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The Mesopotamians
Everyone should be thanking the Mesopotamians, even if they don't know about them. It is because of them that we are so advanced today. they were the people who began establishing communities, and they invented many of the things we take for granted today, such as writing, medicine, and even wheels. Although they may not be the first civilization, the are the most memorable.
The Mesopotamians began their evolutionary process by doing something as simple as deciding to lose their nomadicy, they settled down in a specific spot, ready to live their and stop traveling. But, as they began to live together, food and water supplies in their immediate area diminished, quickly. they needed a solution, and fast. they decided to grow their own food, that way, they would never have to go searching for it. As this proved a success, they began herd their own animals aswell, to reduce hunting.
However, with the farming being so abundant for some families, and lesser for others, the trade systems was invented. Families who had an overwhelming amount of barley were able to trade with families who had lots of meat, and vice versa, so on and so forth. When things began going so wonderfully at home, people figured that it would make more sense to trade with people form other lands, and receive new and foreign items. However, on each trip, people were taking large quantities of trading goods with them, so they needed a better way to carry them then just having them in a cart that was dragged across the ground. One smart Mesopotaimian discovered that putting logs under the cat made the process much easier and quicker. Over time, the edges in the carts carved little niches in the wood. this must have inspired another smart Mesopotaimian to add runners to the bottom of a cart, then fitting the notches on the logs to the runners. Over time this achiement kept advancing until they were cutting holes in the carts threading axles through, and fitting the wheels o the axles. However, with the advancement came an advancement in crime. A new set of laws was inforced, in hopes to lesson the horrendous acts.
But now, with the city becoming so overpopulated, the city was splitting into classes. The people needed one thing under which they could all unite, and so religion became the binding feature. the mesopotamians built their first real building structure, the Ziggurat, and in it was housed the patron God or saint. But, unfortunately, even under the light of religion, people began to become greedy. They started taking things without giving in return. eventually, the ruling king sent his men to invade other lands to steal their goods. This was the first type of warring.
People needed a way to communicate. After discovering that drawing pictures simply would not suffice, well knows scribes decided a way of writing, known as Cuneiform. Cuneiform was the first form of writing. The scribes were well valued in the community. soon, as the city continued to advance greatly, their technology did too. Weapons and tools became a very advanced product path.
The weapons hurt people, and so they needed help. The Mesopotamians quickly saw the need for some sort of medicine, and so they set to work. People were healing, and everything was good in the classes of people in Mesopotamia.
Posted by 22591 on 2/11/07; 4:30:09 PM
from the Riley dept.
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