Characteristics of CivilizationEric Wilson

I) Agricultural Intensification The agricultural revolution was by far the most important discovery

in the old human world, and the intensification of farming furthered that and enabled humans to grow an excess of crops. With more food than they needed, they humans of the Neolithic and early Mesopotamian era were able to keep, tame, and selectively breed animals rather than having to hunt for their food in the wild. This lead to domestication of animals as pets and a seemingly never ending meat food source so long as they could also sustain a good yield of crops. On top of that, newly trained animals could be used to improve farming efficiency, further intensifying the amount of food that could be grown.

Mesopotamian Toolshttp://ancientmesopotamians.com/ancient-mesopotamian-tools.html

II) Specialization of OccupationsNow that food was taken care of, people had more free time on

their hands that was once used on nothing more than hunting/gathering. This lead to the idea of special jobs amongst those who lived in a community. Some people farmed and brought in food while others began dabbling in tool making and crafts like pottery and painting. Throughout Mesopotamia, rich sons (and sometimes daughters) could even go off to become Scribes, a rare and extremely valued job; as most people could not read or write for themselves.

Sumer Artisanshttp://www.funwithcy.com/life-in-the-sumerian-city-states/

III) Merchants and TradeTrade was fairly important in the Mesopotamian era, as it was

the only way of obtaining goods that people could not craft themselves, due to having their own jobs. By trading/bartering (and later through money currency), you could buy something from the local market! This was an amazing way of acquiring something quickly, rather than taking time out of your work to try and make whatever you wanted, where the product would probably turn out sloppily. This became even better in the later Mesopotamian era, as trade by ship became popular. This would enable people to trade with neighboring countries!

A bought/trader headdresshttp://www.historyonthenet.com/mesopotamians/mesopotamian-merchants-and-traders

IV) The Development of Science and WritingWith the ability to write, came the power to record data and communicate with others. People could pay for a scribe to ‘write’ down a message in cuneiform on a clay tablet, so that when the scribe’s tablet dried, he (sometimes she) could deliver the message to the chosen individual, a form of medium distance communication. Records could also be kept, making it much easier to recall sales/purchases, compared to memorising the information. Scribes would also be employed by Lugals (Kings) to record taxes from the people of his city.

Cuneiform Writinghttp://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/writing/home_set.html

V) Centralized GovernmentCentralised Governments were important, as they did help

control the masses rather than having multiple kings in charge of many cities, but it wasn't exactly the most important. This helped reduce the number of violent outbreaks and also unify everyone under one main God while each city-state could also have their own God to worship too. Likewise, this led to a more organised, constructive community. This meant that, as one unified mass, the Mesopotamians could begin focusing more one bettering their lives and the well-being of everyone as a whole.

Excerpt of Hammurabi’s codehttp://www.timemaps.com/civilization-ancient-mesopotamia

VI) Development of a State ReligionWith State Religions and the Government, people could be even

more unified than if there was only the Central Government. This gave something for people to believe in, follow their religion like they always have, while also following one main God and the normal city God. Religion was quite important at this time, but in actuality, there were no Gods that actually affected how the Mesopotamians lived; it was all nature at work, so I had to put it lower on the list than most of the other entries.

Mesopotamian Ziggurathttp://www.timemaps.com/civilization-ancient-mesopotamia

VII) Class StructureClass structure was important, as many people could use slaves

to do their manual labour, but I don't think that the class system was that important compared to the rest of the points listed. Many people didn't have excess money, and therefore had to do tedious work by themselves while others had work done for them. Rather than having a stepping ladder of 'poor to rich', I believe that a 'mutual ground' would've further benefit everyone as a civilisation, due to everyone working together instead of working for someone more important. This way more could be done as a group. Rather than constructing massive projects like the temples or other large buildings, people could have shifted their attention towards maths, science and writing, which could have furthered technology and sciences in the modern day, due to advancing everyone's knowledge of the subjects in the past.

Class Economy Hierarchy http://apworldhistory2012-2013.weebly.com/case-study-hammurabis-code.html

Citation I-ancientmesopotamians. Ancientmesopotamians, http://ancientmesopotamians.com/ancient-mesopotamian-tools.html. 04/10/16-funwithcy. MH Magazine, 25/04/15, http://www.funwithcy.com/life-in-the-sumerian-city-states/ 04/10/16-Hardnfast. “Kings.” timemaps. TimeMaps Ltd, http://www.timemaps.com/civilization-ancient-mesopotamia 04/10/16-historyonthenet. HistoryOnTheNet, 09/26/2014 http://www.historyonthenet.com/mesopotamians/mesopotamian-merchants-and-traders 04/10/16-Marie-Lan Nguyen timemaps. TimeMaps Ltd, http://www.timemaps.com/civilization-ancient-mesopotamia 04/10/16

Citation II-mesopotamia.co The British Museum, http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/writing/home_set.html. 04/10/16-Raia, P. “Class Structure.” CHW3M1 World History to the end of the Fifteenth Century. Alexander Mackenzie High School, 04 October 2016.-Raia, P. “Cultural Groups.” CHW3M1 World History to the end of the Fifteenth Century. Alexander Mackenzie High School, 04 October 2016.-Raia, P. “Government and Law.” CHW3M1 World History to the end of the Fifteenth Century. Alexander Mackenzie High School, 04 October 2016.-Raia, P. “Religion.” CHW3M1 World History to the end of the Fifteenth Century. Alexander Mackenzie High School, 04 October 2016.

Citations III-“An Eye for an Eye” apworldhistory2012-2013.weebly http://apworldhistory2012-2013.weebly.com/case-study-hammurabis-code.html 04/10/16