Life
What are two reasons given for why it was easier in ancient times in Mesopotamia to travel by boat rather than by land?
Easier to carry heavy loads; there were not many roads
After flowing through the mountains of Turkey and Kurdistan, the two rivers that form Mesopotamia flow through what present-day country and into what body of water?
Iraq; Persian Gulf
Name of the first group of people to inhabit Mesopotamia.
Sumerians
If a person was a scribe, what was his job?
Professional writer (copying text)
What does "Mesopotamia" mean?
Land between the rivers
How did the farmers of Mesopotamia try to solve the problems of a semiarid region and floods?
What two rivers form the region of Mesopotamia?
Tigris and Euphrates
Why were Sumerians able to have other jobs, such as tradesmen, merchants, priests, etc.?
They had a steady food supply because of irrigation and levees.
Who were among the most powerful people in Sumer? Why?
Priests; People thought their orders were directly from the gods.
What is an amount that is more than one needs for oneself?
Surplus
By about 6000 BCE, what had farmers built to carry water from the rivers to their fields?
Canals
Floodplain
What was one of the Sumerians most important inventions, and what was its name?
Who was the king of Babylonia that conquered Mesopotamia?
King Hammurabi
What is a ziggurat?
A temple at the center of each city-state in Sumer.
How did the Mesopotamians get stone, wood and metal?
They traded their surplus of grain.
What is the soil from the overflowing waters called, and why is it good that it settled on the land?
Silt; It is fertile.
Why was the number 60 important to Sumerians?
Created a number system based on 60...still use measuring time & 360 degrees in a circle
What were the laws of Babylonia called?
Code of Hammurabi
What is another name for the area of Mesopotamia?
Fertile Crescent
What did the people of Mesopotamia use to build houses and walls?
Mud
What is it called if a region gets some rain but remains fairly dry?
semiarid
What two things caused the rivers of Mesopotamia to swell?
What was the second structure built by Nebuchadnezzar that gained world-wide fame (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World)?
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
What is a time when farmers do not get enough rain/snow?
Drought