Sumer - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Sumer

Brandon Mark, Chris

Charran

, Keara Pagniello, Sarah Ahmed and Sybil TongSlide2
Slide3

The term "Sumerian" is the common name given to the ancient

non-Semitic

inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia, Sumer, by the 

Semitic

Akkadians

.

The Sumerians referred to themselves as "the black-headed people". Slide4

Sumer

Religion

Keara PagnielloSlide5

There was no organized set of gods

Each city-state had its own patrons, temples and priest-kings.

But since the Sumerians were the first ones to write down their beliefs, it was the inspiration for the much later Mesopotamian mythology, religion and astrology. Slide6

Who did Sumerians worship?

Tell Asmar

 votive sculpture 2750-2600 BCSlide7

Anu

;

as a full time god, equivalent to “heaven” – indeed, the word “an” in Sumerian means “Sky” and his consort Ki means “earth”

Ur III (Middle Bronze Age) form of the cuneiform character DINGIR (AN) (

dingir

), meaning "heavens" or "deity"  Slide8

Enki

;

in

the south at the temple in

Eridu

.

Enki

was the god on beneficence, ruler of the freshwater depths beneath the earth, healer and friend to humanity who in Sumerian myth was thought to have given humans the arts and sciences, the

industiries

and manners of civilization; The first law book was considered his creation

EnkiSlide9

Enlil;

was

the lord of ghost-land, in the north at the temple of Nippur. His gifts to mankind were said to be spells and

incantations

that the spirits of good or evil were compelled to obey,

Enlil

with his wife,

NinlilSlide10

Inanna

;

the deification of

venus

, the morning (eastern) and evening (western) star at the temple (shared with An) at

Uruk

.

This is

Inanna

on the Ishtar

Vase

in the French museum Louvre.

One version of the star symbol of

Inanna

/IshtarSlide11

Nanna

;

was

the sun god at

Ur

Utu;

was the moon god at SipperSlide12

These deities were probably the original matrix: there were hundreds of minor deities. Slide13

The

Sumerian gods related with different cities and their religious importance often grew and advised with those cities political power.

Sumerians believed that the universe consisted of a flat disk enclosed by a tin dome. The Sumer afterlife involved a descendant into a gloomy netherworld to spend eternity in a worthless existence as a ghost. Slide14

Ziggurat

Sumerian temples had a central nave with aisles along either side. Next to the aisles would be rooms for the priests. At one end there would be a podium and a

mudbrick

table for sacrifices. Granaries and storehouses were located near the temples. After a time the Sumerians began to build the temples on top of multi-layered square constructions built as a series of rising terraces. Slide15

Sumer

Intellectual

and Writing

Sarah AhmedSlide16

Writing

Sumerians have the oldest known text to humans. This form of writing is called

cuneiform

.

Slide17

They Even Had Developed Their Own AlphabetSlide18

There

’

s

Nothing Like It!

The Sumerian language is a

language isolate

in

linguistics

. It

belongs to no known language family!!!Slide19

They Even Developed Their Own Style of Counting…Slide20

The Sumerian

continued

to be the

language

of

religion and law

in Mesopotamia long after Semitic speakers had become the ruling race. Slide21

Spoken in Southern Mesopotamia from at least the 4th millennium BC.

Replaced by Akkadian as a spoken language around 2000 BC, but continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial and scientific language in Mesopotamia until about 1 AD. Slide22

That

’

s

4001 years of existence!Slide23

Architecture

The most impressive and famous of Sumerian buildings are the

ziggurats

, large layered platforms which supported temples. Some scholars have theorized that these structures might have been the basis of the

Tower of Babel

described in

Genesis

. Slide24

The Arch

The Sumerians also developed the

arch

, which enabled them to develop a strong type of roof called a dome. They built this by constructing several arches. Slide25

Sumer

Science & Technology

Sybil TongSlide26

Sumerian Inventions

The wheel (c. 3700 BC)

The potter’s wheel

Boats and ships (wood, reeds, skins, etc.)

Beer

Tools and Weapons (ex. saws

, chisels, hammers,

nails etc.)

Bronze metalSlide27
Slide28

Science and Math

Math system based on the numeral 60

Algebra and Geometry

System

of weights and

measures

Irrigation systems

Sewer system

Mapped constellations

Agriculture

Barter/trade systemSlide29
Slide30

Importance

Geographical conditions in Mesopotamia were poor

Without Sumerian technology, there would not have been a successful civilization

Without Sumer, there would not have been any other of the Mesopotamian city statesSlide31

Sumer

Government and Law

Chris

CharranSlide32
Slide33

The King

The king was responsible for constructing buildings and temples, maintaining the city borders and irrigation systems, and enforcing the laws. Even though the king had power, he was not allowed to act as a dictator. Slide34

King Followers/Enforcers

The king had people known as Scribes, which were like the public secretaries. Their duty was to collect taxes and keep records for the government.

The king also had Advisors who assisted him in decisions; also helped him ruled and ensured that people obeyed his laws.

Sumerian people also had to pay taxes (land, crops, etc.) to the government. Slide35

King Hammurabi

The

Akkadian

Dynasty only lasted 200 years in Mesopotamia, and a new king was crowned his name was King Hammurabi.

King Hammurabi devised a plan to rule over such a large area but with structure and justice.

The King Hammurabi created what is known as the “Code of

Hummaurabi

”. The code was written by Hammurabi himself. Its goal was to maintain a society of strict and justice and that the strong may not

opress

the weak Slide36

The Code

The Code was above everyone, even the king was not exempted from the law. There were very severe punishments for whoever broke the code; sometimes it might even lead to death depending on what law was broken.

The code was openly displayed to all of the citizens of Sumerian, in doing so nobody could say they did not know the law, and use that as an excuse. Slide37

The Code

The code was carved in stone, and as a result it was binding and it could not change no matter who was being punished by the code.

Hammurabi code provided a clear separation of religious authority and non-religious authority. Slide38

Sumer

Military

Brandon MarkSlide39

The Sumerian military were the first to invent many weapons and defenses making them far beyond other nations or empires at the time.Slide40

Some of the inventions consisted of; Helmets, Socket axes, Sickle swords, chariots, and full plated body armor.Slide41

The first uses of helmets were extremely important at this time for one reason; it protected them from one of the deadliest weapons at the time (the mace). Slide42

Socket axes were also crucial during this time period because of their potential to pierce armor and replacing the mace.Slide43

Sickle swords and chariots became some of the most used tools later in history for their military purposes. The fact that the Sumerians invented the chariot suggests that they also invented the wheel.Slide44

The first use of plated body armor was also from the Sumerians along with their fighting style called Phalanxes. Phalanxes are organized six files deep, with an eight-man front all bearing shields and spears. The use of Phalanxes was extremely difficult and suggested that the Sumerians were the first civilization in human history to have a standing professional army.