Preview

Ziggurats Research Paper

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
415 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ziggurats Research Paper
Ziggurats

Ziggurats, a type of temple and/or temple complexes, were first built in Sumerian cities. The temples were built on top of high platforms in the center of the city. Although no one has exactly figured out why they were built or what their purpose was, they likely connected with the religion of the time for use of worship or dedication. One of the most famous ziggurats was built in the Sumerian state of Ur and was built under the reign of king Ur-Nammu to honor the mood-god, Sin.

Religion The Sumerians believed in many gods, however they believed that one of the gods was superior to all the others. The belief is called henotheism. The Sumerians also gave their gods anthropomorphic characteristics. Anthropomorphism is presenting a god or gods in a humanly way. Sumerians were most likely the first to record their beliefs.

Religion in Sumerian society was overall fairly established by each city state. It also intertwined
…show more content…
They grew many crops as well as raised animals. These included barley, chickpeas, lentils, where, onion, garlic, cattle, sheep , goats, and pigs.

Trade Partners: The Sumerians traded widely for precious jewels and such throughout the Persian gulf. Some places included Anatolia, modern day Afghanistan, modern day Bahrain, and even the Indus Valley. The amount of wood was small throughout all of Mesopotamia, so the Sumerians often traded with modern day Lebanon who was known for their cedar.

Sources of Income: Most of the Sumerians income came from farming. However, Sumerians used some slaves as weaver, pressers and millers for other goods. Sumerian potters painted pots with cedar oil and used precious jewels the bargained for to bedeck the pottery. They would then sell the pottery and profit from

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hammurabi Research Paper

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages

    All of the Sumerians believe in gods!! The most favorite gods they have is Enlil, and Utu!! They control the sun and rain!! Each city – state would build a temple for each god!! The temple they would build would be built on a pyramid-shaped tower called a ziggurat.…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    These people produced crops in addition to the abundant natural supplies of their territories. Farming was primarily the responsibility of the women. They planted corn, beans, squash and artichokes in fields that were cleared by groups of men and women. They also grew tobacco in which men were the farmers. Roger Williams observed that men and women worked in combined agricultural labor but women mostly did the farming work. Women probably worked the most because they were mainly the ones that had to support the family but the men helped them. They normally produced two or three heaps of twelve, fifteen or twenty bushels of food. While the women farmed, the men hunted animals, deer being the most important- contributing to ninety percent of the meat eaten in the tribe. Men also fished and collected numerous shellfish like clams, oysters, scallops and lobsters.…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The pyramids are large like ziggurats, but they have smooth sides and don't have steps on the outside. The pyramids are built for the burial of the pharaohs and the ziggurats are in the center of the town. They led to the city's patron god.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    world hitory exam notes

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages

    -How do we know that the people of the Indus Valley traded with the Sumerians?…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    All three cultures had different items to trade. China traded salt, iron, fish, cattle, and silk. Nubia traded gold, ivory, ebony, ostrich feathers, and animals such as giraffes. The Olmec traded greenstone and marine shell. All three cultures did trade high value items although no items each culture traded are the same. China’s main export was silk and also had a well known trade route called The Silk…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mesopotamian and Egyptian were polytheistic. Polytheism means they believed in more than one god. For example, Babylonians of Mesopotamia believed in the gods Tiamat and Marduk. We know not just Babylon’s religious beliefs, but many Mesopotamian cultures gods because of historical writings such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Epic of Gilgamesh talks about Gilgamesh’s conquest for…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mesopotamia PERSIAN CHART

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Mesopotamia did not have a lot of natural resources, so they traded. Docks were built along the sides of the rivers so that ships could easily dock and unload their trade goods. The merchants traded food, clothing, jewelry, wine and other goods.…

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In ancient mesopotamian religions were mainly polytheistic. I believe because of this, it had major impacts on the story. There are many examples of polytheism in the story of Gilgamesh. Shamash is the sun-god, Adad is the storm god, and Ishtar being the goddess of war.…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    museum report

    • 581 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The religions of the Ancient Near East were mostly polytheistic. In Ancient Mesopotamia, the facts of nature were attributed to the workings of divine forces. Thus, there were many gods and goddesses. The forces of Taimat and Abzu created the four gods. The highest of the four gods was An, the sky god, the over-arching bowl of heaven. Next came Enlil, who could either produce raging storms or act to help man. Nin-khursag was the earth goddess. The fourth god was Enki, the water god and the patron of wisdom. These Mesopotamian gods did not act alone, but consulted with an assembly of 50 gods, wich is called the Annunaki. Innumerable spirits and demons shared the world with the Annunaki. The gods bound people together in their social groups and were believed to have provided what they needed to survive. The Sumerians developed stories and festivals to explain and harness help for their physical environment. Once a year came the new year and with it, the Sumerians thought the gods decided what would happen to mankind for the coming year. Otherwise, the gods and goddesses were more concerned with their own feasting, drinking, fighting, and arguing. They could be prevailed upon to help on occasion if ceremonies were performed to their liking. The priests were responsible for the sacrifices and rituals that were essential for the help of the gods. In addition, property belonged to the gods, so priests administered it. This made the priests valuable and important figures in their communities.…

    • 581 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Olmec Essay

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages

    3500 BC to 2332 BC, when the civilization fell under control of Sargon Akkad(Kleiner 40). The Sumerians settled in the previously inhabited valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in modern day southern Iraq(Kliener 32). This region, known as the Fertile Crescent was named for the quarter moon shape of the region. The unusually fertile soil allowed the early civilization to be able to focus on more than just farming for food to survive, as the Sumerians developed irrigation canals for crops, and learned to control the floods. Along with developments in agriculture, they charted the earliest urban societies, referred to as city-states that were surprisingly complex for the time period(Kliener 31). While urban, Sumer was not a unified populations. Instead, the multiple regions were under the rule of different deities, and the rulers were these gods’ representatives on Earth. The rulers controlled all communal activities, including agriculture and food distribution. As a result of extensive agriculture innovation, only a select portion of the population had to farm, allowing others to develop skills in a multitude of areas. This began the advent of the urbanized society, with the shift from family to community responsibilities(Kliener…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Mesopotamians named the Indus Valley Civilization, Meluhha. At first, archaeologists weren’t so sure that Meluhha was, in fact, the Indus, however when they did further research, it became a reality. The Sumerian tablets had written records of Mesopotamia trading with Meluhha and were first time it was mentioned by Sargon the Great. To further signify that Meluhha was, in fact, a city in the Indus Valley Civilization, Indian archeologist, Ratnagar, Shereen identified all the products from Meluhha that were written on the Sumerian clay models, translated by Kramer, Samuel Noah. Products included timber, gold, ivory,lapis lazuli, dar birds, haja bird which were all priced products of India and Mohenjo-Dara. Furthermore, Enki, a god in Sumerian…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cash crops included tobacco, wheat, rice and indigo. Women worked on farms. Church played a minor role in economy. Masters were higher up on the social hierarchy. Indentured servants were used.…

    • 1787 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    World History Id's

    • 8035 Words
    • 33 Pages

    Belief in more than 1 God. Sumerians, Egyptians, Mesopotamians all believed in many gods (were polytheistic)…

    • 8035 Words
    • 33 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    They both give high regard to the Gods. Gods have the most power and can bring good fortune, good harvest, good health, and good life. On the other hand, the Gods can take all these goods back and cause death, sickness, and plague. Sumerians and Hebrews both respect the Gods and offer rituals and sacrifices. What separates the religious beliefs of the Hebrews from the belief systems of Egypt or Mesopotamia was clearly their monotheism. This monotheism made possible for a new awareness of the individual. Man had the capacity to choose between good and evil. Sumerians practice polytheism; in fact, they think of the Gods as human. Eastern polytheism used images to represent their gods and goddesses. The Sumerians believed that the forces of nature were alive. The people couldn 't control these forces of nature, so they worshipped them as gods. The people also believed that they were living on Earth only to please the gods. “The Sumerian gods included Anu, the ruler of the gods; Enki, the god of earth; and Enlil, the god of the air, who separated heaven and earth. Enlil it was also who gave the Sumerians their knowledge of farming” (Hebrew”). Each Sumerian city also had its own god. The focus of the city was the ziggurat, a large temple, which was the home of that city 's god. The priests who worked in the ziggurats were the only ones who knew the will of the gods, so they were very…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Early Arkansas Tribes

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages

    All three tribes grew a variety of crops along with hunting small game such of turkey, deer and fish to provide food for their families. They grew pumpkins, squash, corn and a variety of different fruit near their villages. These tribes also learned how to grow water…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays