Mesopotamia

The Society

• The world’s first cities were built around 6,000 years ago in South Mesopotamia, in a land originally called Sumer.

• Mesopotamia means “the land between the two rivers” – the Tigris and the Euphrates.

• Mesopotamia is located in the region now known as the Middle East.

Culture

• Mesopotamia was a collection of varied cultures whose only real bonds were their script, their gods, and their attitude toward women.

• They had settled communities in the form of villages, planted their own food, had domesticated animals, and had different orders of workers. 

• The most common Mesopotamian house type was the single-story house. 

Food

• The main crop was barley. From barley, the people made bread and beer.

• Mesopotamians also grow, legumes including lentils with variety of fruits and vegetables.

• They domesticated animals beginning with goats and made cheeses and cultured diary products,

Key Inventions

• Sumerians invented new technologies and perfected the large-scale use of existing ones.

• They transformed how humans cultivated food, built dwellings, communicated and kept track of information and time (the concept of the 24-hour day) . 

• The invention of the wheel is also credited to the Mesopotamians.