Mesopotamia: A Difficult Environment
The Northern land of Mesopotamia was ------ .
Made of hills
In Neolithic times, people in some areas of the world began ------
Farming
The farmers who moved to Sumer faced many challenges. One of the biggest problems was the ------------------------
Uncontrolled Water Supply
As Sumerian cities grew, they fought over the right to use more -----
To use more water.
---------had forced settlers in Mesopotamia to move from the foothills down to the river valley.
Food shortages
The sun beat down fiercely on the plains of Mesopotamia between the ----- River and the ------- River.
Tigris River and Euphrates River
One of the areas that had good conditions for growing crops was the rolling foothills of the ------ ---------
Zagros Mountains
Sumerian farmers were constantly struggling to grow crops to do?
To little or to less water
Sometimes, people in cities located upriver (closer to where the river begins), built new --------, or blocked other cities' -------.
Built new or blocked other cities Canals.
On the plains, ------ materials were difficult to find.
Building Materials
Over several thousand years, the conditions of Mesopotamia allowed the population to ------ dramatically
Grow Dramatically
Sumerian farmers began creating ------------------- for their fields
Irrigation Systems
Around the cities, the Sumerians began constructing strong walls out of --- -----
Mud Bricks
Mesopotamia had plenty of ------ which grow near rivers.
Reeds
Driven by the need to ---- ----, people moved out of the foothills and onto the plains.
The need to Grow Food
They built levees along the sides of the river to prevent flooding. When the land was dry, the farmers did what to the levees?
They poked holes in them in order to allow water through.
Most people lived in houses within the ------ ------, but the farms lay -------. In case of attack, farmers fled the fields for safety within the city walls.
Homes lay within the walled cities
Farms lay outside the walled cities
What were the four major problems Mesopotamia's faced as they attempted to survive in this environment?
Why did the Zagros and Euphrates Rivers flood in the spring allowing good farming conditions.
Do to the melting snow and ice.
Over time, the Sumerians learned other ways to control the supply of water. 3 examples of this are------------------
Building Levees, Digging Canals,and Constructing Dams.
The walled cities of Sumer were like independent countries. Historians call them?
Called them City-States