Bell Ringer
1.) Prepare for your SOL Rolling Review PreHistory quiz
2.) Complete the provided Mesopotamia map
identification worksheet
• The world’s first civilizations all began in
river valleys.
• The first civilization
began in an area known
as Mesopotamia.
Mesopotamia
• Name means “land
between the rivers.”
• Rivers: Tigris and
Euphrates – flooded
once per year, leaving
behind fertile soil ideal
for farming.
• Entire area is part of the
“Fertile Crescent” – an arc
of land from the
Mediterranean Sea in the
west, through Mesopotamia,
to the Persian Gulf in the
east.
• The first society to develop in
the Fertile Crescent was Sumer.
• Surrounding deserts and the lack of natural
barriers attracted outsiders to Mesopotamia
and made the Sumerians vulnerable to
attack.
Lasting Contributions of Sumer:
• Writing:
•
Sumerians made the
world’s first writing
system, a system of
wedges and lines 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.
Lasting Contributions of Sumer:
(cont’d)
• Religion:
•
•
•
The Sumerians, just like many
other ancient civilizations, were
polytheistic, meaning they
believed in many gods.
•
Each god had power over
different forces of nature or
parts of the people’s lives.
Sumerians believed that people
were just the servants of the gods.
The ziggurat was a religious
structure or temple where
sacrifices to the gods were made.
The Babylonians
• By 2000 B.C.E., Mesopotamia
was governed by a group of
people called Amorites.
• Capital City  Babylon,
located near present day
Baghdad, Iraq.
• The people were known as
the Babylonians.
• Babylonian culture was
greatly influenced by the
Sumerians.
Hammurabi’s Code
• From 1792-1750 B.C. (B.C.E), Babylon was
ruled by a king named Hammurabi.
• He is known for establishing the worlds first
organized, written law code, which was based
on old Sumerian laws.
• These laws helped to establish
the “eye for an eye” principle.
Hammurabi’s Code (cont’d)
• Hammurabi had the law posted all over Babylon for everyone
to read.
• The point of the law was to keep the strong from taking
advantage of the weak.
• The code included civil and criminal law, land, trade, as
well as military and family law.
• Turning Point in History
Exit Ticket:
Develop a “Hammurabi’s Code” for Princess Anne High School:
• Your code should include at least
5 laws and consequences
• Think about things that are important to keep order in a
school.
• Be realistic! Nothing ridiculous, please…