Unit 2- 6

th
Grade
Early Civilizations
Ancient civilizations were built by rivers
Rivers allowed for easy farming and provided a water
source for drinking and fishing
Early civilizations had class structure
This means that people held different ranks in society
depending on what work they did and how much wealth
or power they had
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is the earliest known civilization
Located between the Tigris and Euphrates River
Mesopotamia means between two rivers
Rivers were unpredictable- sometimes the rivers would
flood and other times there was drought
Farmers learned how to build dams and canals
They build irrigation systems to water their crops
Sumer
Sumer was a region in southern Mesopotamia
Sumer was isolated- beyond their civilization there was
desert that made it hard to communicate and trade with
other towns/ villages
Each Sumerian city became a separate city-state
City-states had their own government and was not part
of a larger city
Sumerian city-states fought with one another to gain more
territory
To protect themselves, each city-state built a wall
Walls and their houses and temples were made out of mud
and crushed reeds
Religion
Sumerians believed in many gods- this means they were
polytheistic
They thought gods had power and control over natural
forces and human activities
Sumerians tried hard to please their gods and make
them happy
They built temples called ziggurat which dominated
most of the city
At the top of the ziggurat was the place of worship that
only priests and priestesses could go
Priests and priestesses were powerful in society and
controlled most of the land
Kings had the most power in society
Most people farmed, but some were artisans
Artisans are skilled workers who made pottery, cloth, or
metal products
Class Structure
There were 3 social classes in Sumer
Most of the time, the class you were born in was where
you stayed your whole life
Upper class included kings, priests, warriors, and
government officials
Middle class were artisans, merchants, farmers, and
fishers
Lower class were enslaved people who worked on farms
or in temples
Enslaved people were forced to serve others
A Skilled People
People living in Mesopotamia invented things that affect
us today
Greatest invention was writing
Writing is important because it helps people record their
ideas and pass on their ideas to one another
Cuneiform
Sumerians developed writing to help them track their
businesses and record events
Their writing was called cuneiform
They carved symbols on tablets using sharp reeds
Scribes were people who knew how to write cuneiform
Other Inventions
Sumerians invented irrigation systems for farming
They also invented the wagon wheel, the plow for
farming, and the sailboat
Math- they used geometry to measure fields
They based their number system around 60- thats why
we have 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a
minute
They also used a calendar based on the 12 month cycles
of the moon
New Empires: The Assyrians
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About 1,000 years after Hammurabi, a new
empire called the Assyrian Empire
conquered most of Mesopotamia
The Assyrians created a huge and powerful
army
They were one of the first groups of people
to use iron to make weapons
They used bows, arrows, spears, swords,
and daggers
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The Assyrians were fierce warriors
When they captured new territory, they
forced the people to leave and brought in
new settlers and forced them to pay high
taxes
They expanded their empire and had
officials who would control the new ares
The kings of Assyria built roads to join all
parts of the empire together
They valued literature and had a huge
library of stories and historical accounts
written on clay tablets
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Many people rebelled against the Assyrians
because they treated people badly and cruelly
Since the Assyrians were not united, a new group
called the Chaldeans rebelled and gained control
King Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzer
began to rule the empire and made the city of
Babylon the new capital
Ancient wonder of the world: the Hanging
Gardens were plants that hung over the kings
palace
King Nebuchadnezzer built it for his wife who
missed the mountains and plants of her homeland
The Chaldeans and much of Mesopotamia
eventually fell to the Persian Empire
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