Sumer and Mesoamerica are primitive urbanizations that developed independently in their religion, architecture, government, etc. and that makes each one unique. From the Tigris and Euphrates in 3500 BCE, the place of Sumer began and grew into what we know today as Iraq. Also, the Place of Mexico, which began along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in 3000 BCE. These two primary urbanizations are important to the world around us because they explain why and how places interact as they do today. Although both are innovative urbanizations, Chapters 2 and 4 tell us how and why these urbanizations developed from start to finish. Political power is essential for any functional and successful beginning of urbanization, such as that of the Summerians and Mesoamericans. In Sumer, the lines of power were the kings and temple priests. The mighty King Sargon in 2350 BCE performed religious rituals as did all kings and priests by kings marrying goddesses and being buried religiously. Likewise, in the Americas there were many powerful kings like Lord Shield Jaguar, around 725, who was known as a shaman and practiced overly religious pious rituals, but differed in such a way that those in Mesoamerica were harsher sacrifices. A strong government was in place in both regions, so they administered large urban works. In Mesopotamia, Sumer, the powerful rulers had to organize all the major canal systems and undertook vast constructions of religious temples. In Mesoamerica too, they had great administrative power, but they mainly administered different types of labor-intensive construction like large, massive temples, plazas, and the creation of islands. In Sumer, the city-state was not like... middle of paper ...... in 1517, when the Spanish reached Mesoamerica, destroying first the Mayan power and the Toltecs and finally the Aztecs . These two cities, although prosperous independently in their own way, helped create today's societies, whose religion and art are similar to Iraq or Mexico. Not only have Chapters 2 and 4 allowed us to understand what early urbanization is, but also to go beyond and think more about the difference they make. The governments that these two cities held are not dead but, even better, they influenced and shaped the government of ancient Sumer and Mesoamerica. It's the culture, it's everything that we still live in today and that our ancestors have long since disappeared and that we will continue to follow. Works Cited Spodek, Howard. World history. Third. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.