HIST 1001 : History Exam 1 Study Guide
Document Summary
Birth of ancient civilizations: mesopotamia: herodotus (484-420 bc) Primary source- the person telling the story actually witnessed it i. e. diary. Secondary source- someone gathered primary info then re-wrote i. e. textbooks, professor. Mesopotamia (between tigris and euphrates: modern day iraq, fertile soil but less rain, cities made of mud and clay. 1st writing system on clay tablets with cuneiform: ziggurat of ur (2113-2096 bc) was built by the city of ur. Tigris: ran fast through a relatively deep channel that made it hard to use for irrigation, major cities such as ninevah and assur. Euphrates: shallower and slower moving than the tigris. Deposited silt that formed along its banks which broke through levees and flooded the riverside cities when grain was ripening in april. Irrigation: once irrigation was established by the sumerians, their homeland was able to support a large population. Mesopotamian civilizations: sumerians, settled in northern mesopotamia, developed cuneiform, each city was independent, ruled by kings with gods, akkadians.
