SUMERIAN
CIVILIZATION
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, you are expected
to;
• learn the inventions technologies invented
by the Sumerian people.
• determine the effects of technologies to
the society.
SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION
Sumerians are known for their high degree of cooperation with one
another and their desire for great things. They are not contented with
the basic things that life can offer. This desire pushed them to develop
many things connected with science and technology.
10 SUMERIAN
DISCOVERIES
THAT REWROTE HISTORY
1. FABRICATION OF COPPER
- Copper was the earliest non-precious metal first
used by the Sumerians, and somewhere around
5000 BC they developed the ability to fabricate it.
The discovery of this process is one of the greatest
inventions in Mesopotamia. At first, copper was
used to made arrowheads, razors, harpoons, and
other small objects.
- Later they also began creating vessels, chisels , and
jugs, from copper. These objects reveal the excellent
craftsmanship of the Sumerians . Today copper
fabrication has revealed another level but it was the
Sumerians who kicked started this process of copper
fabrication.
2. CUNEIFORM SCRIPT
- Cuneiform Script isn’t just ancient in fact it’s the
oldest writing form in the world, it was invented by
the Sumerians in 3400 BCE.
-These patterns represent word signs which they
use to keep a records of things with great
historical value or their everyday life.
-In cuneiform script a stylus is pressed into soft
clay that produces a wedge-shaped style writing
and then left to dry.
3. IRRIGATION AND DIKES
- The Sumerians created dikes and irrigation canals
to bring water to farmlands and at the same time
control the flooding of the rivers.
- This method was considered as one of the
world’s most beneficial engineering works.
IRRIGATION AND DIKES
-Through the dikes
and
canals,
the
Sumerians were able to
enjoy year-long farming
and harvesting which
increased their food
production.
4. SAILBOATS
- At that time, the wheel was not yet invented; the main
mode of transportation was through waterways such as
rivers and seas.
SAILBOATS
- Boats were used to carry large quantities
of products and were able to cover large
distances.
5. WHEELS
- The first wheels were not made for transportation but
for farm work and food processes. With the use of the
wheel and axle, mass production was made easier.
Farmers were able to mill grains with less effort in less
time.
6. URUK CITY
- The Sumerians were able to build the city using only
mud or clay from the river, which they mixed with needs,
producing sun-baked bricks a true engineering feat.
URUK CITY
- They used the bricks to make houses that protected
them for the harsh weather and to build a wall around
the city that prevented wild animals and neighboring
raiders from entering.
7. ROADS
- The invention of roads was very useful specially during
the rainy season when traveling in soft and muddy roads
proved to be too difficult.
ROADS
- They later poured bitumen,
a black sticky substance
similar
to
asphalt
to
smoothen the roads.
- They made the roads with
the same technology, they
used in making the sun-baked
bricks that they laid down on
the ground.
8. PLOW
- The plow was invented to dig and breaks the ground, the farmer
would just drop the seeds and farm work would already be done.
With this tool, farmers could cultivate larger parcels of land faster,
enabling them to mass produce food without taking so much effort
and time.
9. WEAPONS
The weapons invented by
them due to constant war-like
situations among the citystates of Sumer were even
used for years afterward.
Some of the inventions that
proved to be of great use as
weapons include chariots,
sickle swords and bronze
socket axes that gradually
evolved into the piercing axes.
10. BOARD GAMES
- The Royal Game of Ur is a two-player strategy, race, board game of
the tables family that was first played in ancient Mesopotamia during the
early third millennium BC. The Royal Game of Ur, a speed and strategy
game, is one of the oldest and longest-lived board games ever
discovered. This template is based on a 4,600-year-old board from the
city of Ur in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).
- The game had four tetrahedral
dice with seven markers and
composed of two sets, one white
and the other black. The original
rules are not known, the games’
format had been redesigned
overtime as seen in the
cuneiform tablet dating back to
approximately 177 BC.
EFFECTS TO THE SOCIETY
•They transformed how humans cultivated food,
built dwellings, communicated and kept track of
information and time.
• Because of inventing things way before it is
even came into existence and many of these
inventions such as irrigation and weapons and
etc. are still in use today.
THE END OF