Pictographs

1. Sumerian Achievements Pictographs • Earlier written communication had used pictographs , or picture symbols.

2. SumerianAchievements What is cuneiform ? • The world’s first system of writing • Used sharp tools called styluses wedge-shaped symbols

3. SumerianAchievements Importance of cuneiform ? • symbols could also represent syllables, or basic parts of words • Sumerian writers could combine symbols to express more complex ideas

4. SumerianAchievements Scribes • A scribe is a writer • Sumerians first used cuneiform to keep business records, to keep track of the items people traded. • Government officials and temples also hired scribes to keep their records. • Becoming a scribe was a way to move up in social class.

5. SumerianAchievements What is the significance of the wheel? • They were the first people to build wheeled vehicles, including carts and wagons. • Using the wheel, the potter’s wheel. • The water wheel was used to grind up grains like wheat and barley. It is also used in farming, specifically irrigation.

6. SumerianAchievements What is the importance of the plow? • The plow was another important Sumerian invention. • Pulled by oxen • Plows broke through the hard clay soil of Sumer to prepare it for planting. • This technique greatly increased farm production.

7. SumerianAchievements Architecture • architecture —the science of building • City centers were dominated by their temples, the largest and most impressive buildings in Sumer. This means that we can infer the religion was very important to the Sumerians. • They were made to worship the god(s) and to make sacrifices. • A ziggurat , a pyramid shapedtemple tower, rose above each city. • Bricks made of mud were the houses’ main building blocks.