Sumeria: First in Many Things
Part 1: The Basics Ancient Sumeria was advanced beyond belief. Their achievements in agriculture, literature, business, and science are unparalleled in that time period. Unfortunately for them (and for us), their achievements in military matters left a little to be desired.
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First
of all, the Sumerians recognized the need to trap excess
water. Rainfall at times was scarce and other times too
abundant. Sumerian cities were close to waterways of some
sort, be they rivers or seas. The Sumerians built canals
from these waterways to the cities. A natural extension of
this idea was to build a reservoir to maintain a water
supply. This was the advent of irrigation.
Secondly,
the Sumerians invented the library. Other civilizations at
the time were writing a little bit. But it was the Sumerians
who were writing almost prolifically, about their religion
and their laws and their business practices and their daily
lives. They also recognized the need to maintain records of
these theories and events. They stored their writings in
what we would recognize as a book depository or, more
simply, a library.
Social Studies for Kids
copyright 2002–2024
David White