MESOPOTAMIA

Mesopotamia (The Fertile Crescent) was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The rivers flooded semi annually and predictably to allow ample crop conditions, but the system was not perfect. Today the place Mesopotamia used to be is in the area of Iraq, Syria and Kuwait, as well as regions along the Turkish-Syrian and Iranian-Iraqi borders.

GODS AND GODDESS

• Artifacts Represent a god of the four winds and a goddess of rainstorms.
• Both god figures feature horns.
• Their clothing and possessions portray their duty and porpoise as gods
• This shows how their religion was polytheistic

CULTURE

• Major life events were celebrated suck as birth, marriage, and death.
• People were raised according to gender roles that separated their skills
• Recreational parts of life include music and dancing
• Families usually had 3-4 children

ART

• Mesopotamian art usually was in image of thing around the people that was a part of their everyday life
• Some creations were depicting a kind of fantasy world or a serene perfect world

FOOD

• The Mesopotamians ate barley bread, onions, dates, fruit, fish, lamb, fowls, honey, ghee and milk
• Sometimes they would offer the best cuts of meat they had to the gods as a sacrifice

CLOTHES

• Their clothes were made from leather, wool and flax
• Different types of beads were worn on the wealthy people's

GOVERNMENT

• The people of Mesopotamia were ruled by religious figureheads and war nobles
• It was believed that a wise ruler would respect and consider the people's opinions

PLAQUE SHOWING A HARPIST

• This clay plaque shows a harpist playing the instrument.
• The typical musician would have worn similar robes and cap to the one in this image

PAZUZU DEMON

• This demonic figure stands like a human but has the body of a scorpion
• The feathered wings and legs, talons, and a lion-like face on both front and back make it look pretty scary

CLAY TABLET AND ENVELOPE

• The information inside tells a story of two men who claim that they own the same estate
• The judge ruled in favor of the one that could produce documents that he was the owner
• The two judges stamped the clay with their seals to signify that the information it contained was true.

CUP SUPPORTED BY HERO AND ANIMALS

• Discovered in the Shara temple
• It was used to place offerings to the gods in
• It shows a the hero along with two lions which signifies strength

FOUNDATION FIGURE OF KING UR-NAMMU

• This king rebuilt and enlarged one of the people's most important temples, the E-kur of Enlil
• The figure is of the King at the start of the construction carrying clay over his head that would soon be turned to brick