MESOPOTAMIA PROJECT
• You are an archaeological historian and are about to embark on a fantastic
journey into the past to discover the mysteries of ancient Mesopotamia.
Your goal is to achieve an understanding of what life was like, what the
culture consisted of, how the government developed, details about the
religious beliefs, the development of trade, the development of
specialization and social classes, and how the first written language
looked. You will discover that much of what we in the twenty-first century
take for granted in our civilization has roots in the Mesopotamia of 5000
years ago. You will be asked to explore a number of web sites and find
specific information that you will use to perform a number of tasks that
you will adapt into a finished project to be turned in. You will also be
directed to a variety of web sites and will be asked to complete a variety of
tasks.
• Get started by going to the Project Tasks page under the categories label
on the right side of the webpage and complete the tasks in order of 1
though 10.
TASK 1 – TITLE PAGE
• Create a title page! Include: Your name The
Class (6th Grade Social Studies) My Name
(Mrs. Pontius). Do you best to decorate the
cover page with images that remind you of
Mesopotamia.
TASK 2 – IT HAPPENED FIRST IN
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/world/newsid_2955
000/2955531.stm
• In this article are a number of “firsts” that
Mesopotamians achieved. Select two of these and
design a visual that depicts each of the
achievements. The visual maybe drawn or you may
bring in a model. On the title page describe how each
could have been used during this time. Your visual
should have labels, be colorful, and be accurate. Title
this page “It Happened First in Ancient Mesopotamia”,
and add it to your packet of information with the
cuneiform cover.
TASK 3 - CUNEIFORM
Read the story about the development of writing from
the British Museum.
• http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/writing/story/sto_set.html
• Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of
paper. Please put this heading “Cuneiform” at the top of your page.
• What time period did people start to record the amounts of
different crops?
2. Draw the symbol for barley.
3. What was usually next to the barley sign?
4. What is the Sumerian word for fig cakes?
5. Beside business and trade, what was cuneiform used for?
6. Cuneiform script was used to write what other languages?
7. Draw the sign for the ox c.600.
TASK 4 - Gods and Demons
• Go
to http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/gods/explore
/exp_set.html
• Read Gods and Demons of Ancient Mesopotamia
• Create a page titled “God and Demons of Ancient
Mesopotamia” and list the following gods and
goddesses names: Enki, Gula, Isthar, Ninurta, and
Anu. Explain who they were and what their
power was. Add this to your packet of
information with the cover page.
TASK 5 - CODE OF HAMMURABI
• Create a page titled “The Code of Hammurabi”. On the
http://mesopotamiaprojectist.wordpress.com/code-of-hammurabi/
• page are the laws of Hammurabi as translated from cuneiform. Select four
laws and write them out. After each law, explain in your own words what
the law means in today’s world. Do you know if there are simliar laws.
• Also go to the page http://mesopotamiaprojectist.wordpress.com/codeof-hammurabi-situations/
• Read each of the situations and see what Hammurabi declared. Answer
this question after reading all of the situations and Hammurabi’s decisions
on them, Why did Hammurabi’s laws and punishments seem so cruel to
us? Give examples and reasons for your answer. In your answer think
about our laws and how we create them. Do you think our laws are
fair? Your answer should be multiple paragraphs.
TASK 6 - VOCABULARY EXERCISES
• http://mmapes.com/no_wp/Mesopotamia/mesopot
amiawebquest.htm#terms
• Read the important vocabulary. These terms are
important to your understanding of ancient
Mesopotamia. You will want to copy and paste these
words to a Word document for studying purposes.
Spend some time learning these terms and what they
mean. Include these words in your packet. Label the
page for your packet “Ancient Mesopotamia“
• Click on Vocabulary Exercises and complete the
exercise shown. Create a page labeled “Vocabulary
Exercises” for your packet.
TASK 7 ZIGGURAT
• Go research ziggurats at the British Museum. Write a one page,
multipargraph report on ziggurats. Include the following
information 1. Explain what a ziggurat is.
2. How and why they were built
3. How does the building function in the culture. How does it effect
daily
life?
4. Famous ziggurats
• On another page draw and label the parts of a ziggurat. Play the
challenge game. At the bottom of your ziggurat drawing, explain
what you learned when you played the challenge game.
• Title these two pages “Ziggurats” and include them in your packet.
TASK 8 - ASTRONOMERS
• Go research astronomers at the British Museum. Write a one page,
multiparagraph report on the astronomers in
Mesopotamia. Include the following information:
1. Who is Aplum?
2. What was Aplum’s job and what did he learn from his job?
3. Why was his job important to Babylonians?
4. What did Aplum need to do to add a month to the calendar?
5. Did the King accept the extra month?
• Each paragraph should have a topic sentence.
• Explore some of the texts of the scribes of Enuma Anu
Enlil. Describe what you learned in a paragraph. Play the challenge
game. Explained what you learned from the game.
• Title these two pages “Astronomers” and include them in your
packet.
TASK 9 – ANCIENT SUMERIAN SOCIETY
• Go research the ancient Sumerian society. Write a one page,
multiparagraph report on their society. Include the following information:
1. Description of their Daily Life
2. Description of the social classes – Describe each class.
• This section could be several paragraphs.
3. Describe their religion.
• Each paragraph should have a topic sentence.
Below is a list of research sites.
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•
•
•
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Classes of PeopleSumerian Society
Daily Life
Religion
Social Classes
Title this section, “Ancient Sumerian Society” and include it in your packet.
TASK 10 – DRAW A MAP
• Find a map of ancient Mesopotamia and one that is current.
• Do your best to redraw this map (don’t trace). Redraw the outlines
of the current nations that occupy the area and label them. Label
the major rivers, lakes, mountains, and other major geographical
places, including oceans and seas. Label the capital cities of the
nations with a star next to them.
• Using a colored pencil, outline and fill in the area that used to be
ancient Mesopotamia over the modern day map. Label the
civilizations that were there. Label the major cities of these
civilizations with a dot next to them.
• Color in the oceans and other water sources with blue. Make the
land area green.
• Label this “The Middle East, Then and Now” and include it with
your packet.
TASK 11: CULINARY CHALLENGE
• Let’s see how creative you can be!!! Research
foods eaten in Mesopotamia. Below are a couple
of links to check out.
• http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq3.html
• http://www.pinterest.com/allmesopotamia/recip
es-of-mesopotamia/
• http://www.silkroadgourmet.com/cookoffchallenge-1-ancient-mesopotamian-cuisine/
• Print your recipe and include it with your project.
Label it Task 11: Culinary Challenge.
Rubric
Criteria
Task completed
(3 pts)
Turned in on
time
(1 pt)
Effort put into
project
(3 pts)
Total
1
2
10/24 10/
29
3
10/
30
4
11/
6
5
11/
10
6
11/
13
7
11/
18
8
9
10
11/ 11/ 11/
21 24 26
11
11/
26
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Task Completed: You will receive either 1,2 or 3 points determining how well you
completed the task. If you followed all the direction and completed everything the
task asked you to do, then you will get 3 points. If you do most of the task but skip
a few parts, even one, you will be given 2 points. If you complete less then half of
the task, you will receive 1 point. If you do not complete the task, you get no
points.
Turned in on time: You get one point for turning the project in when it is due. If
are late then you do not receive that one point for the tasks. However, even
though you miss one point if it is late, you should still complete the task because if
you don’t you will miss out on the other six points that you can earn on that single
task.
Effort Put Into Project: I am not judging your artistic abilities. However, it will be
obvious to me who does and does not put effort into their work. Here are some
guidelines for making sure there is effort in your project:
Always color when asked to draw something.
Use complete sentences when answering questions – no single word answers.
Do you best as an artist.
“I don’t know” is a lazy effort.