Topic 1- A Civilization Emerges in Sumer Flashcards
Where is the Tigris-Euphrates Valley located?
Eastern end of the Fertile Crescent.
What is the Fertile Crescent?
An area that stretches in an arc from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.
What attracted Stone Age Farmers to the Tigris-Euphrates Valley?
Fertile soil for crops.
What did ancient Greeks call the Tigris-Euphrates Valley?
Mesopotamia, which means “between the rivers”.
When did the world’s first civilization develop in southeastern Mesopotamia?
Around 3300 B.C.
What was the region in which the world’s first civilization developed in southeastern Mesopotamia?
Sumer
Where does the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow from?
The highlands of modern day Turkey through Iraq into the Persian Gulf.
What would cause the Tigris-Euphrates rivers to overflow?
Melting snows from the mountains (during spring/early summer).
What made the soil fertile?
Silt left behind from floodwaters.
What did good soil mean?
People in Mesopotamia could rely on stable food supply.
What was the Fertile Crescent called? Why?
The crossroads of the world because it allowed access to three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. This allowed it to also become the crossroads where people and ideas met and mingled.
What would happen when the rivers (Tigris-Euphrates) rose in terrifying floods?
It would wash away topsoil and destroyed mud-brick villages.
What was the long narrative poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh about?
It describes a great flood that destroys the world.
In addition to floods, what else did lower Mesopotamia suffer?
Summer droughts and hot winds, which could turn fertile soil to dust, shrivel crops and cause famine.
To survive the floods, what did early farming communities build?
Dykes, dams, and irrigation systems.
What inspired the rise of an elaborate, well- run government?
The construction and upkeep of increasingly complex irrigation systems.
Who provided the leadership in Mesopotamia?
Temple priests and then later it was royal officials.
What made the Sumerian civilization successful?
Successful farming communities in Mesopotamia, which grew into cities.
What were the elements that helped the Sumerian civilization thrive?
Fertile soil, water, the complex organization of gov., religion, and specialized classes.
By 3000 B.C., Sumerians were building cities. What materials did they lack and what materials did they use instead?
They lacked building materials such as timer or stone, so they built with clay and water. They used clay to make bricks, which they shaped in wooden molds and dried in the sun.
What brought riches to Sumerian cities?
Trade.
How did traders get to distant regions?
They sailed along rivers or risked the dangers of desert travel to carry goods.
Which invention did Sumerians receive credit for?
Sumerians may have invented the first wheeled vehicles.
What were the largest buildings in Sumerian cities called?
Ziggurats, pyramid-temples. On top of each stood a shrine to a particular god/goddess.
