Changes

In the fourth millennium before Christ, between about 3500 and 3000 B.C., cities began to sprout up with their own political and economic systems.  Both of these developments occurred in southern Mesopotamia.  The first such city (that we know of) was called Sumer, and its occupants were the Sumerians.

In the fourth millennium before Christ, between about 3500 and 3000 B.C., cities began to sprout up with their own political and economic systems.  Both of these developments occurred in southern Mesopotamia.  The first such city (that we know of) was called Sumer, and its occupants were the Sumerians.

We owe a great deal to the work of the Sumerians.  They developed the first system of writing (the cuneiform), the first codes of law and the first "city-state" (essentially a nation consisting only of a large city).  Their inventions were marvelous: the seed plow, the sailboat, and the potter’s wheel.  (Distinguish "cuneiforms" from "ideograms", which show ideas with symbols such as arrows for war, from "phonograms", in which symbols represent sounds).

We owe a great deal to the work of the Sumerians.  They developed the first system of writing (the cuneiform), the first codes of law and the first "city-state" (essentially a nation consisting only of a large city).  Their inventions were marvelous: the seed plow, the sailboat, and the potter’s wheel.  (Distinguish "cuneiform" symbols from "ideograms", which show ideas with symbols such as arrows for war, from "phonograms", in which symbols represent sounds).

Most workers in Mesopotamia were farmers, but some devoted their time to trade.  They had a calendar based on the moon to aid the farmers, and they developed a mathematical system using base 12.  They were marvelous inventors, creating complex systems of irrigation and discovering the plow, the cart and the wheel, and used bronze (a mixture of copper and tin) to make good farming tools.  Both men and women owned private property, had slaves, and were ruled by a king.

Most workers in Mesopotamia were farmers, but some devoted their time to trade.  They had a calendar based on the moon to aid the farmers, and they developed a mathematical system using base 12.  They were marvelous inventors, creating complex systems of irrigation and discovering the plow, the cart and the wheel, and used bronze (a mixture of copper and tin) to make good farming tools.  Both men and women owned private property, had slaves, and were ruled by a king.