Vocabulary
region of the Middle East that stretches in a large, crescent-shaped curve from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea
Fertile Crescent
pyramid-shaped brick towers
ziggurats
The term Mesopotamia refers to which two rivers?
Tigris and Euphrates
Iraq
The Sumerians mixed copper and tin to make what?
a wide, flat plain in present-day Iraq, lying between the Tigris and Euphrates
Mesopotamia
system of writing that uses triangular-shaped symbols to stand for ideas or things
cuneiform
What was the greatest benefit of Mesopotamia's geography?
barley and wheat
What is the capital of Pennsylvania?
Harrisburg
supply water to
irrigate
an independent state that includes a city and its surrounding areas
city-state
What technologies did Sumerians create to help turn Mesopotamia into productive FARMLAND?
irrigation and seed funnels
Name one job that each social class had
Upper Class: ruler, top officials, powerful preists, wealthy merchants, owners of large plots of land
Middle Class: Farmers and skilled workers
Lower Class: slaves
What does the nickname "Old Glory" refer to?
The American Flag
trading system in which people exchange goods directly without using money
barter
the world's first civilization
Sumer
How did Sumerians make TRADE easier?
wheeled carts and sailboats
What made priests so powerful in Sumerian society?
People believed that priests knew how to communicate with the gods.
What amendment gave African American men the right to vote?
the belief in more than one god
polytheism
poem that tells the adventures of a Mesopotamian hero
Epic of Gilgamesh
The Sumerians believed that their gods:
brought disasters and good fortune
Who were the first leaders of Sumerian city-states?
Priests
In what year did the Unites States celebrate its 200th birthday?
1976