Sumerian City-States 2020
Marist School's Museum of Ancient Cultures
The Museum needs Sumerian artifacts!
Because of your expertise in ancient civilizations you have been chosen as curators this term.
The museum only has space for a limited number of artifacts, so the Board of Directors has arranged a competition for its new curators. You must locate an artifact, research it, and present your findings. If you're successful, your artifact will go on display.
What's a curator?
Museum curators acquire artifacts for the museum. They know enough about the artifacts' construction to insure that they are displayed in a manner that preserves them. Curators also research cultural information about artifacts and interpret that information into displays that help the public understand the people who made them.
YOUR CHALLENGE
Fill the Museum with artifacts from the Sumerian city-states (2900 – 2300 BCE).
Research your artifact, its culture, and major events that happened in the area during that time.
Create a portfolio with a picture of your artifact, a map showing where it was found, a timeline, information on your culture, an annotated historiography of works you consulted, and pictures of your progress.
Present your artifact to the class, Mr. Hall, and Mr. Collier.
Complete Your Project in 5 Easy Steps
1
First you need to decide on an item that you think will make it into the museum.
Use the resources at the bottom of this page to find an artifact. Get at least one good picture of it.
FIRST WEEK TASKS:
1. Save a picture of your artifact to your network space or photocopy a picture from a book.
2. Write a citation for the picture like this:
"Title of the Artifact." Title of Website, URL. Date of Access.
3. Write down what your artifact is called, when and where it was found, and when it was made.
4. Begin planning your replica.
5. Document your progress--take pictures while you work.
PRO-TIP: If the original is really huge or really tiny, you can scale your replica.
You need to research your artifact's background so visitors to the museum will know more about it. If you're lucky, the source where you found your picture (in step 1) will also have detailed information about the item. If not, think about what your artifact represents--religious icon, food, game, tool--and look for information in the books.
SECOND WEEK TASKS:
1. Write about your artifact. Describe what it represents, how it was made, where it was found, and why an ancient person would think it was important.
2. Use NoodleTools to create citations for your sources:
Book - Author's last name, first name. Title of Book. City of publication, Publisher, copyright date.
Web page - Author’s last name, first name (if given). “Page Title.” Title of Site, copyright date, URL.
Museum visitors will want to know more about your culture. Search the eBooks and web sites for information about what was happening in the area when your item was made.
THIRD WEEK TASKS:
1. Create a timeline of the period when your artifact was made and add five major points (e.g. migration periods, wars, important people's births and deaths, disasters, ruler's reigns, founding of cities).
2. Hand-draw a map of the area where your artifact was found, and include landmarks.
3. Annotate your sources in NoodleTools as you gather them for your historiography.
Prepare your presentation and start writing your article.
2
3
4
FOURTH WEEK TASK:
Start your 3 paragraph essay about your artifact and the people who made it.
Create a slide show to back up your presentation to the Board of Directors
include a picture of the original artifact, your map, your timeline, the most important info from your essay, pictures of your replica and the process of making it.
5
Put all your work together for your presentation.
1. Bring your artifact and your information to class.
2. Present the information you gathered in your research.
3. On the map, point out where your artifact was found.
4. Tell us about one or two important things on your timeline.
5. Show pictures of how you created your artifact.
You will have 3 to 5 minutes to present, so stick to the interesting stuff.
YOUR SOURCES:
WHERE TO FIND ARTIFACTS
Chose the actual artifacts, not drawings of them.
Be careful to choose items from the proper time period.
WHERE TO FIND MAPS, CULTURAL INFO, and TIMELINE DATES
Use the off-campus logins sheet to find passwords.
EBOOKS (Databases)
Search from the main box for Sumer, the name of your city-state, a person, or even specific things like cuneiform.
Search from the main box just like you did in Gale eBooks.
Search for Sumer to find articles, maps, and timeline information.
PRINT BOOKS
There is a small collection of reference books at the library desk that you can make copies from. Just ask a librarian to see them.
Use your Ancient Civ textbook!
WEBSITES
Mr. Giotto - Sumerians
Human Origin Project - Sumerians from Mesopotamia
Mr. Donn - Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
University of Chicago - Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
Met Museum - Early Dynastic Sculpture (check the links on the right as well)
Penn Museum - Queen Puabi's Headdress
Grading:
You will be evaluated on four aspects of this project: your presentation to the class, the quality of your research, your article, and your artifact itself. Mr. Hall will grade each part of your project according to the handout given to you at the beginning of the project.
Example slide presentation - Hittite Stag Rhyton
Conclusion:
Consider these questions:
Why was it important to use so many different sources of information?
Did creating a representation of your artifact help you better understand the people who wore it?
What did you learn about your civilization during this task?
What did you learn from your classmates' presentations?
Even though you may not become a museum curator, hopefully you will see where things you learn in Ancient Civ might apply in the real world. You should have a better understanding of the ancient artist and a sense of style from the earliest cultures on earth. You will also exercise your ability to locate information in different forms and put it together so you can share your knowledge with others.