Meso+JAS

** Group Names- Sumit Pareek, Julie McAndrews, Abby Perlman **

5.3 Food Source Sumerians depended on a good source of food. They invented irrigation to water their crops. They also invented the plow. This helped them for turning soil and getting it ready for new plants. Before the plow they used animal horns that were form dead animals or sticks to poke holes in the soil for the seeds. This method was very slow and it would take too long. So they needed a faster way. The first plow was made out of wood.

5.4 Social Structure They have a very important social life. It is what builds their importance. They had 3 classes. The upper class, the middle class , and the lower class. The upper class included priests, landowners, and government officials. The middle class consisted of normal people. They were usually merchants and crafts people. They used many expensive tools. They also had fishers and farmers. and the lower class were people who could not afford a lot of things. Also, slaves were down at the bottom too. ** By Julie McAndrews **   **5.8- Technology **  -Most Important invention-Wheel -During 3500 B.C.E., Sumerian potters used wheels as a surface for shaping clay into pots. -They discovered that if it was flipped onto its edge, you could roll it. -From then on, they used it to help farmers and chariots in the army. -Before the wheel, they had sledges. They got stuck in mud and didn't help them very well. -Another Invention: arch-inverted structures built on top of doorways made of clay and straw. -They rose in steps from the walls until they met in the center.  <span style="COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff">** 5.7- The Arts ** <span style="FONT-SIZE: 80%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">    <span style="COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff">-Sumerian metalworkers made weapons, cups, mirrors, jewelry, and ziggurats. -Music was valued and it was very important. -Sumerians believed that music brought joy to gods. -Played instruments during temple ceremonies and grand feasts. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 80%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">-Lyre-wooden instrument made of a sound box and strings. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; COLOR: #261ded; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"><span style="COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"><span style="COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"> <span style="COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff">    **Developement of Writing:** -Preist, kings, merchants, and artisans kept records -Started writing so people could keep track of business -Cuneiform- latin for wedge.(they were wedged like shapes) -over 500 symbols; each symbol represented a different idea -more than one symbol could be put together to mean something -Clay tablets -Schools taught upper class rich boys -Scribe- graduated school student -Writing used for trade and business -Gilgamesh -Pictogram -Hammarabi's Code Of Law

**Artistic and Intellectual Activity:** -Gate of Ishtar -Hanging Gardens of Babylon -Skillful in math -Time (60 minute, seconds, hours,e.t.c.) system, 360 degrees -water clock -Arch -Arts-architechture and painting -Music -Lyre- woden box used for religous ceremonies and grand feasts -Drums and Pipes -Inventions -plow, wheel, levee <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; COLOR: #b6ed1d; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"><span style="COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff">-transportation: sailboat, rivers, sledges, carts -metalworkers made weapons and battle gear, jewelry, and pottery -epics like the poem __Gilgamesh__ BY SUMIT PAREEK Pics for podcast by Sumit: 1-http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&q=lyre+sumerians 2-http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&q=ziggurat 3-http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Wheel_Iran.jpg/250px-Wheel_Iran.jpg 4-http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://nlcs.k12.in.us/oljrhi/brown/mesopotamia/cuneiform.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nlcs.k12.in.us/oljrhi/brown/mesopotamia/meso.htm&h=306&w=397&sz=70&hl=en&start=38&um=1&usg=__fW83S5MhtuV0Xme6_oUDnpWCg1g=&tbnid=1lNeozyu4dNUjM:&tbnh=96&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dinvention%2Bsumerian%2Bplow%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN