Ap World History Dbq

Have you ever wondered how things as simple as writing were invented? I know I have. Many people in our society take for granted the simple things like written languages, or laws. In around 3500 B.C., in what is now present day Iraq (OI), these new inventions were priceless. Many civilizations, including Ancient Mesopotamia, influenced our world today in many ways. Two contributions from the Mesopotamians Civilization were the cuneiform and Hammurabi’s Code.
Let’s begin with cuneiform. The ancient Sumerians invented cuneiform, which made it possible for change to be made in the future. Cuneiform, being the first written language, was invented over 5000 years ago (Doc. 1). Many Sumerians used this process of writing to keep records, document business transactions, and pass new ideas from generation to generation (Doc. 1). In other words, the early Sumerians were the first to use language in a permanent way. Writing on clay tablets took up much more work than most would think. You had to go to school to learn how to be a scribe, meaning only children of the highest people in Sumer could become scribes (OI). Cuneiform, other that for the reasons listed
2). Of course, he couldn’t of done this without his code of laws. Hammurabi’s Code wasn’t the first, but it was the most complete set of laws that survived (Doc. 2). Hammurabi’s code consisted of the “eye for an eye” or the “tooth for a tooth” punishment. That meant that if you sent pain on someone, you would be granted with the same pain. Hammurabi made life in Mesopotamia more fair as well. He made sure that priests and kings weren’t treated better that craftsmen or potters(OI). Yet, slaves were still treated worse than everyone else. If a man stole something from a craftsman’s he would either give back the stolen artifact, or pay five coins(OI). If a slave stole from a craftsman, he would be punished and have to pay ten