HWH Early Civilizations - Mesopotamia & Egypt

What makes a civilization?
Mesopotamia
Videos
Early Civilizations
Mesopotamia & Egypt
Arts
Religion
Stable Food Supply
Government
Social Structure
Record Keeping (Writing)
Technology
Examine the following primary source documents and answer the questions. Write a paragraph answering the following question (give evidence from the documents):
Was Hammurabi’s Code just?

The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flooded once per year, leaving behind fertile soil ideal for farming
Mesopotamia means “land between the rivers” & is often called the “Fertile Crescent” or as the “Cradle of Civilization”
The world’s first civilizations all began in river valleys
The first civilization began in an area known as Mesopotamia
The discovery of farming during the Neolithic Revolution allowed nomadic people to settle into civilizations.
But, surrounding deserts & the lack of natural barriers attracted outsiders to Mesopotamia made the Sumerians vulnerable to attack
The first civilization developed in the Fertile Crescent: Sumer
Sumerians made the world’s 1st writing called cuneiform
Phoenicians simplified cuneiform to a 22 letter alphabet
Phoenician merchants spread the alphabet throughout the Mediterranean world
The alphabet influenced Greek, Latin, & English
Babylonian King Hammurabi created the first legal code

Hammurabi’s Code had 282 laws based on justice & retaliation (an eye for an eye)

The code had different punishments for the various levels of society
Advanced cities:
Sumerian city-states were protected by high walls
At the city center was a temple called a ziggurat
Specialized Workers:
Sumerians & Babylonians were polytheistic
Technology:
Sumerian inventions include the wheel, sail, plow, & bronze metalwork
At the top of society were priests, and then kings
In the middle were skilled workers, like merchants
At the bottom, were common farmers & slaves
The Hebrews in Palestine
were the 1st monotheistic faith in history (Judaism)
The holy book of Judaism is the Torah
God gave Moses the Ten Commandments which serve as moral laws
Religion:
Government:
Writing:
Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Hieroglyphics were translated using the Rosetta Stone
Religion:
Egyptians were polytheistic & believed the gods controlled all aspects of life
Government :
Pharaohs ruled Egypt as “king-gods” & were thought to control nature
Specialized Workers:
Advanced Cities:
Cities developed along the Nile River in “Upper Egypt” & “Lower Egypt”
Technology:
Egyptian ideas included a 365-day calendar, geometry, astronomy, & pyramids
The Nile flooded so predictably that the Egyptians designed their calendar around it
The Nile River’s annual floods were predictable & provided fertile soil for farming
Egypt was bordered on both sides by desert which isolated & protected Egyptians from outsiders
Egypt began along the Nile River in North Africa
Class Activity:
Examine the visuals provided & generate 3 conclusions about the geography of ancient Egypt & its impact on the people of this region
Egyptians constructed pyramids & elaborate tombs for the pharaohs
Writing:
Egyptian hieroglyphics were both pictograms & a phonetic alphabet
Mesopotamia
"Father Acquitted" video
Egypt
documented 1st people
Mesopotamia