2.1 Flashcards
First civilization developed in
Sumer
When was Sumer developed
5,000 years ago
Tigris-Euphrates Valley lies in
Fertile Crescent
Greeks named Tigris-Euphrates Valley
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia means
Between rivers
First Civilization made when + where
3300 B.C. in south western Mesopotamia
Tigris-Euphrates valley flows through
Turkey - Iraq - Persian Gulf
What caused flood damage
Melting of snow + overflowing of rivers
What made the land fertile and increased food supply even after flood
Silt from floodwaters
The Fertile Crescent gave Access to these 3 continents
Asia, Africa, Europe
-people & ideas a met & mingled at ….
Crossoads
How did Groups affect the Fertile Crescent when they arrived
They contributed 2 its history
civilization in Mesopotamia depended on
The Control of the Tigris-Euphrates
hero during destrutive flood
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Famine was caused by
Floods, droughts, hot winds
Together Farmers built ___
Dikes, damns, irrigation systems
Construction of a complex irrigation system required and brought forth a
Well run government
Who organized constructions
Priest and royal offices
What factors helped Sumer thrive
Government, religion, hierarchy
What where Sumerian city-states
Sumerian cites and the surrounding land
The Sumerians had few natural resources so they used __ & __ as the building block of many things
Clay and water bricks
Sumerian cities had broad avenue for their
Large parades
Large Sumerian temples that reached the sky
Ziggurats
Statues of gods and goddesses
Shrines
Each ___ had a chief god/goddess
City
Lived in palaces
Rulers
Lived in tiny house
Sumerian citizens
People who had the same trade ___
Lived on the same street
Ancestor of today’s shopping mall
Bazaar
____ made Sumerian cities rich
Trade
Traders used ____ for carrying goods
Wheeled carts
Rivaling city-states battled for control of
Land & Water
Form of government led by kings and queens born into their title
Monarchy
Rulers maintained these 3 things
City walls, irrigation, war/laws
Rulers employed _____ for smaller tasks
Scribes
Rulers had ____ duties as ___________
Religious Priest-kings
Each Sumerian city-states had ______ for their social class
Hierarchies
Ruling families were considered
High class
Scribes merchants etc were considered
Middle class
The majority were
Peasant farmers
Farmers tended _______ land or _______ land
Their own The king’s
The enslaved people were _____ or ____
Captured at war __________ worked to pay their debts
Women in Mesopotamia had a higher social status early on in Sumer since
Sumerian also worshiped goddesses
The Sumerian religion was
Polytheism
Polytheistic means
Believes in multiple gods
Sumerians believed that gods/goddesses controlled __________
All aspects of life
Sumerians believed that gods/goddesses behaved _________
Like ordinary people
Sumerian’s religious duty was to __________
Keep gods and goddesses happy
At new year the king won _____
Inanna’s favor
This ritual at new year was supposed to make the year
Fruitful and prosperous
Sumerian believed in an _____ in the ____ at death
Afterlife in the underworld
Sumerian writing
Cuneiform
Cuneiform was written by
Scribes
______ got many customs from Sumerians and altered them
Newcomers
Sumer’s traditions were ______ and _________
Adopted and spread across the Middle East
Sumerians used geometry and Astronomy for making _____ and predicting ____
Calendars. Eclipses
Sumerian’s number system was based on the number
60
Astronomy was done by
Priests
Sumerians shaped wet clay into
Pottery
Was used for tools and weapons
Bronze
Used to weave cloth
Looms
Some art Sumerians made are
Instruments Jewlery and statues
Sumerian signed documents using
Cylinder seals rolled onto wet clay
Sumer had rich
Oral literature
When Sumerian city states were conquered the ____ disappeared but the ____ survived
Language
Ideas & Inventions
Sumerian heritage was passed on through
Mesopotamians
Greeks & Romans
Western World
Sumerian knowledge and achievements were preserved and furthered, they shape
The western world today
Fertile Crescent is now
Iraq
