Sumerians, Egyptians, and Chinese Contributions
Did you know that Sumerians developed the world’s first form of writing? That many of today's household objects were invented or used by the ancient Egyptians (lock and keys, combs, scissors, wigs, makeup, deodorants, toothbrush and toothpaste)? Or that for the last 4,000 years China has been the oldest continuous civilization on Earth? The Sumerians, Egyptians, and Chinese created flourishing civilizations filled with many achievements in writing, architecture, and technology that made lasting contributions to humankind.
Sumer is referred to as the "cradle of civilization” because there were many important inventions. Writing was one of Sumerians most important invention. Sumerians developed the world’s first known writing, cuneiform, which was also known as the written language of wedge-shaped symbols. It was used to record daily events, trade, astronomy, and literature on clay tablets by scribes who were the only ones educated to perform this task. Architectural innovations were abundant for the Sumerians. They used mud bricks in order to build walled cities, temples and palaces. Within these structures the Sumerians built arches, columns, ramps, and the pyramid-shaped ziggurat. In technology, the Sumerians developed copper and bronze tools and weapons. They also built irrigation systems made up of weirs to raise the water of the river, dikes to protect against floods and silt to clog the canals. The Sumerians survived for over a millennium, and their spoken language vanished without a trace. But their lasting contributions to humankind like the wheel, the sail, and the plow live on. The writing also lived on far after the spoken language died. Where would we have been today without the writing? Or the sail? What would our lives be like today if we did not have wheels for cars? These inventions would have been eventually created but it would’ve taken that much longer.
Egypt is referred to as “the gift of the Nile” because without the Nile, Egypt could not
Sumer is referred to as the "cradle of civilization” because there were many important inventions. Writing was one of Sumerians most important invention. Sumerians developed the world’s first known writing, cuneiform, which was also known as the written language of wedge-shaped symbols. It was used to record daily events, trade, astronomy, and literature on clay tablets by scribes who were the only ones educated to perform this task. Architectural innovations were abundant for the Sumerians. They used mud bricks in order to build walled cities, temples and palaces. Within these structures the Sumerians built arches, columns, ramps, and the pyramid-shaped ziggurat. In technology, the Sumerians developed copper and bronze tools and weapons. They also built irrigation systems made up of weirs to raise the water of the river, dikes to protect against floods and silt to clog the canals. The Sumerians survived for over a millennium, and their spoken language vanished without a trace. But their lasting contributions to humankind like the wheel, the sail, and the plow live on. The writing also lived on far after the spoken language died. Where would we have been today without the writing? Or the sail? What would our lives be like today if we did not have wheels for cars? These inventions would have been eventually created but it would’ve taken that much longer.
Egypt is referred to as “the gift of the Nile” because without the Nile, Egypt could not