Money
Who kept track of the money?
Scribes kept track of the money under the order of king.
The main supply of water came from where?
The major supply of water came from two of the neighboring rivers, Tigris and Euphrates.
What is Trade?
The system of exchange.
These people were some of the only people who knew how to write and read.
Scribes were some of the most educated people, therefore becoming among the few who knew how to read and write.
True or False: Values were written quickly into law.
True. Values were written down by scribes.
True or False: Wood was very easy to find.
False. Because of the hot and dry climate, natural rainfall was scarce.
What did Sumerians do when they had a limited supply of materials?
They traded their extra food and goods for raw materials like wood, and stone. Even though Mesopotamia had abundance in agricultural materials, they lacked raw materials.
Were farmers practically slaves?
No, farmers were free peasants. They were poor, but they were not enslaved.
Seeds were worth a lot of ounces of _________.
Silver. Some of the currency included food and silver.
What made farming so abundant?
Farming was abundant due to nutrient rich soil that came from flood waters.
How were bulky goods traded?
Using rivers, usually Tigris and Euphrates. Bulky goods were traded through rivers because it was faster than using oxen and animals.
Most people were _______.
Farmers. Most people were farmers due to the agricultural abundance.
True or False: People had separate buildings that acted as banks.
False. Temples took the role of banks.
Did some farmers spend their whole lives on farms?
Yes. Farmers did spend their whole life on farms due to irrigation projects.
How were trade routes developed?
Through the search for copper and tin, which are rare materials. They were used to make bronze, a very strong and reliable metal alloy. While searching for them, routes started to form.
How would people pay their debts?
By selling themselves into slavery and settling the debt.
Could slaves take out loans to pay their debts?
No only non-slaves could take out loans. But if it wasn't repaid before the due date, and extra 20-30% was added.
With long hot summers, how did farmers keep their plant from dying?
Farmers used irrigation to water the plants. The water came from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Trade routes went all the way to ________.
India. When people were making oversea trade routes, it went all the way to modern India.
What was the name of the first king?
The first king was king Gilgamesh. He made the first city of Uruk.