Your teacher Robert Fitzpatrick Class Rules Only one person talks at a time When somebody speaks in class be a respectful engaged listener Use the bathroom before class Treat others and your surroundings as you would like to be treated ID: 221851
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Slide1
Myths, Legends, and Tales
Your teacher: Robert FitzpatrickSlide2
Class Rules
Only one person talks at a time.
When somebody speaks in class, be a respectful, engaged listener.
Use the bathroom before class.
Treat others and your surroundings as you would like to be treated.
Be a positive class participant at all times. Slide3
Ziggurats
Ziggurats were massive structures built in the Mesopotamian valley.
Each was part of a temple complex that included other buildings.
Unlike the pyramids, ziggurats were not tombs. Slide4
Behistun
Rock Inscriptions
The key to translating
Akkadian
was discovered by Henry Rawlinson.
Rawlinson heard of inscriptions carved into a rock cliff 300 feet in the air. He investigated, and discovered over 1,000 lines of cuneiform inscriptions written in three languages.
The inscriptions were at
Behistun
in northwest Iran. Slide5
Behistun
Rock Inscriptions
Rawlinson risked his life many times to copy the inscriptions.
He published his findings in 1846, allowing translations of
Akkadian
inscriptions throughout Mesopotamia. Slide6
Henry Rawlinson Falling Off the Behistun
Rock FaceSlide7
The Wheel
Evidence of wheeled vehicles appeared
in the 4
th
millennium B.C./B.C.E. nearly simultaneously in Mesopotamia, the Northern Caucuses and Central Europe.
No one knows which culture discovered the wheel first. Slide8
The Arch
Arches appeared as early as the 2
nd
millennium B.C./B.C.E.
in Mesopotamian brick architecture. Slide9
The Arch of Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia, located on the east bank of the Tigris river.
Today, in modern Iraq, a great arch from ancient Mesopotamian times still stands. Slide10
The Dome
People around the world have been building domes for millennia, but the development of more sophisticated
domes built with enduring materials is not well documented. Slide11
Barrel Vault
A barrel vault is a structure consisting of a continuous surface of semicircular or pointed sections. It resembles a barrel or tunnel.
Barrel vaults were used in ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. Slide12
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age came after the Stone Age but before the Iron Age. Slide13
Bronze Age
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, with tin as the main additive.
Bronze dates to the late fourth millennium B.C./B.C.E. Slide14
Origins of Tin and Copper
Archaeologists have not yet been able to determine where the tin used in Mesopotamia came from. Maybe as far away as the Indus Valley.
Copper mines have been operational in what is now known as Oman since 2000 B.C./B.C.E.
Tin Ore
Copper OreSlide15
Sumerian Metal Casting
Metal casting is a manufacturing process in which liquid metal is poured into a mold and allowed to solidify.
People have been using this technique for 6000 years, starting with copper and
tin
to make bronze. Slide16
Cylinder Seal
A cylinder seal is a cylinder engraved with a pictures story, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-
deimensional
surface, usually wet clay.
Cylinder seals were invented around 3500 B.C./B.C.E. in southern Mesopotamia. Slide17
War Chariots
The ancient Sumerians used chariots in battle against their enemies. Slide18
The Winged Bull of Nineveh
A
Lamassu
is a Sumerian protective deity, often depicted with a bull or lion’s body, eagle’s wings, and a human head. Slide19
The Great Fatted Bull
The Great Fatted Bull is a story written on a tablet in Mesopotamia around 2000 B.C.
The story is part murder mystery, part political satire, and entirely written in code!
Luckily, the author left a key to the code imbedded in the story itself. Slide20
Ningishzida
Ningishzida
is a Mesopotamian deity of the underworld. His name in Sumerian is translated as “lord of the good tree.”
Ningishzida
is the earliest known symbol of snakes twining around a rod. Slide21
A River Delta
The Tigris and Euphrates join north of the Persian Gulf, and flow now as one river into the Gulf, creating a delta called the Shatt al-Arab Delta. Slide22
Changing Geography – The Tigris/Euphrates Delta
As silt flows down the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, it settles where the rivers meet the Persian Gulf.
Over the centuries, the land has grown as more and more silt is deposited.
The ancient city of Ur used to be on the coast, but now it is
about 120
miles inland. Slide23
Tigris and Euphrates Trade RoutesSlide24
Origin of Deltas
Why do we call these river deltas?
Because it resembles the three sided letter of the Greek alphabet named delta. Slide25
The Ancient Middle EastSlide26
Sumerian City-StatesSlide27
The Death Pits of Ur
In the 1920s and 30s, Leonard Woolley discovered around 2,500 graves at the ancient city of
Ur
in Mesopotamia.
Woolley discovered that the elite of Ur were buried with an impressive quantity of precious goods, as well as members of their household.
In one “death pit,” Woolley discovered 6 male and 68 female servants, many dressed up for the big day.Slide28
The First Known Board Game
Players of the game of Ur took the rules to their graves 4,500 years ago. We’ll never know how to play the world’s oldest known board game. Archaeologists guest by asking questions:
Do the game pieces look like any modern pieces?
How many kinds of pieces are there?
Based on the pieces, how many players were there?
Is the board a track? Where does it start and end?
The dice are pyramids with two out of for corners marked. How do they work?
Did backgammon evolve from this game? Slide29
Carbon-14 Dating
Carbon-14 dating is a method of determining estimated ages for organic materials. It was introduced in 1949 by Dr. Willard Libby.
Carbon-14 exists in all organic material, and decays over time. We can determine how long something has existed by measuring how much the Carbon-14 has decayed. Slide30
Sexagesimal System
The
Sexagesimal
System is a base-60 system of counting. We count time using a base-60 system. Slide31
Sexagesimal System
An ancient currency known as shekels were counted using a base-60 system.
60 shekels = 1
mina (about a pound).
60 minas = 1 talent.
180 barleycorns = 1 shekel.Slide32
Agriculture
The Sumerians had a “
salinization
” problem. Evaporating salt water left behind layers of salt, and the salt made it difficult to grow wheat.
Sumerians wrote of the whole earth turning white with salt.
By 1800 B.C./B.C.E.,
salinzation
had greatly diminished agriculture in southern Mesopotamia.
Barley is more tolerant of salt then wheat, so the Sumerians began growing more barley. Slide33
The Great FloodSlide34
George Smith and the Great FloodSlide35
The Great FloodSlide36
The Great Flood - Geography
The Strait of Gibraltar is very narrow. The strait, which separates Europe and Africa, is just 9 miles wide at its narrowest point. Slide37
The Great Flood - Geography
The Bosporus and the Dardanelles:Slide38
The Great Flood - Geography
The currents of the Bosporus flow in two different directions. The current at the top of the water flows north to south, while the current at the bottom flows south to north. Slide39
The Great Flood - GeographySlide40
The Great Flood - GeographySlide41
The Royal Road
The Royal Road was an ancient highway built by the Persians in the 5
th
Century B.C./B.C.E.
It stretched from the Mediterranean Sea east all the way to the Hindu
Kush
. Slide42
Lapis Lazuli
Lapis Lazuli has been collected form the mines of the
Badakhshan
province of Afghanistan for over 6000 years.
Marco Polo visited
Badakhshan
during his travels. Slide43
Vermeer and Lapis Lazuli
Here are two masterpieces painted by Johannes
Vermeer
using
paint made from lapis lazuli:
Young Woman With a Water Pitcher
, ca. 1662
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter
, ca. 1662-63Slide44
Lapis LazuliSlide45
Lapis LazuliSlide46
Lapis LazuliSlide47
Lapis LazuliSlide48
Lapis Lazuli Trade RoutesSlide49
Carnelian
Carnelian is a brownish-red mineral which is commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone.
Carnelian has been used for decorative purposes dating back to 1800 B.C./B.C.E. Slide50
Beards
Sumerian men devoted great care to oiling and dressing their beards, using tongs and curlers to create elaborate ringlets and tiered patterns. Slide51
DreadsSlide52
DreadsSlide53
Marsh Arabs
The “Marsh Arabs” are inhabitants of the Tigris-Euphrates marshlands. Slide54
Scorpion-Man and His Wife
Scorpion-Man was the guard to the door where the sun went at night. He told Gilgamesh not to walk through the door because it was 12 leagues and it was very, very dark. Slide55
Ut-
napishtim
and His Wife
Ut-napishtim
was the only
man ever made immortal, but he was not the only person.
Ut-napishtim’s
wife was also made immortal, but her name never appears in
Ut-napishtim’s story or elsewhere. Slide56
Ishtar
Ishtar is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, and war. Slide57
Enheduanna
: The World’s First Known Poetess
Enheduanna
was named by her father, Sargon, to be the high priestess of An, the god of heaven at
Uruk
, and
Nanna
, the moon god at Ur.
Sargon named Enheduanna the high priestess of both gods to reconcile the Sumerians and
Akkadians
in his empire.
Enheduanna
was so successful that Sumerian kings after Sargon continued to appoint their daughters as priestesses of Ur and
Uruk
. Slide58
Yazidi
The
Yazidi
are members of a Kurdish religion living in northern Iraq.
Yazdanism
blends elements of pre-Islamic Mesopotamian religious traditions with Christianity and Islam. Slide59
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism was once one of the world’s largest religions. It was founded before the 6
th
century B.C./B.C.E. based on the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster in Persia.
The symbols of Zoroastrianism are the serpent and peacock. Slide60
Sumerian Language
Sumerian is the language of ancient Sumer, which was spoken in Mesopotamia since at least the 4
th
Millennium B.C./B.C.E.
To the right is a tablet carved with Sumerian text. It is a letter from the high-priest
Lu’enna
to the king of Lagash telling the king that his son died in combat.
Sumerian is called an “isolate” language, as it is not related to any other language.
The Sumerian language is extinct. Slide61
Birthstones
Birthstones originated when each of the twelve tribes of ancient Israel was assigned a particular stone as an identifying stone on the high priest’s breastplate. Over time, the stones lost their meaning and became “birthstones.” Slide62Slide63Slide64
The Nile DeltaSlide65
The Nile Delta
The Nile River flows from south to north into the Mediterranean Sea, creating a delta. Slide66
The Nile DeltaSlide67
The Nile Delta
Papyrus scrolls from the library at Alexandria
CleopatraSlide68Slide69Slide70Slide71Slide72Slide73Slide74Slide75Slide76Slide77Slide78