Education
Anonymous
Education
The temple served several purposes, most importantly worship and education. Each temple had an educational center, in which students learned mathematics and scribing (writing). The Mathematics taught, included simpler skills such as addition and multiplication, but also went on through to the more complex, such as geometry and square roots. Scribing students would spend many years in study, learning the intricacies of grammar and the thousands of cuneiform symbols. The Sumerian teacher was known as an ummia
Writing
Whether the Sumerians were the first to develop writing is uncertain, but theirs is the oldest known writing system. The clay tablets on which they wrote, were very durable when baked. Archaeologists have dug up many thousands of them - some dated earlier than 3000 B.C. The earliest writing of the Sumerians was picture writing, similar in some ways to Egyptian hieroglyphs. They began to develop their own special style, when they found that on soft wet clay, it was easier to impress a line than to scratch it. To draw the pictures they used a stylus, probably a straight piece of reed with a frayed end. An unexpected result came about: the stylus could best produce triangular forms (wedges) and straight lines. They soon found that a set of these wedges and straight lines, could more efficiently represent words and thoughts. Pictures lost their usefulness and became stylized symbols. This kind of writing on clay, came to be called cuneiform, from the Latin cuneus, meaning "wedge."
Cylinder seals
Cylinder seals were another Sumerian invention; they were first used to roll one's signature into the wet clay of a tablet, thus recording a commercial transaction or a short inscription. Over time, Cylinder seals evolved so that they could reproduce pictorial scenes such as banquets. Thousands of these tablets and seals have been found in excavated temple compounds
Sumerian Technology
As said before, there is always an argument, as to whether it was the Sumerians, Egyptians or Indus valley people, who invented writing, mathematics, calendars etc. Suffice to say, that Sumer had developed a complex commercial system, including contracts, grants of credit, loans with interest, and business partnerships. Moreover, the planning of the vast public works under their control, led priests to develop useful mathematics, including both a decimal notation and a number system based upon 60, which has given us our sixty-second minute, our sixty-minute hour and our division of the circle into 360 degrees. They invented mathematical tables and used quadratic equations. They studied the heavens, both for religious and agricultural purposes, and they created a lunar calendar, with a day of 24 hours and a week of seven days. Sumerians are also credited with inventing the Wheel and the wagon, as well as the boat sail.
Everyday Life
The average house of a Sumerian, was a one-story structure built from baked or Sun-dried mud-brick. It consisted of several rooms surrounding an open court, wealthier citizens lived in two-story brick structures. The typical wealthy house included reception rooms, kitchens, lavatories, servants quarters, and perhaps a private chapel. Music was an important part of life, instruments included harps, drums, tambourines, and pipes. Poems and songs dedicated to the gods were also very common.
Whether the Sumerians were the first to develop writing is uncertain, but theirs is the oldest known writing system. The clay tablets on which they wrote, were very durable when baked. Archaeologists have dug up many thousands of them - some dated earlier than 3000 B.C. The earliest writing of the Sumerians was picture writing, similar in some ways to Egyptian hieroglyphs. They began to develop their own special style, when they found that on soft wet clay, it was easier to impress a line than to scratch it. To draw the pictures they used a stylus, probably a straight piece of reed with a frayed end. An unexpected result came about: the stylus could best produce triangular forms (wedges) and straight lines. They soon found that a set of these wedges and straight lines, could more efficiently represent words and thoughts. Pictures lost their usefulness and became stylized symbols. This kind of writing on clay, came to be called cuneiform, from the Latin cuneus, meaning "wedge."
Cylinder seals
Cylinder seals were another Sumerian invention; they were first used to roll one's signature into the wet clay of a tablet, thus recording a commercial transaction or a short inscription. Over time, Cylinder seals evolved so that they could reproduce pictorial scenes such as banquets. Thousands of these tablets and seals have been found in excavated temple compounds
Sumerian Technology
As said before, there is always an argument, as to whether it was the Sumerians, Egyptians or Indus valley people, who invented writing, mathematics, calendars etc. Suffice to say, that Sumer had developed a complex commercial system, including contracts, grants of credit, loans with interest, and business partnerships. Moreover, the planning of the vast public works under their control, led priests to develop useful mathematics, including both a decimal notation and a number system based upon 60, which has given us our sixty-second minute, our sixty-minute hour and our division of the circle into 360 degrees. They invented mathematical tables and used quadratic equations. They studied the heavens, both for religious and agricultural purposes, and they created a lunar calendar, with a day of 24 hours and a week of seven days. Sumerians are also credited with inventing the Wheel and the wagon, as well as the boat sail.
Everyday Life
The average house of a Sumerian, was a one-story structure built from baked or Sun-dried mud-brick. It consisted of several rooms surrounding an open court, wealthier citizens lived in two-story brick structures. The typical wealthy house included reception rooms, kitchens, lavatories, servants quarters, and perhaps a private chapel. Music was an important part of life, instruments included harps, drums, tambourines, and pipes. Poems and songs dedicated to the gods were also very common.