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Ancient Sumerian Irrigation

The irrigation system was invented in 3000 B.C.E by the Ancient Sumerians, who lived in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, to control water flow and assist the Sumerian farmers in their planting of crops. It was very difficult to farm or collect water. This was because the land was very hot and dry most of the year, making it impossible for crops to grow. When it rained, however, the rivers flooded, washing away all of the crops that the Sumerain farmers had planted before. The Sumerians couldn’t carry their water because the harsh weather in Sumer made it difficult to carry water over long distances. To solve these problems, irrigation systems looked like bridges built over and through obstacles that would usually block water. The Sumerians would also use low trenches called canals to transport water. The water from these canals flowed into reservoirs, man-made lakes that collected water. The irrigation system of ancient Sumer was a large technological advancement from the systems they had before and would be repeated for generations.  was a large technological advancement from the systems they had before and would be repeated for generations.

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Ancient Neo-Babylonian Sundial

Many civilizations had made many types of sundials, but the first known sundial was developed in 800 by the Neo-Babylonian astronomer Berossus. A sundial is a stick, pillar, or pyramid planted in the ground with the point(or Gnomon, Greek for “pointer”)casting a shadow showing the progress of the sun moving in the sky, telling the time. The Neo-Babylonians were very involved in mathematics and astronomy which led to the creation of the sixty-minute hour, the seven-day week, and dividing the day into twelve equal parts. At first, people used it to locate the sun when humans would use the estimated time for religious purposes, like time to pray or when animals had to be milked. A sundial was an important aspect of human life making it effective in how we measure time today.

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Ancient Babylonian Laws
King Hammurabi of Babylon invented the Code of Laws. The Code of Hammurabi was invented in Babylon, Ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). Babylon’s remains now lie “on the Euphrates River about 55 miles (88 km) south of Baghdad, near the modern town of Al-Hillah, Iraq” (Encyclopædia Britannica). Hammurabi came to the Babylonian throne around 1792 BC. He focused his efforts on expansion and the military. The Code of Laws was invented to provide more order in Babylonian society. It dealt with things such as trade, slave treatment, social class, and the rights of women. The guiding principle was, “You shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (Gale In Context: World History). As stated in the Britannica article Code of Hammurabi, “Code of Hammurabi, the most complete and perfect extant collection of Babylonian laws, developed during the reign of Hammurabi (1792–1750 BCE) of the 1st dynasty of Babylon.” The Code of Laws was invented to keep order in Babylon, as there was no justice system at the time. The Code of Laws helped usher in a new layer of protection and peace.

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The Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi (video)

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The Code of Laws was the first set of written laws. The United States of America has taken that idea and written down its own laws. As stated in the article Constitutional Convention by Encyclopædia Britannica, “The Constitution was written during the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by 55 delegates to a Constitutional Convention that was called ostensibly to amend the Articles of Confederation (1781–89), the country’s first written constitution.” It is used today as a set of rules that state what happens to people if they commit certain crimes, among other regulations set in place. It also tells people what their rights and freedoms are. The Constitution of the United States is used by the judicial branch of the government (the Supreme Court), American lawyers, and judges of the court. They use it as basic living guidelines to outline the basics of the law. The constitution of the United States of America is used in its respective country, the United States of America (Constitution of the United States).

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Modern irrigation systems use pipes, dams, and pumping stations. These systems carry water throughout different countries and states all over the world. The major pipes that do this are called the mains. The mains are huge pipes that carry water from far distances. In irrigation, pumping systems are used to transport water from place to place. On the other hand, dams are used to store water by making use of barricades. This type of irrigation is required when there is more than 10 inches of rainfall per year. A key element to a successful irrigation system is a stable water supply. In everyday life, irrigation is used in plumbing, to control the flow of certain rivers, and to water crops. Irrigation systems also drain excess water away to prevent salt from spreading, as an excess in salt can negatively affect the growth of plants. In this way, irrigation is not only used for farming, but in our everyday lives.

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“Code of Hammurabi”-Britannica School

“Cuneiform Law”-Britannica School

“Code of Hammurabi”-Gale in Context

“Hammurabi”-Gale in Context

“Constitutional Convention”-Britannica School

“Constitution of the United States of America”-Britannica School

“The Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi (video)”-Khan Academy

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~ Ancient Middle East Lyre - Sumerian ~

There are many different kinds of instruments in the world today, but the lyre is the world’s oldest stringed instrument. The lyre is very similar to a harp because of its beautiful box-like body and its harmonical strings. Some lyres can reach the height of 40 inches. The lyre was invented by the Sumerians of ancient Sumer in the ancient land between the Tigris and Euphrates RIvers called Mesopotamia. Today  Mesopotamia would be between Iraq, and Iran, and near Kuwait, Turkey, and Syria. The purpose of the lyre was to accompany singing, music, rituals, or parties.The lyre was also used for solo playing. The lyre was first invented in ancient Iraq and was made out of a wooden soundboard. As time passed, the lyre was changed around 3200 B.C.E. “As an attribute of Apollo, the god of prophecy and music, the lyre to the ancient Greeks symbolized wisdom and moderation” (Britannica).

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Ancient Chariots

The chariot was first developed by the Assyrians around two thousand B.C. The first type of chariot was heavy and pulled by onagers (wild donkey). It was not fast. The wheels were made of solid wood, and could have two to four wheels on it. The early chariots were mainly used to transport officers to battle. Chariots mostly belonged to men of high rank, they were considered a status symbol. Later on chariots got lighter and were starting to use horses instead of onagers. They called it a four-wheel battle car, meaning that they used it for war. Chariots were used for transportation, war, hunting, and Olympic racing. They helped them have higher agility during warfare, and be able to move items from one place to another.

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~ Modern Harp ~

The modern harp and the ancient lyre have a lot of connections which makes them alike. They are very comparable. The Lyre is a stringed instrument and so is the harp. They also have their differences such as the harp is bigger and the lyre isn’t as big because of how it was made and played a long ago. The harp is used to entertain people at concerts, shows, at home, etc. The lyre was also used to entertain people but in a different way. The lyre was used perhaps only for special dances and rituals. The harp has a wooden border with strings in the middle as the lyre also does except it’s shaped differently. People today now play it for fun, and they can get good at playing the harp. An example of a famous person who plays the harp is Loreena McKennit. She is a well-known professional player. The modern harp is different from the lyre in many ways including that it's not as old, it's made out of different materials, and it's much bigger.

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By 1300, the first clocks were built,  and people wanted to be more precise with the time. There was a problem with that; clocks and watches were prone to be inaccurate and too big. Clockmakers used heavy metals first such as iron which made clocks especially heavy and big,  and too big to put in houses. As clocks quickly developed, clockmakers learned to use lighter metals such as brass, steel, and silver. This eventually led to the creation of the watch and smaller-scaled clocks. Around 1400, spring-powered clocks were made straight after smaller-scaled clocks were formed. Spring-powered clocks were smaller and lighter. Two designs that helped power the spring-powered clock were the spring coil, and the fusee which made making even more miniature clocks a possibility.  All clockmakers arrange parts in a strict spatial and logical order. By 1650, scientists used their talents to make clocks more accurate. The oldest still standing pendulum clock was made in 1657 at The Hague by Salomon Coster. After the oldest pendulum clock was made, a fellow Dutchman, Christiaan Huygens, made a theory on the design of the pendulum. “Almost immediately afterward, a rush of different modifications were made to the clock, for example, the Pinwheel escapement, anchor escapements, regulation of the length of the pendulum, balance spring, and dead-beat escapements ensued promptly”( Gale In Context World History ) The next biggest problem that clockmakers faced was when English sailors wanted to have a more “accurate analysis” of longitude while they were at sea. The British Parliament at the time declared a huge cash prize for some of the most skilled clockmakers, mathematicians, and scientists who spent loads of time making the new and improved clocks. The first person to adjust was clockmaker, John Harrison.

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Ancient Akkadian Military Strategy
Sargon the great of Agade invented his own military strategy. Sargon’s army broke down the opposing city walls so that other cities could not defend themselves anymore. After that, they would send in a main force to take over the rest of the city. The main force included spear pairs and archer pairs. Spear pairs were composed of two soldiers, one in the front and one in the back. The one in the front would hold a shield while the one in the back held a spear over the shield. The archer pairs were composed of the same idea as the spear pairs but instead of someone holding a spear in the back, there was an archer.

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“Clocks and watches”- Gale in Context World History

“Sundials”- Gale in Context World History

“Sundial”- Gale in Context Science

“Sundial”-Britannica

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You may have heard of guerrilla warfare before, which was used in many wars including the Vietnam war, but guerrilla warfare was actually influenced by Sargon the great of Agade. Sargon made this battle strategy that was later adapted by the Romans, which the Romans called Turtle Formation, this technique basically works in the way where there is a group of men standing in the front with shields and then behind them is another group of men holding long spears poking out between the people holding the shields, then all the men would move forward in this formation. The Romans also added a part to this formation where there was also people on the sides holding two shields, the first one would be blocking themselves, and then the other one would be held up-words, but this shield was longer than the one that they would hold in front of themselves so that it could cover all the men’s heads; this came in handy for when bows and arrows were used in battle. This strategy was somewhat one of the many things that influenced guerrilla warfare. In Vietnam, soldiers used guerrilla warfare which basically means a little battle here and a little battle there. Guerrilla Warfare is warfare fought by smaller units such as raiding parties. Commanders have associated them with rebels, insurgents, mercenaries, and terrorists. This type of warfare focuses on raids and ambushes using light units. When battles were fought in home territories this strategy gave the home team an unprecedented advantage.

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"Irrigation and drainage" - Britannica School

"Babylonia and Assyria" - Britannica School

“Levee and Dike” - Britannica School

“Pump and Compressor” - Britannica school

“Dam” - Britannica School “irrigation” - Britannica School “water” - Britannica School “irrigation and drainage” - Britannica School History Alive! : the Ancient World: Teachers' Curriculum Institute, 2004.

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History Alive! The Ancient World. Palo Alto, Calif.: Teachers' Curriculum Institute, ©2004.

“Guerilla Warfare”--Britannica High/Middle School

“Viet Cong guerilla warfare”- Britannica School

“Ancient Sargon Strategy”- Gale In Context

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Ancient to modern Battering Ram

The battering ram was invented by the warlike Assyrians to knock down city entrances while in siege and they could also knock down walls and fences so they could get into the city to conquer it. The battering ram was invented and used along the Euphrates River. It was invented around the 9th century BCE and was built because cities were building walls around themselves and the Assyrians needed something to break them down. the battering ram attached to a hut on wheels to carry it. The battering ram was a great weapon from long ago. They would put the battering ram in a giant wooden hut, and swing it back and forth. In this way, they could make enough power to break almost any wall that stood in its path. The battering ram was an amazing weapon that was used to siege any wall in its path.

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"Lyre" - Khan Academy
"Lyre" -  Britannica School
"Harp picture" - Britannica
"Harp" - Britannica School
"Lorenna Mckennnit" - Zoomer

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Chariots went from using wheels made of wood to wheels made of metal and rubber. It changed its look and purpose. Henry Ford invented the first car in 1896, now Elon Musk has invented the first electric car in 2004. Britanica states, “Soon after automobiles were mass-produced early in the 20th century, they began to change styles of living. The automobile is still causing changes.” Cars are used today because they help to determine where people build homes, buy food, seek recreation, and locate businesses. Many automotive vehicles have been developed for travel. Gas cars produce exhaust, exhaust pollutes the air and kills over a thousand people a year.

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“Chariots”- Gale

“Chariots”- Gale

“Modern Chariots” - Britannica

“Modern Chariots”- Britannica

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The battering ram used today is so much different then the one used in 900 B.C.E. Although it does not look the same, it has a similar form… but it’s not used for wars because the strategies for getting into cities are different. For example, the police today use the battering ram to knock down doors and heavy gates to catch criminals.the military  uses drones to attack cities by going over the walls in the air. The military would go over the walls in helicopters and they drop inside the cities to gain access inside.

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Ancient Sculptures- Bas Relief

3-D relief sculptures were invented by the Akkadians. The purpose of creating them was to honor the gods, kings, and show great battles. An example of this is the battle with Narom-Sin. He is seen on a stele with soldiers behind him and people of the village that were begging for mercy. The sculptures are also used to preserve and tell history. The relief sculpture was first invented in Sumer. Then the Akkadians took it and upgraded it into what we call 3-D relief sculptures. They were invented around 2300 B.C.E. This was about the time the Akkadians rose to power. Around this time, they were able to use a larger, better kind of stone. This stone was called diorite. This let them create the better, bigger statues that people wanted. More people started to want these relief sculptures so they started to make more and by doing that it increased the popularity a lot.

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“battering ram” Britannica

History Alive!-The Ancient World by Teachers’ Curriculum Institute. Published July 2010.

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Modern Sculptures

The 3-D relief sculpture was adapted first to the bas-relief then to the statues we see today. An example of this is the Statue of Liberty. It has also been adapted to the 3-D printer. This new modern art is different because instead of clay sculptures we use new metal sculptures that could be about anything. The 3-D sculpture is used today to express one’s identity and feelings instead of honoring gods and displaying battles that went on. It is used today to create elaborate sculptures( 3-D sculptures)that are made from materials like stone, plastic, metal, and other materials. This is a form of art used to create pictures of the artist’s beliefs. David Mach is an example of a modern-day sculptor. He has made a sculpture of a giant newspaper. He also uses cars in his art. Sculptures are made all over the world because there are many different styles and perspectives that each person has. Goerge Segal, a famous sculptor, made his art in New York. The 3-D relief sculpture has changed so much from where it first started.

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Citations:

“ancient architecture”-Britannica School

“modern sculptor”- gale.com

"Statue of Liberty.", Encyclopædia Britannica, 28 May. 2020.

“steles”- History Alive!- The Ancient World- 2011 by Teacher’s Curriculum Institute

dec. 2021.

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Ancient Roads

Babylonian roads were first used by the Babylonian empire. The first roads were created as dirt pathways to travel long distances, to trade, and for other reasons. Roads were first invented all the way back in 3000 B.C.E. The reason the road was invented was that people needed a faster way to travel long distances and trade.  When they started using wheeled carts to carry lots of items for trading, they needed more space and smoother ground, so they started making pathways next to rivers. The first roads were mainly used for getting resources to travel long distances so that they could trade. When they invented the wheel, they needed a smoother surface for wheeled carts carried by oxen, donkeys, camels, and later horses, but before the animals pulled carts they rode on the animals. They would also make roads by riverbeds. The roads were mostly made where people would frequently travel. Roads started linking major cities at around 3000 B.C.E. Later the Assyrians invented the royal road which would make traveling more comfortable and quick for royalty.

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As cars and other vehicles started being invented, they needed a more paved pathway so the ride would be more smooth. About half the roads in the United States have a paved surface, and the rest of the country's roads are usually surfaced with gravel, stone or are still unsurfaced. Roads today are used for modern vehicles like trucks and cars to make easy transportation. Now most roads are more paved and less bumpy. In the United States, about eighty percent of passengers travel on roads and streets, and it is also true for many other countries. Roads are almost used everywhere in the world. Some richer countries have wider and longer roads, for example, in California you see a lot of long, and wide roads because the state has more money than most states. In different countries roads might be made of dirt, or they might have big potholes, in the United States as well. Roads are used in so many places in the world today,but they are usually located in some cities, as highways, and freeways.

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“roads and highways”- gale in context

“Roads” - gale in context

“roads and streets”- Britanica

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Ancient Sumerian Pottery Wheel and Wheel

Originated from the Sumer civilization. Sumer is located south of Mesopotamia and along the Euphrates River near the Persian Gulf. The pottery wheel was first invented in 4000 B.C. and the wheel was first invented in 3000 B.C. The pottery wheel was used for spinning clay so the potter could mold the clay into a vase or bowl. They created the pottery wheel because it was faster to create a clay bowl in an hour than to weave a bowl in 3 days. The wheel was used for transporting people and goods. They invented the wheel because people needed more support than the backs of animals.

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Instead of pottery wheels where you have to kick your feet to produce motion, people created pottery wheels that store energy.  Today we usually use pottery wheels for fun and for making bowls, plates, cups, etc. People can go to pottery shops and do pottery with friends or family. Today we use cars that have wheels attached to them. Instead of using wooden wheels today, we use metal wheels and rubber tires. Without wheels, we wouldn’t be able to travel because cars use wheels to travel and planes use wheels to land.

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“Wheel picture”-  Britannica

“Pottery and Porcelain”- Britannica

“The wheel introduced” - Gale World History

“The Wheel” - Britannica school middle