Sumerian culture.
Sumer culture really draws my attention. Sumer people inhabited are of the Middle East
where currently Iraq is. `. The geographical location, trade, social system contributed to
development of culture that would be very pleasant to live in.
Sumer people lived in the area of the Middle East where currently Iraq country exists. A
passage between continents and two rivers Euphrates and Tiger, significantly contributed
to the faster advancement of the civilization. Just like our civilization relays of fossils,
Sumerian depended on rivers. The river provided transportation, water, plenty of food.
People settled by the riverbanks, learnt how to irrigate the land and soon after city-states
were developed. Urban life offered safety, economic enterprise and learning opportunities.
Second major factor that contributed to the Sumerian civilization well being was trade.
They used rivers to bring building materials: wood, rocks etc. Sumerians who learnt how
to make bronze and had plenty of mood traded tools, weapons and bricks. Traders from far
away land came to do business, with them new ideas, technology, knowledge. Trade
certainly created the need for better communication, record keeping etc. Sumerians are the
first one known for using and mastering a pictographic form of writing.
They could focus more on trade than on warfare. Among people relocating from one place
to another, new ideas, technology, would travel as well. Thriving trade caused
concentration of people and wealth in the state cities. They were built by the river, which
provided food and allowed an easy transportation. Each city had a specific social
hierarchy: nobility, clients, commoners and slaves.