Unit 2: The Beginning of Civilization (Mesopotamia)

Question 1

What is The Fertile Crescent?

Answer 1

The Fertile Crescent is a rich food-growing area in a part of the world where most of the land is too dry for farming.
It’s a boomerang shaped region that extends from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.

Question 2

Where is the best farmland of the Fertile Crescent?

Answer 2

It’s on a narrow strip of land between the Tigris and Euphrates River.

Question 3

What does Mesopotamia mean?

Answer 3

“Between the rivers”

Question 4

Who was the first to develop a civilization?

Answer 4

The Sumerians.

Question 5

What is Irrigation?

Answer 5

It’s a system of watering crops to grow more food.

Question 6

What is a Polytheistic?

Answer 6

Someone who believes in many gods.

Question 7

What is a Ziggurat?

Answer 7

They were huge temples, they were dedicated to a specific god, whom the Sumerians believed ruled over their city.

Question 8

What is Gilgamesh?

Answer 8

It’s an ancient poem written in Mesopotamia more than 4 thousand years ago.

Question 9

What is The Poem of Gilgamesh about?

Answer 9

Tells of a great flood that covers the earth many years earlier, making it similar to the story of Noah in the Old Testament of the Jewish and Christian holy books.

Question 10

What does Cuneiform mean?

Answer 10

It means wedged shaped, because the marks in the clay were wedges. It was a Sumerian writing system.

Question 11

Who is Hammurabi?

Answer 11

He was the king of the city-state of Babylon. He recorded a system of laws called the Code of Hammurabi.

Question 12

How many laws were in The Code of Hammurabi?

Answer 12

There were 282 laws.

Question 13

What were 2 ways the merchants and artisans helped develop Mesopotamia civilization. Why are these individuals so important to Civilization?

Answer 13

The merchants traded the artisans work and by exchanging products they also traded ideas throughout the territory. Thus spreading of cultures and inventions.

Question 14

Were the scribes primarily the songs of the wealthy?

Answer 14

Yes.

Question 15

Who controlled the distribution of the land to the farmers?

Answer 15

The Priests.

Question 16

What was two of the main crops farmers produced?

Answer 16

Sesame Seeds and Wheat.

Question 17

What did Sumerians trade?

Answer 17

Wool, Cloth and jewelry.

Question 18

Who was Mesopotamia governed by?

Answer 18

The Kings.

Question 19

What are the 3 parts of Mesopotamia?

Answer 19

1. Sumeria
2. Babylonia
3. Assyria

Question 20

What were two reasons why the priests were influential in Mesopotamia?

Answer 20

1. Direct link to the gods.

2. They controlled the distribution.

Question 21

Why did so many civilizations arose in the area known as the Fertile Crescent?

Answer 21

• The rich soil that led to farming.
• The gathering of people into cities.
• Worshiping of gods.

Question 22

What was the purpose of creating the “Code of Laws”?

Answer 22

Because of the Large population, they needed order. It was based on eye for an eye.

Question 23

Why is Hammurabi’s “Code of Laws” important to the development of civilization?

Answer 23

It created civil law and eliminated “lawlessness”.

Question 24

Where was the “Code of Laws” displayed?

Answer 24

It was displayed in the center of the town.

Question 25

What were two of the three applications of the wheel and why were they so important?

Answer 25

1. Carrying heavy loads.

2. Chariots for war.

Question 26

What were 3 innovations developed for farming?

Answer 26

Developed the shoulder yoke that made steering easier.
Developed the system of dams and canals.
Added a seed drill to the plow.

Question 27

What was the order of The Social Pyramid?

Answer 27

Head of the Government:
The King

The Upper Class:
The Priests
The Scribes

The Merchants and Artisans

The Lower Class:
The Common People

The Slaves