Social Studies 2: The Fertile Crescent - Mesopotamia

Question 1

Meaning of Fertile Crescent

Answer 1

A region that stretches from the Mediterranean Coast to Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) to the Persian Gulf, that had good conditions for growing crops

Question 2

Meaning of Mesopotamia

Answer 2

Wide, flat plain between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (present day Iraq)

Thousands of years ago, the first civilization was formed here, called the Sumer

Question 3

Meaning of Irrigate

Answer 3

To supply water to

Question 4

Meaning of city-state

Answer 4

An independent state consisting of a city and its surrounding territory

Question 5

Meaning of barter

Answer 5

Trading system in which people exchange goods directly without using money

Question 6

Meaning of polytheism

Answer 6

Worship of many gods or deities

Question 7

Meaning of ziggurat

Answer 7

Brick, pyramid shaped Mesopotamian temple

Question 8

Meaning of cuneiform

Answer 8

Mesopotamian system of writing that uses triangle-shaped symbols to stand for ideas or things

Question 9

Meaning of distinct

Answer 9

Separate, diverse

Question 10

Meaning of prosper

Answer 10

Gain in wealth

Question 11

What was the earliest civilization in Mesopotamia called?

Answer 11

Sumer

Question 12

True or false: Sumerian farmers only grew crops and did not raise any livestock

Answer 12

False

Sumerian farmers also raised sheep, goats and cattle

Question 13

The southern part of Mesopotamia is close to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and is where Sumerian civilization started. Why do you think civilization began here?

Answer 13

The soil in this area was very fertile because the rivers start from the mountains and carry fertile soil called silt down from the mountains.

Each Spring, the rivers flood the river banks and spread silt across the plain, leaving behind a fresh layer of moist fertile soil which is good for growing crops.

Good crops meant food surplus, which is one of the conditions for early civilizations.

Question 14

What were some challenges for Sumerian farmers?

Answer 14

Floods sometimes wash away crops, and some summers were so hot and dry (sometimes with no rain for months) that the ground became very hard and plants died.

Question 15

What technology did Sumerian farmers use?

Answer 15

They used irrigation to supply water to their fields, so that their crops could grow even during hot dry summers. They did this by digging miles of irrigation canals.

Sumerian farmers also developed seed funnels to automatically drop seeds from seed funnels attached to plows that were pulled by oxen, which made planting crops faster and easier.

Question 16

How did irrigation help Sumerian civilization to grow and expand?

Answer 16

Irrigation allowed Sumerians to plant field farther from water sources. As farms expanded, more people settled in areas where irrigation made farming possible, thus leading to expansion.

Question 17

True or false: Sumerian cities were ruled by a single king.

Answer 17

False.

Although some Sumerian kings claimed to rule all Sumerian cities, in reality each city state was ruled by its own king, built its own city walls, and had its own government, laws and gods.

Question 18

What was the first city to form in Mesopotamia? How big was it?

Answer 18

Uruk. It grew to a population of 40,000 people.

Question 19

Why did Mesopotamian city-states engage in trade?

Answer 19

Some cities had fertile soil to grow crops, but they lacked other resources like wood, stone and metal ore. So they had to travel to other city-states to trade and barter for these resources.

Question 20

What technologies did Sumerian traders develop?

Answer 20

They invented the wheel, which they attached to carts to transport goods.

The rivers in Mesopotamia were also valuable for trade, as trader could use the river to transport goods over long distances. Sumerian traders also used sails on their boats.

Question 21

Did men in early civilizations have higher social class than women?

Answer 21

Generally yes, but but women could also gain power as priestesses, or as wives to wealthy men or powerful kings.

Question 22

Draw a pyramid showing the different social classes in Sumerian civilization and what types of people occupied each class.

Answer 22

Show dad.

Question 23

Describe some important aspects of Sumerian religion.

Answer 23

They practiced polytheism and believed that the gods controlled everything aspect of life, from weather to their crops.

They believed that their gods acted like people but were immortal and had great power.

They made offerings and prayers to make the gods happy, because they believed that if their gods were angry, it might bring war, floods and other disasters.

They believed that priests could communicate with gods, so their priests were an important part of their culture.

They built large ziggurat temples to worship their gods.

Question 24

How were cuneiforms made?

Answer 24

By pressing wedge-shaped tablets into clay tablets.

Question 25

How did cuneiforms develop from their earliest use?

Answer 25

Sumerian priests developed cuneiforms as a writing system for keeping records. Later, it evolved to being used for many different purposes, including for literature.

Question 26

What is the Epic of Gilgamesh?

Answer 26

They are Sumerian myths about their gods and kings.

Question 27

True or false: the first rulers of Sumerian city-states were priests, not kings.

Answer 27

True.

Later, military leaders started to gain power and became the first kings. But even then, the kings needed the support of priests to remain in power, so kings respected the priests.

Question 28

What did Sumerian kings do?

Answer 28

They ruled their city-states and were lawmakers and judge. They also hired and organized workers to build canals, temples and roads.

Question 29

What Sumerian city-state produced the earliest known code of written laws?

Answer 29

The earliest code of Sumerian laws was called Ur-Nammu, from the city of Ur.

Question 30

What were some Sumerian technologies and discoveries (besides the wheel, sailboats and seed funnels) are still being used today?

Answer 30

They made advances in math and astronomy.

They divided an hour into 60 minutes, and a minute into 60 seconds. They also divided a year into 12 months, and each month into 30 days.

They also developed the use of bronze by mixing copper and tin, to use as tools and weapons. This led to Sumerian military power and the growth of cities into large and powerful states.