ch.2 L16 pp.27-32

​Fisherman,Merchants, and Traders

• The Sumerians were among the first people to use ​sails for harnessing the wind to move boats

• Boats were used for trading and commercial fishing

• Docks were important places for businessmen and sailors to conduct their business

• Gems, wood, stone, and metal were imported because there were very few natural resources in Sumer​

Subject | Subject

Why do you think the people of Sumer made fish an important part of their diet?

​Trade in Sumer

• Early trade in Sumer was conducted by barter

• Barter: ​A trading system in which people exchange goods without money

• Trade helped city-states grow in wealth and power

• The Sumerians kept careful records of their business dealings

• Scribes: People who recorded information in writing

• Reed Stylus: A pointed writing tool used by scribes to write down sales on soft clay tablets

Subject | Subject

Why were other people willing to trade with Sumer?

• Small clay seals shaped like cylinders​

• Had carvings that identified the owner

• A fast, simple way to sign one's name

• The mark of a cylinder seal stood either for approval​, as on a legal document, or for ownership, as on goods ready to be shipped.

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​Why did merchants use a cylinder seal instead of a stylus to sign their names?

​Cylinder Seals

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​Artisans and Buyers

• ​Artisans: Skilled craftmen who turned raw materials into finished goods

• These products made up most of of Sumer's exports

• Artisans contributed to economic stability in Ur by producing goods for everyday use (jewelry, pottery, clothing)

• Sumerians were possibly the first people to use the wheel to make clay pots.

• The potter's wheel allowed a potter to produce pots of uniform size and shape faster than before

Subject | Subject

Why were imported goods important to artisans?

• ​A special craft in Ur

• An artisan would use white shells from the​ river and arrange them in a design like pieces of a puzzle.

• Pressed pieces into softened tar​

​​Shell Inlay

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• ​A bright blue stone

• After the main design was finished, ian artisan might surround it with lapis lazuli

• A shell inlay artist had to be patient and careful.​

Lapis Lazuli

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• Discoverd by Sir Leonard Woolley while excavating Ur

• The artisan who made the box used shell inlay

• This piece is one of the earliest representations of a Sumerian army.

Is the Standard of Ur a primary or secondary source? Why?

​The Standard of Ur

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