Landscape Design History Flashcards
What is the Fertile Crescent?
It is one of the earliest areas to be settled and refers to the crescent shaped land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Why did people give up nomadic life here 8,000 years ago to develop an agrarian culture?
The land was flat and well provided with water by the two rivers and is prone to flooding.
Name some civilizations that thrived in the fertile crescent.
Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Medes, Persian and the Medeo-Persian empires all in their turn developed the ornamental garden in the area known as the Fertile Crescent.
What are the people of the fertile crescent credited with inventing?
Parks, formal garden layouts, terrace gardens and hanging gardens.
Who were the first people to settle in the fertile crescent (then known as Mesopotamia; now known as Iraq)?
Sumerians
What are Sumerians known for inventing?
Writing, agriculture and building.
What was very important to the Sumerians?
Trees
Why were buildings constructed on mounds?
To protect them from seasonal flooding, these later evolved into properly constructed terraces.
What empire followed the Sumerians?
Assyrians
What are the most famous Assyrian cities?
Babylon and Nineveh
What is flood and furrow irrigation?
Farmers flow water down small trenches running through crops.
Aside from religious significance what else did the trees provide?
cooling shade, timber, fruits and other products.
What led to the formal style of garden layouts ie evenly spaced plants in a straight line?
The flood and furrow method was used for irrigation which works best if the followed and straight line and the trees are evenly spaced.
What is a Chilani?
It’s an open hall supported by pillars.
What were parks often first used for?
banquets and other festivities and commonly stocked with exotic animals for hunting parties.
