Section Focus
• Sumer & Mesopotamia made many contributions.
• Made advancements in religion, government,
culture, and society.
• Many passed down
to later civilizations
and still used today.
The Invention of Writing
• Sumerians invented world’s first
writing system (cuneiform).
• Began as pictographs but
developed into symbols
for words.
• Scribes wrote on
clay tablets with
a stylus. Translate
The Invention of Writing
• First used for business then
government records.
• Also used to write books about
history, poems, and math.
Advances and Inventions
• Made other discoveries that changed lives, such as:
– The wheel
– The plow
– The sailboat
– Bricks
– Sewers
– Alphabet, Art, Architecture, & Music