ancient mesoptamia

Question 1

what is civilisation?

Answer 1

densely populated cities
full time craftsmen not involved in agriculture
tax
rulers who are exempt from manual labour with public monuments / temples
development of writing
sciences
art
trade
full time specialist craftsmen that stay in their city

Question 2

what did R. Chadwick think about civilisation and what were his 3 key principals?

Answer 2

he thought civilisation was a process
1. cities (10,000+ people living in urban environment, task specialisation and inequality of resources / wealth)
2. monumental architecture
3. writing (communication through a set of symbols or characters)

Question 3

what was ancient Mesopotamia known as

Answer 3

the fertile cresent

Question 4

when did urbanisation in ancient mesopotamia begin?

Answer 4

roughly 8000 bce

Question 5

did ancient mesopotamians call themselves ancient mesopotamians?

Answer 5

no. their identity was linked to the city they lived in.

Question 6

what does mesopotamia mean?
and which rivers was mesopotamia between?

Answer 6

land between two rivers
tigris and euphrates

Question 7

what was the regions climate and environment like?

Answer 7

the rivers would flood the land bringing fertile soil to an otherwise dry and sandy region, lots of water, but unpredictable flooding, high humidity, lots of food sources and crops. wetlands and waterways.

Question 8

canals?

Answer 8

control water flow to pastures and crops, and stop flooding / make flooding less drastic. improved productivity and reliability of crops, therefore having enough to feed everyone and trade with other places. irrigation meant less people had to be farmers and led to the development of other roles such as artisans, scribes, soldiers, administrators etc. and the stratified social structure characteristic of these early civilisations.

Question 9

resources that were prevalent that helped with the development of civilisation and resources that were scarce

Answer 9

what they had:
Fertile soil
Riverine Clay
Bitumen
what they didn’t have:
Wood and stone for construction
Minerals including copper, tin, silver and gold
the lack of some resources lead to trade with other places.

Question 10

oasis hypothesis and criticisms

Answer 10

As the great ice formations shrank, rivers stopped flowing from them and what were grasslands turned to deserts. Hunter-gatherers were forced into the remaining wet areas along the major rivers. This required people to abandon nomadic lifestyles. Once sedentary and in close proximity to one another and animals catalysed the development of new ways to obtain food.
criticisms:
climatic change at the end of the last ice age was not as dramatic in the Mesopotamian region as Childe suggests. People and animals living more closely together doesn’t mean domestication is a given.

Question 11

nuclear zone hypothesis and its criticisms

Answer 11

Agriculture began in hilly flanks of Taurus & Zagros Mountains, Turkey. Wet and mild climate perfect for cereal grasses (wheat and barley) Earliest domesticated plants found in the areas. Humans inhabit zones rich in certain easily harvested plants and learn to cultivate from observation.
criticisms: Explains where agriculture began, but doesn’t actually explain why humans moved to agriculture. Agriculture was much more labour intensive and time consuming than the hunter and gatherer methods, so why change?

Question 12

population pressure hypothesis and its criticisms

Answer 12

The slight warming of the region after the last ice age improved conditions for hunter gatherers leading to an increase in population. This increase continued for centuries until the population could no longer be sustained. To avoid starvation, people began to intervene with plants and animals in order to increase food production. Over thousands of years through observation and experimentation people gradually developed the systems and technology recognised as agriculture.
criticisms: There is no definitive evidence of population numbers from this period (approx. 10,000 years ago)

Question 13

the side effects of agriculture

Answer 13

-leads to sedentary population, therefore permanent builldings
-Surplus food can provide in lean times and support larger populations.
-Surpluses can be traded for other commodities.
-surpluses mean some people dont have to work in agriculture and can become other tradespeople.
-different roles in society and social stratification
-The need to protect, control and even expand agricultural land creates competition and conflict between populations.

Question 14

what times were each city

Answer 14

late 4000 bc - late 1000 bc = sumer
mid 2000 bc - early 2000 = akkadia
late 1000 bc - 500ish bc = babylonia
mid 2000 bc - 500ish bc = assyria

Question 15

Palaeolithic Period
70,000 - 9,000 BCE

Answer 15

Earliest evidence of human habitation. Hunter gatherer.
Stone tools.

Question 16

Mesolithic Period
9,000 - 7,000 BCE

Answer 16

transition period

Question 17

Neolithic Period
7,000 - 5800 BCE

Answer 17

Stone tools still predominate however, the domestication of plants and animals begins, as does the settling into villages. Pottery and bricks come into production.

Question 18

Ubaid Period
5,800 - 4000 BCE

Answer 18

First irrigation canals are built.
Brick temples built.
Copper begins to replace stone in tools.
5000 BCE farmers from the north settle in southern Mesopotamia.

Question 19

Uruk Period
3,750 - 3150 BCE

Answer 19

Nomads enter southern Mesopotamia and develop a mixed population.
3,500 BCE The Sumerians settle in southern Mesopotamia. One of their settlements Uruk develops into the world’s first city.
Bronze replaced copper. Writing, the wheel and plough are developed.

Question 20

Early Dynastic Period
2,900 - 2,334 BCE

Answer 20

Hereditary monarchies arise in individual city-states. These states vie for supremacy in the south. Powerful city states include Uruk, Ur and Kish

Question 21

city state

Answer 21

Independent population, with centralised authority (king), system of law and government.
Hierarchical social structure.
Each city had a patron god and it was believed that the kings were chosen by and had a close relationship with the god.
In the early dynastic period the city states are ruled by hereditary kings.
During this period the temple is the centre of religion and government.
In early cities the ruler is known as “En” (Lord) the word “Ensi” (Governor) was also used.

Question 22

social structure

Answer 22

king
government officials, priests
scribes, merchants, artisans
farmers, slaves

Question 23

uruk layout

Answer 23

The city is centered around the temple, which further enforces it as the seat of authority.
The temple is then surrounded by domestic buildings.
Outside the city walls is surrounded by farmland and irrigation canals.
It was the king’s responsibility to provide protection through the military and appeasement of the gods.
The significant fortifications around cities such as Uruk suggest conflict between city states was common

Question 24

temple and ziggurat

Answer 24

The temple was the highest structure within a Sumerian city.
To elevate the temples a platform called a ‘Ziggurat’ was built. The temple was then located on top.
The temple was considered to be the literal home of the god.

Question 25

effect of thousands of people living in one location

Answer 25

development of centralised law and government to enforce order. This catalyses the need for record keeping, which leads to the development of writing.

Question 26

effect of dynastic system of hereditary kings

Answer 26

A ruling class is established. Those tasked with enforcing the power of the king are privileged and a hierarchical social system develops.

Question 27

effect of construction

Answer 27

The need for architects and artisans plus labourers - a new industry is born. Construction and agriculture bring about technological innovation. The need for construction materials scarce in the region necessitates trade.

Question 28

effects of agriculture

Answer 28

Allowed people to pursue other tasks - which sees the birth of many trades and accelerates their development as people specialise.
To sustain the growing population - new land and more efficient methods are needed which fans technological development but also conflict between states.

Question 29

ur and uruk archeology

Answer 29

Archaeological investigation of Ur and Uruk originated in the mid 19th century and continued into the early 20th century.
Modern archaeologists lament the techniques and attitudes applied by the early archaeologists who neglected systematic stratigraphic records, threw out pottery sherds considered “rubbish” and kept inaccurate records regarding find spots.
Further detailed excavation and analysis of the sites has been hampered by war and socio-political tensions. There has also been significant damage and looting of the sites. However, the potential for further excavation and uncovering of sources is high.
Due to the widespread use of mudbrick construction the remains in Mesopotamia are graves, mud brick foundations and mounds comprised of the remains of mud brick buildings. Many of these remains were either buried from the outset, have crumbled over time or have been buried by sand and soil after centuries of floods and sand and dust storms.

Question 30

whats been found

Answer 30

Architectural remains such as mud-brick foundations.Clay tablets, pottery and stone stele painted and carved with figures and text.Graves and grave goods including jewellery, weapons & armour, musical instruments and statues.

Question 31

royal burials

Answer 31

One of the richest archaeological discoveries of Ancient Mesopotamia was made with the uncovering of 2000 commoner’s graves and 16 royal burials, many of which dated to the early Sumerian dynastic period.
The tombs were uncovered by British archaeologist Leonard Woolley over 12 years of excavations from 1922-1934.

Question 32

royal burials part 2

Answer 32

Excavated by Woolley between 1922 - 1934
1850 burials altogether, however, 16 stand out as royal burials due to the contents of the graves.
Exquisite items such as cups, jewellery and daggers made of gold, musical instruments and carefully rendered objects such as the Standard of Ur represented the wealth and might of the people buried.
One of the burials contains a seal naming the body as ‘Queen Puabi’. Her burial chamber included chariots, musical instruments, animals plus a cohort of attendants and servants.
It is believed that the items and those buried with the queen would serve her in the afterlife or possibly offered to underworld gods to ensure protection in the afterlife.
Those buried with the queen held small cups. It is thought that these held the poison they would have consumed in order to follow their queen into death.
It is evident that elaborate ceremonies took place as the pits were filled in that included more human burials and offerings of food and objects.

Question 33

standard of ur

Answer 33

Evidence of:
An organised, trained and well resourced army, including the use of animal infantry.
Use of infantry formations.
Prisoners of war.
“King” being presented with prisoners of war.
The army representing the might of the king
Social hierarchy: the peace side shows the agricultural workers below the elite being brought food and entertained with music whilst being waited on.
Royal court culture - food, banqueting, music and service.
Importance of agriculture
Trade - ie. the Lapis Lazuli used
Sumerians using size to depict importance or status.
Limitations:
It is unclear what the purpose of the object was.
The object has been significantly restored, thus there could be some inconsistency with the original.
There is no additional text or evidence identifying who is depicted as ‘king’
Found in a royal tomb, it is possible that the depictions are idealistic, designed to promote the might and power of the ruling elite, rather than reality.

Question 34

development of writing

Answer 34

c.6000BCE
Writing begins to develop as simple symbols on clay tokens, used by merchants to track sales and debts. Each token represented an item/object.
c. 4000BCE
Tokens begin to be gathered into clay envelopes, impressed with the personal seals of those involved in the transactions.
c. 3100BCE
Tokens are abandoned for pictographs, representing objects/items/animals etc. The number of individual pictographs grows into the hundreds making the process of writing difficult to learn and time consuming.
c.2500BCE
By this time most pictographs are replaced by wedge shaped symbols known as cuneiform. Cuneiform becomes an auditory writing system, with each cuneiform symbol representing a syllable in the spoken language. This greatly reduces the number of symbols required and thus improves the efficiency of the writing process.
Originally used for business transactions, financial and official records, writing develops also as an expression of culture, religion and art. Once of the best examples of this is The Epic of Gilgamesh, considered one of the first pieces of human literature.