Industry

This is the Sumurian Cuneiform  ( upper right side) and the pictograph writing (upper left, and middle) These both were invented by the Sumerians.

WHAT KIND OF THINGS DID THE MESOPOTAMIANS INVENT?

Mesopotamian had a highly developed industry.  Most of their work centered on the fields of agriculture which in fact was occupied 80% of their work force.  They produced the wealth that made civilization possible. With the surpluses from agriculture, a thriving trade sprang up among the cities of Sumer and their neighbors.  Merchants led caravans with barley and textiles to Asia Minor and Iran, returning with timber, stone, and metals. Sumerian craftsmen worked these raw materials into tools, weapons, and jewelry.  All of this trade required much careful planning, so record keeping was begun.  This required a system of measuring long periods of time, so the Sumerians invented calendars, which they divided into twelve months based on the cycle of the moon.  The Sumerians added a " leap month" every three years in order to catch up with the sun. This interest in astronomy led the Sumerians to develop the first Zodiac.

Record - keeping demanded that the Sumerians start calculating. Numbers were added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided. So the Sumerians development a sophistication with numbers that led to speculations about the nature of numbers.

WHAT ARE SCRIBES ?

Scribes are people who make tablets filled with writing that the Mesopotamian invented. They used lots of tools like the one to the left.

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