Was Sumer a Civilization?
Was Sumer a civilization? We need to know the characteristics of one to find out.
Stable Food Supply
Civilizations need a stable food supply. A complicated society can thrive only if its members have the food they need to survive. Sumerians made 2 things to help them make a stable food supply. The first thing is the irrigation system where the Sumerians built networks of canals, dams, and reservoirs to give their props a regular supply of water. The second thing is the plow. A plow is a tool for turning the soil to prepare it for planting. This was a slow way to farm. The Sumerians made the first plow out of wood. One end was bent for cutting into the ground to turn soil. Farmers pushed & pulled the plow along the ground themselves, or they used animals to pull it.
sOCIAL sTRUCTURE
Civilizations have a complicated organization, or social structure. A social structure includes different jobs and social levels. People at higher levels have better status than others. Archeologists found evidence that several classes of people lived in Sumer. At the top are people that include priests, land owners, and government officials. In the middle class are people that include merchants and craftspeople. Lastly, at the bottom class are slaves. The higher the level, the better home they have.
Government
All civilizations have a system of government to make life orderly. Sumerian city-states were ruled by kings which Sumerians believed were chosen by the gods to rule in their place. This thought made their kings very powerful and also helped strengthen the social order, Sumerians thought they must obey the will of the gods. Kings built temples and made sure irrigation systems were maintained. Kings had officials under them to help them with their jobs. Governors ruled over outlying towns and scribes helped record laws. The Sumerians were the first people to develop a system of written laws.
Religion
All civilizations have a religious system. A religious system has a set of beliefs, usually in a god or gods, together with forms of worship. Sumerians tried to please the gods in all things, from growing crops to settling disputes. Sumerians expressed their religious beliefs by building ziggurats. It was the king's job to build and maintain the ziggurats. The Sumerians believed that the gods lived in the ziggurats, and they made special temples at the top for them. Outside the ziggurat, they attached a long staircase so the gods could climb down to Earth. Kings & priests stood inside the towers to ask for the gods' blessings. Sumerians had many kinds of religious ceremonies.
The arts
All civilizations have a highly developed culture, including the arts. There were many types of artists and crafters in Sumer. Sumerian metalworkers made things such as weapons and cups. They also made decorative items such as mirrors and jewelry. Sumerian architects designed temples and ziggurats. Music was another important art in Sumer in which musicians played instruments and sang during temple ceremonies. Some musicians' favorite instrument was a lyre.
Technology
All civilizations create new forms of technology. The Sumerians' most important creation was the wheel.. The earliest versions of the wheel were in 3500 B.C.E where Sumerian potters used wheels as a surface for making clay into pots. Sumerians found out that a wheel flipped onto its edge could be rolled forward. They used this discovery to create carts with wheels for farmers and chariots for the army. Before the wheel, people had to carry their goods on sledges. Wheeled carts made it much easier to transport goods over long distances. Another advancing piece of technology was the arch. Arches added strength and beauty to Sumerian buildings. They became a common feature of temple entrances and upper-class homes.
Writing
A final characteristic of civilizations is a highly developed language. The Sumerians written language was cuneiform which comes from the Latin word for "wedge." The Sumerians made cuneiform around 2400 B.C.E. Cuneiform was based on an earlier simpler form of writing that used pictographs.
Was Sumer a civilization? Sumer had all the characteristics shown. Therefore, it indeed is a civilization.