SIX COMPONENTS/ELEMENTS OF CIVILIZATION

(SLIDE 87)

1. Cities
~a location where a moderate to large group of people reside and work

2. Government and Armies

~ the ruling body of civilization that makes laws. A group of people who enforces the
laws created by the government and defend their ideals.

3. Religion
~ a form of worship when different people believe in different things. It is typically used
to explain daily occurrences and natural phenomenon.

4. Social Structure:
~ the different classes of people which make up civilization, including the lower class,
middle class, and upper class/royalty.

5. Writing:
~ A form of literature which was developed by early civilizations. It can be used for
fictional storytelling and record keeping.

6. Artistic and Intellectual Development:

~ The progress of people in creative endeavors such as the arts towards a change in style.
The progress of people towards their understanding of the world, their lives, and nature. 1

1
This is based on the slide by: Emily Stein, the Six Elements of Civilization https://prezi.com/nnn8nk6qeuyp/the-
six-elements-of-civilization/ (Cited on 09 April, 2016).
 THE SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION (3200 B.C.)

The Sumer Civilization developed from Mesopotamia and was the creators of the first
Mesopotamian village. Also, the Sumerians formed city-states, the basic units of Sumerian
civilization:2

Sumer-Cities: The Sumerians created many cities: Eridu, Ur, and Uruk. The cities were
surrounded by walls, built of sun dried brick, which offered protection from enemies. The
Sumerians believed that gods and goddesses owned the cities and Ziggurats were the centers of
the city-states. In the cities, the homes were placed accordingly to the Sumerians place in the
community.

Sumer-Government: The Sumer government was a theocracy, a government by divine authority.

The monarchs of the country were believed to be born by Ninhursaga, the goddess and mother of
all kings. The kings had a huge amount of responsibility which included: leading armies,
supervising the building of public works, and organizing workers for irrigation projects. The
armies, Priest, and Priestesses also helped the king rule. Sumer-Army: The Sumerian army
consisted mostly of infantry. These men wore helmets and carried spears. Also, the army was
arranged in phalanx formation which implies the Sumerians were professional soldiers. The
Sumerian army made great use of the wheel by using carts and chariots.
2
See http://history-world.org/sumeria.htm
 (A phalanx (plural phalanges or phalanxes) is a rectangular array of infantry, typically spearmen or pikemen. The
formation was typically close order so the weapons could be used to keep enemies at a distance. The first phalanges
appear on Sumerian inscriptions)

Sumer-Religion: The Sumerian religion was Polytheistic, a belief in many gods. When
worshiping the gods, the Sumerians placed idles, Votive Statues, to continue praising the gods
throughout the day and Priest or Priestesses supervised rituals. The Ziggurat, a place in which the
god lived, was located at the top of a large temple.

(The reconstruction of the ancient city of Babylon with the Ziggurat as the central temple
Source: http://www.bible-archaeology.info/ziggurats.htm)

Sumer-Social Structure: The Sumerian Social Structure consisted of three classes: nobles,
commoners, and slaves. The Nobles consisted of the royal and priest families. Commoners
included farmers, artisans, merchants, and fishers. The slaves worked for the noble families and
were used to farm lands.3

3
See: http://www.hierarchystructure.com/sumer-social-hierarchy/
Sumer-Writing: In 3,000 B.C. the Sumerians created a written, "wedged-shaped" literature,
Cuneiform. Using a reed stylus, they printed their language on clay tablets and baked them in the
Sun. This writing was used for record keeping and was also used in schools to train scribes.

(Invention and Evolution of Sumerian writing)

Sumer-Artistic & Intellectual Development: The Sumerians invented many things such as the
wheel, which aided in transporting products and people from place to place, the potter's wheel to
make containers, the sundial, for time, and the arch, used in construction. Also, this group of
people invented bronze by mixing copper and tin, and created a number system from 1-60.

(A Sumerian Sundial)
Greece-Cities: Greece has many famous cities and the capital of the country is the city of Athens.
Named after Athena, this city is one of the oldest in Europe because of it's 3,000 year old
recorded history. The Acropolis is also a popular site for many tourists in Athens.

Greece-Government: Greece's governement is a parliamentary democracy. The parliamentary

deputies elect the president instead of the people. The president's term lasts five years. Athens
Acropolis Greece- Army Greece had a requirement that all men between the ages of 19-45, must
serve in the army, because of the Greek Law. However, this law only applies to the people who
are citizens. Women are also allowed to serve in the army.

Greece-Religion: Greek religion is composed of Christian Orthodox, 97%, and 3% Muslim,

Roman, Catholic and Jewish. Religion is current in many places of the Greek society. Christian
Orthodox is present at schools. Everyday, children pray before starting classes in privacy or
publicly. Christian Orthodox-when people believe in many things such as: God the Father, Jesus
Christ, the Holy Spirit, Incarnation, and Sin, just to name a few.

Greece-Social Structure: The Social classes in Greece do not exist due to the country's economic
state. Greece is living through it's own version of a U.S. great depression. Since 2008, Greek
industrial production has fallen, retail sales are collapsing and unemployment is on the rise in
every aspect of business and government.

Greece-Writing: The Greeks were the first Europeans to develop an alphabet. The selection of an
alphabet appeased them because it offered a more precise record of the sounds in the greek
language. The greeks formed the alphabet from the Phoenician scripts. For example: aleph
became the Greek letter alpha.

Greece-Artistic & Intellectual Development: The Greeks invented many useful inventions and
some still aid us today. For example: the alarm clock, the thermometer, the crane, maps, and
levers, just to name a few.