Social Studies 2: The Fertile Crescent - Mesopotamia Flashcards
Meaning of Fertile Crescent
A region that stretches from the Mediterranean Coast to Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) to the Persian Gulf, that had good conditions for growing crops
Meaning of Mesopotamia
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
Meaning of Irrigate
To supply water to
Meaning of city-state
An independent state consisting of a city and its surrounding territory
Meaning of barter
Trading system in which people exchange goods directly without using money
Meaning of polytheism
Worship of many gods or deities
Meaning of ziggurat
Brick, pyramid shaped Mesopotamian temple
Meaning of cuneiform
Mesopotamian system of writing that uses triangle-shaped symbols to stand for ideas or things
Meaning of distinct
Separate, diverse
Meaning of prosper
Gain in wealth
What was the earliest civilization in Mesopotamia called?
Sumer
True or false: Sumerian farmers only grew crops and did not raise any livestock
False
Sumerian farmers also raised sheep, goats and cattle
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?
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.
What were some challenges for Sumerian farmers?
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.
What technology did Sumerian farmers use?
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.
How did irrigation help Sumerian civilization to grow and expand?
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.
True or false: Sumerian cities were ruled by a single king.
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.
What was the first city to form in Mesopotamia? How big was it?
Uruk. It grew to a population of 40,000 people.
Why did Mesopotamian city-states engage in trade?
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.
What technologies did Sumerian traders develop?
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.
Did men in early civilizations have higher social class than women?
Generally yes, but but women could also gain power as priestesses, or as wives to wealthy men or powerful kings.
Draw a pyramid showing the different social classes in Sumerian civilization and what types of people occupied each class.
Show dad.
Describe some important aspects of Sumerian religion.
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.
How were cuneiforms made?
By pressing wedge-shaped tablets into clay tablets.
