Mesopotamian societies by the introduction of sustained agriculture

Answer each of the following questions with an essay. Be sure to include specific examples that support your thesis and conclusions.

1.

Describe some of the changes brought to Mesopotamian societies by the introduction of sustained agriculture.

2.

Mesopotamia and Egypt were both sites of ancient civilizations. Describe each civilization in terms of its political structure, religion, society, and culture. How can we account for the similarities and differences between them?

3.

Explain the differences and similarities between Phoenician, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian writing systems. Why was writing important to the development of each of these civilizations?

4.

How did the worship of Yahweh by the Hebrews compare with how the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, and Persians worshiped their gods?

5.

Explain the roles of women in Egyptian and Hebrew societies. Discuss similarities and differences.

Answer Key

1.

Answer would ideally include:
 
· Sustained agriculture in Mesopotamia required the building of irrigation canals for the crops, and thus required people to settle and defend one location. A division of labor followed. The concentration of populations led to the development of cities, with defensive walls, marketplaces, and public gathering sites such as assembly areas and temples. The emergent class system privileged priests, and a writing system was created to keep accounts.

2.

Answer would ideally include:
 
· For politics, this description should include governmental organization, political and geographic unity, the role of the military, and the role of the priesthood. For religion, it should include the role and power of the priesthood, types and attitudes of the gods, and view of the afterlife. For society, it should address social structure, slavery, family, and gender. The description of culture should include such things as art and folktales. The similarities and differences between each should be explained based on such factors as historical development and geography.

3.

Answer would ideally include:
 
· Phoenician scribes produced the first completely phonetic (i.e., sound-based) system of writing. At the core of this system was the first alphabet, which served as a foundation for many Western writing systems, including Greek and Roman. Scribes in Mesopotamia and Egypt did incorporate some symbols that represented sounds, but these were always used as part of a much larger system of ideograms. Answers should include some information on each specific writing system and, in the second part of the question, information on the importance of writing to religion, commerce, laws, and government administration.

4.

Answer would ideally include:
 
· The essay will probably start with the most obvious difference in how the four religions thought about gods—that the Hebrews are monotheistic and believe that Yahweh is the only god, whereas the other three religions are polytheistic and worship many different gods. Although all four religions incorporate animal sacrifice in worship, the Hebrews also worship their god through their treatment of one another, following a specified moral code.

5.

Answer would ideally include:
 
· Good essays will find that women in both societies had domestic obligations and economic opportunities. Most will note that women were never viewed as being as important as men. Some will likely mention the unusual role of Hatshepsut. Good essays will also compare the importance of marriage and fertility. While women in Egypt were frequently portrayed as companions to men, women in Hebrew society had a particularly important role in educating their children.