The people who lived in early Mesopotamia (the Sumerians) were more advanced than one may think a civilization from this time period would be. Located in a sweet spot between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, with access to the Persian Gulf, the Mesopotamia civilization enjoyed a luxury of soil that was “made fertile by the flooding of the two great rivers” (4). Living here brought a sophistication to farming that had not been practiced before. These settlers engineered levees, reservoirs, and irrigation canals to produce crop yields that are “comparable to that produced by American farms in the first half the 20th century” (4). Accomplishments in agriculture brought forth a truly organized civilization, which would develop an urban lifestyle with the growth of cities. The cities that developed were often built of brick and were surrounded by moats and fortifications for protection. Much of the cities were dirty, with no sewage systems or much clean water to drink. The cities were also littered with temples, built for the deities. With the rise of cities, greater amounts of labor were required to keep up with the increased demand for food. All of the …show more content…
Grains would ship well into the Near East, and the heavy stones and metal needed to farm grains were transported down the Tigris. Ultimately, these trade relations developed writing as the Sumerians wished to keep track of orders and shipments. Specialization became possible due to the amount of different jobs needed to keep the city functioning properly and included jobs such as weavers, merchants, stonemasons, and metalworkers. Much of the Mesopotamia civilization's economy was centered around bartering, with grains being traded to those who could provide tools needed to work the