Mesopotamia (UR)

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Mesopotamia (UR)

• Unlocking The Past.
• George Paige
• Adrian Abbott

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Introduction

• Mesopotamia (Otherwise Know As UR.)
• Was the worlds first civilisation.
• It was situated in modern day Iraq.
• Mesopotamia means The Land Before Rivers.

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More About Mesopotamia..

• 6500 years ago there was a civilization in
  between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers located
  in Modern day Iraq.
• The area was known as Mesopotamia and the city
  was called Ur. The southern half of Ur was called
  Sumer.
• Ur was near the river Nile, and this enabled
  farmers to have a healthy crop.

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The Ziggurats

• The Ziggurats was a pyramid constructed of
  sun-baked mud bricks, which were then colourfully
  decorated with glazed firebricks. In each
  Ziggurat had a God or Goddess, and only Priests
  and Priestesses were allowed in because of their
  high status.

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Cuneiform First Writing System

• Cuneiform was the worlds first writing system,
  created of course by the Sumerians. Cuneiform
  means wedge shaped because of the pen used. The
  pen was called a stylus, and it was made of reed.
  

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The Tablet Houses Part One

• Cuneiform was learnt in Sumerian schools called
  eddubas or tablet houses. The students who went
  there were usually sons of very wealthy citizens.

• Students worked very hard at Sumerian schools,
  and the school day started from early morning
  until early evening. Students were taught
  reading, writing, and maths. The teachers
  strictly regimented the students. For example, a
  mistake on a clay tablet could mean a beating.

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The Tablet Houses Part Two

• All the forfeit and schooling was worth it. Once
  a student effectively finished twelve years of
  school, he was an official scribe, or writer.
  This was a important position in Sumerian
  culture. Scribes were very expensive in order to
  continue and recover the evidence keeping that
  the Sumerians considered so very necessary.

• The Sumerians also used cylinder seals. They were
  made out of stone, and they were used as ID. For
  example, in order to identify himself, a Sumerian
  would roll his cylinder seal across a wet clay
  tablet. This would make an imprint on the tablet
  that would become permanent by sun-baking or
  kiln-firing. Cylinder seals were used as
  signatures are used today.

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Thank You!

• Adrian and Myself would like to thank you for
  acknowledging our presentation.
• Thank You for being so patient.