information: http://www.indepthinfo.com/history-ancient/mesopotamia.htm, Manual page 82
Cam Cook
6. What effect did population growth have on the environment?
As the population began to grow and expand, humans began to abuse their power over the environment. For example, they slashed, burned and cut down forests, cleared brushwood, and left the landscape as a barren wasteland. They had made the soil loose and every winter rain eroded it more and more. This devastating effect on the environment continues further out into the rest of the world as the population expands forcing humans to tear down nature, creating room for houses and cities.
Page done by Evan Eisenberg
Sources: Manual Page 82
<http://uk.oneworld.net/imagecatalogue/imageview/29242/?RefererURL=/guides/forests>
7. What are the key arts of civilization?
The key arts of civilization are religion, specialized work, government, writing, and technology. These traits are still found in communities around the world today. People live in organized communities and the key arts of civilization cause people to be organized into ranks. From the start of the temple, the city and the kingship people were always ranked and organized on the key arts of civilization. When people began to worship they had to rank their people on who is the highest and closest to their god. Cities forced people to rank officials to see who would govern them. Kingship shows how the king is the highest rank and all other people are below him in a lower class. The key arts of civilization make organized communities and how people live in them. TEXT P.84 from the creation of organized communities to the arrival of the temple, the city and kingship. RB
Sources: http://www.lz95.net/lzhs/social_studies/lwatson/WH%20PPT/Key%20Traits%20of%20a%20Civilization.pdf
Picture: http://www.ehow.com/info_8463114_sumerian-types-religion.html
Mary Ann Enerson
8. The ways in which the natural environment influenced religious beliefs in Sumer?
In Sumer, the gods were more or less based off of the natural environment. Most of their gods are created from the water forms around them, and their environment seems to correlate with how they lived in their spiritual life. Delete RBItalic text Source: Manual/Gilgamesh Video 'TEXT When they emerge, the cities of Sumer center on shrines of the deities of the plain, gods of wind, air, and sky, of the grape vine, the grain and fertility; shrine for the herders, the cattlefolk, the fisherpeople. They were often situated in the border regions. Nippur, the city of the wind god Enlil, was on the northern edge of Sumer; Enki of Eridu, lord of the fresh water, was at the bottom of the marshes; Sin the Moon god was at Ur on the sea. Perhaps in ancient times, such favorable meeting places grew bigger, becoming permanent settlements for the storing of treasure, goods, and produce, and eventually places of exchange. Perhaps the root of the Mesopotamian city, for good and practical reasons, was the shrine. RB'
9. The basic features of Mesopotamian culture as reflected in its literature and art?
The Mesopotamian culture was reflected by its art and literature in many ways. Around 3000 BCE, writing was invented by the Sumerians. This type of writing, called cuneiform, was made by wedging symbols into a block of rock. Many of these writings were bills and other records of payment. Because of this new type of communication, homo eocnomicus, or the "economic man", was born in Mesopotamia. The Sumerians were now able to trade goods and tell stories, bringing them closer together as a group.
A photograph of a cuneiform tablet.
Mesopotamian literature and myths also reflected their culture. One of the prime examples of this is the Epic of Gilgamesh. It tells of the Flood (associated now with Noah and the Ark) and the titular character's eventually futile search for everlasting life. Because Gilgamesh does not ever reach his goal, the quality of pessimism is first shown. This quality has been reflected in Mesopotamian society since the ancient times until the Mesopotamian society of today.
A photograph of the Gilgamesh statue at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.
Sources:
CF Manual page 84
http://www.ricardopinto.com/blog/ and designmylife.org (both for the first picture)
http://electricliterature.com/blog/2010/02/10/gilgamesh-the-videogame-review/ (for the second picture)
-Jayan Hanson
10. What was the role of writing in Ancient Sumer?
Writing was first found in Uruk, and may have been invented in this city by an unknown genius not long before 3,000 BC. More than ninety-five percent of the writing found in Iraqi sites are economic texts such as facts and figures, bills, accounts, inventories, and measures of dates or barely, parcels of land down to every rod, pole, or perch. The Sumerian form of writing was a series of wedge-shaped signs created by pressing a stylus into clay tablets. This wedge-shaped writing is called cuneiform. Writing allowed for news and ideas to be carried to distant places without having to rely on the memory of the messenger. Cuneiform allowed for the birth of homo eocnomicus, otherwies known as the"economic man", in Mesopatamia. Homo eocnomicus closely related themselves to secular law, the root idea of the modern west thinking.
Resources:
- CF Manual Page 84
- http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/ED/TRC/MESO/writing.html
- http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/educator/modules/gutenberg/books/early/
Justin Kao
11. What is the enduring legacy of Mesopotamia and why?
The enduring legacy of Mesopotamia is its imaginative literature, especially its myths. The world's first literature and the finest literary work from ancient Mesopotamia is the epic of Gilgamesh. This work was most likely recorded of clay tablets at around 2000 B.C., which was way before the Iliad and the Odyssey were recorded in writing. The epic of Gligamesh is a long poem, describing the actions of a hero during his quest for identity and meaning of life. Gilgamesh, half man and half god, has to deal with many universal themes as seen in literatures today. The reason why literature is the most enduring legacy is because some of the ways of literature and writing during Mesopotamia shape how we write today and some of the ideas of ancient myths are found in some religions today such as how the Epic of Gilgamesh is associated with the tale of the Flood and the great ark appeared in the bible.
The Deluge tablet of the Gilgamesh epic in Akkadian
Sources:
http://all-history.org/6a.html (website for picture)
http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/ED/TRC/MESO/literature.html
Manual Page 84
Byrn Ledbetter
12. The role of technology in the rise of empires in Mesopotamia?
13. How does Wood characterize this civilization and why?
14. What were the reasons for the fall of Sumerian civilization?
15. What significant changes in government happened in the shift to the Babylonian Empire?
16. What was the function of written law in ancient Babylon?
17. ID Hammurabi.
18. Explain the Law of Talon? How did influence Hammurabi's code?
19. Using Turner's Theory, explain the physical environment of the Assyrians.
20 Detail the effects of the Assyrian policy of deportation of conquered peoples.
21. What innovations in technology occurred during the Assyrian period and what effects did they have?
22. What caused the end of the Assyrian empire? Whose theory best describes the Assyrians?
23. Why and how did the Neo Babylonian empire end?
24. What was the legacy of Mesopotamia and how does the manual describe them?
