Bibliography

Royal Game of Ur picture: http://www.britishmuseum.org/images/ps121289_l.jpg

Mesopotamia History: http://www.allabouthistory.org/ancient-mesopotamia.htm

Printing Stamp: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://historyofscience.com/G2I/timeline/images/ms5106.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.historyofscience.com/G2I/timeline/index.php%3Fcategory%3DSurvival%2Bof%2BInformation&usg=__NIGXeLfpoKqLit5VWJ5-5eJv_ds=&h=945&w=481&sz=170&hl=en&start=18&um=1&tbnid=oLcr4ff0sxLOsM:&tbnh=148&tbnw=75&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dakkad%2Binvention%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

Mesopotamia Wheel: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/wheel.htm
-http://www.rifkind.com/Pictures/Mesopotamian_spindle_whorl.jpg

Ziggurat Information: http://www.wayfaring.info/2006/12/05/ziggurats-and-the-greatest-of-them-sumerian-ziggurat-of-ur/

Mesopotamia Sailboat: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BoREfO9UDVw/R1x1--0i7BI/AAAAAAAAABY/03xcEmvM4t8/s320/Mesopotamian%2Bboat%2B2500%2BBCE.jpg&imgrefurl=http://piratemonkey1.blogspot.com/&usg=__y3ad9Gfsy9kVnWxepbrvi5l54ME=&h=232&w=214&sz=23&hl=en&start=16&sig2=As_uWfAUwKunwMjRGyfZiA&um=1&tbnid=tU74xaB17_cDCM:&tbnh=109&tbnw=101&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmesopotamia%2Bsailboat%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=F_XkSuHUDeKetwe2v7zLCA

The Ziggurats of Mesopotamia

Ziggurats were forms of temples in Mesopotamia. This answers the unit question: "How does human need, interest, and curiosity drive human invention," because the citizens needed a place to worship. They created a way to create buildings on a large scale. Ziggurats were a form of temple for Babylonians, Sumerians, and Assyrians. Also, Ziggurats are thought to be made to represent the difference between the underworld and heaven. The people of Mesopotamia worshiped in Ziggurats.
We are connected to Mesopotamia. Instead of pyramid-like buildings, we worship in regualar buildings. The concept is the same though. People of the past and people of today needed a place to worship, and created somewhere they could do so. Ziggurats provided a place for the people of Mesopotamia to worship, just as people today worship in churches.

The photo above is a picture of a Ziggurat where people of Mesopotamia worshiped.

The First Wheel- Ur

The wheel was invented in Ur. This answers the unit question: "How does human interest, need and curiosity drive human invention," because the people needed a way to move things more quickly around the city-states. Wheels allowed them to move heavy things they may not have been able to move long distances with just their muscle power. This could allow them to transport inventions, or good that people need. People could also travel more quickly to share ideas with each other. People needed a way to transport things, so they invented the wheel.
We are connected to Ur of the past because we use wheels today. Sure, we put them on cars and bikes for transportation, but they were highly involved in the development of the industrial revolution. Wheels are important in mechanisms to power machines. We transport goods and people with wheels on cars also. Though the citizens of Ur may have used chariots, the idea is the same.

The photo above is a wheel used in Ur.

The First Printing Stamp- Akkad

The first printing stamp was invented in Akkad. This invention answers the unit question: "How does human need, interest, and curiosity drive human invention," because the people of Akkad needed a way to produce more than one copy of a tablet more quickly. Although not a lot of the people in Ancient Mesopotamia read, more than one copy of a tablet would be needed for the amount of people that could read. The multiple copies of tablets could spread information throughout their city-state. The people needed a way for information to be spread more quickly and efficiently.
The first printing stamp from Akkad relates to our world today. We do not use stamps to transport information, but we do use things so that people all around the world can obtain the information we have. To do this, we use the internet, books, magazines and newspapers. We are the same as the ancient civilization, as we all want to gain knowledge and share what we know. They used stamps to do this, we use other forms to do this, but the result is the same. We gain knowledge. We are connected to Akkad because we gain knowledge through the internet, newspaper, etc. while they used stamps to learn.

The photo above is the stamp used to make multiply tablets of information.

Sumer Sailboat

Even ancient civilizations got bored once and a while and needed entertainment. How about a board game? This ancient board game is from Sumer. This answers the unit question “How does human need, interest, and curiosity drive human invention,” because the royalty of the land needed a way to spend their time. They created the first board game, which was richly decorated with shell, bone, lapis, lazuli and red limestone. Human need drove the invention of the first board game in Sumer so they could entertain themselves.
We are connected with ancient Sumer. On a rainy day, instead of going out to play, one may pull out a board game. Just as the royalty of Sumer did, we have a flat surface with pieces to move around the perimeter of the board. The people of ancient Mesopotamia faced the same problems we do: boredom and a need to chase it away. They created the first board game to entertain themselves and we use board games to have fun today.

The photo above is what an old sailboat may have looked like. It was used as a form of transportation.

Royal Game of Ur

Even ancient civilizations got bored once and a while and needed entertainment. How about a board game? This ancient board game is from Sumer. This answers the unit question “How does human need, interest, and curiosity drive human invention,” because the royalty of the land needed a way to spend their time. They created the first board game, which was richly decorated with shell, bone, lapis, lazuli and red limestone. Human need drove the invention of the first board game in Sumer so they could entertain themselves.

We are connected with ancient Sumer. On a rainy day, instead of going out to play, one may pull out a board game. Just as the royalty of Sumer did, we have a flat surface with pieces to move around the perimeter of the board. The people of ancient Mesopotamia faced the same problems we do: boredom and a need to chase it away. They created the first board game to entertain themselves and we use board games to have fun today.

The photo above is The Royal Game of UR

The First Abacus- Babylon

The first abacus is thought to have originated from Babylon. This relates to the question: "How does human need, interest and curiosity drive human invention?" because the citizens of Ancient Mesopotamia traded with other city states. This would have required adding large sums in order to make the business transaction. The abacus would have aided the people to trade more efficiently with other areas. Also, it may have been used for architecture, to decide the dimensions of a building or temple. People needed an easier way to quickly add or subtract sums, so they invented the earliest version of an abacus to make their lives simpler.
We are connected the Babylon through their methods of quickly adding and subtracting. Today, we use calculators as our fast and simple way to add or subtract sums. Think about when you go to the grocery store, and watch the numbers add up on the computer screen. The person behind the counter would not have been using an abacus, but the computer helps us add and subtract things, just as the abacus helped Babylonians while they traded. We are connected to civilizations of the past, they invented an abacus to help them with math problems, and we use computers and calculators today.


The picture above is a very early version of a Babylonian abacus. It was used to calculate equations for trade.