Inventions, Innovations and Daily Life
Why did the Sumerians invent cuneiform writing?
To keep records of business agreements and events.
This was the god of air and wind.
Who was Enlil?
These two rivers were extremely important in ancient Mesopotamia.
What are the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers?
This was the building material most ancient Mesopotamians used for their settlements (cities or towns).
What is mud brick?
This was the god of wisdom and writing.
Who is Nabu?
Name the three kingdoms we learned about from ancient Mesopotamia.
1. Assyria
2. Sumer
3. Babylonia
How did the Code of Hammurabi make things fair?
It made it so that the strong could not harm the weak.
This was the goddess of medicine?
Who is Gula?
These four countries currently make up what was once Ancient Mesopotamia.
What are Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait, and Syria?
Rank Mesopotamian society from the highest in society to the lowest.
1. Kings and their families.
2. Large landowners, military leaders, government officials, priests.
3. Merchants, scribes, craftsmen
4. Farmers, herders, hunters
5. Enslaved people.
This was the goddess of love.
Who was Inanna?
It tells us that the land was good for crops.
How did small farming communities grow to become the complex urban societies of Mesopotamia?
Sample answer:
Fertile land allowed Mesopotamian farming lands to produce a surplus of crops. This surplus helped Mesopotamia to develop into large city-states because they were able to feed more people and trade extras with far-off lands.
This was the goddess of the underworld.
Who is Ereshkigal?
Why are the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers so important to Mesopotamia?
The rivers would flood and leave behind fertile soil that was good for crops. They could also use the water for drinking and fishing. The river could also provide some protection.