HIST 1001 : HISTORY 1001 Notes EXAM 1
Document Summary
Sumer was the first civilization with writing: cuneiform. Agriculture begins with civilization: 7000 bc, mesopotamia. Civilization began in modern day iraq and was known as sumer: domesticated plants and animals, villages and houses were constructed. One main issue with mesopotamia: very dry, river water has to be managed, tigris and euphrates, have to build levees and drainage systems, but how, a labor force must be created. Priest began the first governments: government, promised divine reward for those who worked and built the levees, another method was for people to prove they had more vision then others do. If the gods are happy, then they will have a successful growing season. Fundamentals of civilization: accurate measurement, have to be able to measure things, most important is time, have to know when to plant and harvest crops, this leads to calendars. The sumerian priest came up with a calendar of 12 months.