Mesopotamia培训讲义.pptVIP

The start of Civilization Literally meaning between rivers, Mesopotamia encompasses the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, both of which have their headwaters in the mountains of Armenia in modern-day Turkey. The geography of Mesopotamia is such that agriculture is possible only with irrigation and good drainage. The standardized form of each cuneiform sign appears to have been developed from pictograms The early logographic system of cuneiform script took many years to master Syllabic script introduced Higher literacy rate During the third millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians Akkadian became dominate spoken Sumerian became technical text Literature, mythology, philosophy Mesopotamian mathematics and science was based on a sexagesimal (base 60) numeral system. This is the source of the 60-minute hour, the 24-hour day, and the 360-degree circle. The Sumerian calendar was based on the seven-day week. During the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Babylonian astronomers developed a new approach to astronomy. They began studying philosophy dealing with the ideal nature of the early universe and began employing an internal logic within their predictive planetary systems. This was an important contribution to astronomy and the philosophy of science and some scholars have thus referred to this new approach as the first scientific revolution. This new approach to astronomy was adopted and further developed in Greek and Hellenistic astronomy. Along with contemporary Egyptian medicine, the Babylonians introduced the concepts of diagnosis, prognosis, physical examination, and prescriptions. In addition, the Diagnostic Handbook introduced the methods of therapy and aetiology and the use of empiricism, logic, and rationality in diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. Mesopotamian people invented many technologies including metal and copper-working, glass and lamp making, textile weaving, flood control, water storag