Vanessa Mendoza
History
7th Block
9-20-13
Mesopotamia
Ancient Mesopotamia was the first civilization in world history. It started about 6000 years ago. Not only was it the first civilization but it was also the longest lasting civilization.
Mesopotamia is known as the "the land between the two rivers" and the "cradle of civilization". It was located between Tigris and Euphrates River. Those two rivers created the Fertile Crescent. Mesopotamia was the first place where cities got built, a writing system was created, government, religion, and agriculture developed. Some cities grew to have 35,000 people.
About 10,000 years ago, agriculture begun. Sumerians started domesticating animals like sheep, goats, cows, etc...  They also planted and grew vegetables and fruits. Irrigation was a huge help to the people. With irrigation, the people in Mesopotamia were able to put water in dry areas for the crops. Irrigation also helped people with the floods that would occur in Mesopotamia. Keeping a stable food supply was very important.
The writing system in Mesopotamia emerged in about 3500 B.C. It began as pictographs that were just images that represented a word.  Then came cuneiform, which were "wedge-shaped" marks on a clay tablet. This allowed news and ideas to be carried to distant places without having to rely on a messenger's memory.
The government system was a combination of democracy and monarchy. The Laws of Hammurabi were the longest and best organized of the law collections King Hammurabi had the laws onto a stone that he placed in several temples. The Laws of Hammurabi consisted of 282 case laws with legal procedures and penalties. The social structure is very simple. The people at the top are the wealthy people with more power and poor people were at the bottom.
The ancient Mesopotamians worshiped hundreds of gods.Each god had a different role. Every city had its own patron goddess or god. People left offering like wine and food on the steps of ziggurats for the gods. People worshipped gods for protection. The major gods were Anun,Enli,Ninhursag,and Enki.
As you can see Mesopotamia was the first civilzation in world history. Mesopotamia made such a huge difference in our world. They developed many new things, who knows what would of happened if they didnt create all these things