Civilizations of the Fertile Crescent: The Sumerians
The earliest people to grow into a flourishing civilization in the Fertile Crescent (or anywhere) were the Sumerians. Just northwest of the Persian Gulf, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the Sumerians built a series of city-states that were later incorporated into an empire. Impressively, the Sumerians invented the wheel, irrigation, writing, trade, the sailboat, organized government, and a number system based on 60 (which we still use to measure time).
The Sumerians were a polytheistic society, believing in a few principal gods and thousands of lesser gods and goddesses. The had one well-known creation myth involving a great flood and a hero named Gilgamesh. This story may have been the inspiration for the Noah's Ark chapter of the Bible.
Some great sources for information about the Sumerians:
BrainPOP
The British Museum
Wikipedia Entry
LookLex Encyclopedia
National Geographic Article
What is the format of the project..and i want to do summerians, and is there more info than this?
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