As the world’s earliest civilization, Ancient Mesopotamia’s innovations continue to affect the world. It made vital contributions in fields like science, mathematics and astronomy; they even developed a writing system. The early Mesopotamian civilization was known for inventing the first 30-day lunar calendar. Using the phases of the Moon, they counted 12 lunar months as a year. Moreover, Mesopotamians first observed a seven-day week. The invention of the calendar was a remarkable contribution that later had a major influence on our modern calendar. The Mesopotamians also developed mathematics to a very advanced level and created the sexagesimal system for the calculation of time and angles. This system is still practical, because of the multiply divisibility of the number 60. For example, in modern times we still use 60-minute hours, 24-hour days and the 360-degree circle. The Mesopotamians developed theories to measure the area of solids and shapes, and the circumference of circles. The Mesopotamian’ s achievements laid many of the foundations for modern mathematics. One of the most remarkable contributions was the development of the first historically significant writing system of the Middle East known as cuneiform. They wrote with a stylus on special tablets of soft, wet clay, because it was the perfect surface on which to leave marks. The fact that people started to use soft clay not only for bricks and jars, but also for the writing, implied their intellect and
As the world’s earliest civilization, Ancient Mesopotamia’s innovations continue to affect the world. It made vital contributions in fields like science, mathematics and astronomy; they even developed a writing system. The early Mesopotamian civilization was known for inventing the first 30-day lunar calendar. Using the phases of the Moon, they counted 12 lunar months as a year. Moreover, Mesopotamians first observed a seven-day week. The invention of the calendar was a remarkable contribution that later had a major influence on our modern calendar. The Mesopotamians also developed mathematics to a very advanced level and created the sexagesimal system for the calculation of time and angles. This system is still practical, because of the multiply divisibility of the number 60. For example, in modern times we still use 60-minute hours, 24-hour days and the 360-degree circle. The Mesopotamians developed theories to measure the area of solids and shapes, and the circumference of circles. The Mesopotamian’ s achievements laid many of the foundations for modern mathematics. One of the most remarkable contributions was the development of the first historically significant writing system of the Middle East known as cuneiform. They wrote with a stylus on special tablets of soft, wet clay, because it was the perfect surface on which to leave marks. The fact that people started to use soft clay not only for bricks and jars, but also for the writing, implied their intellect and