Geography
Mesopotamia was located between which two rivers?
What were the temples of ancient Mesopotamia called?
ziggurats
Without the Mesopotamian invention of the ________, we may not have cars, bicycles, or even trains.
wheel
An ________ is a land with different territories, peoples, and city-states under one single ruler.
empire
What are some examples of transportation methods that helped Mesopotamians to move goods?
Why was Mesopotamia nicknamed the "Fertile Crescent?"
Fertile refers to the kind of land that was perfect for growing crops and it was known to be crescent or moon-shaped on a map.
True or False: Ziggurats could have 2-8 levels.
False
What number was the Sumerian number system based on?
60
A _________ consisted of a city and all of the surrounding farmland.
city-state
What was a professional writer called?
a scribe
In order to keep the land well-watered, and also to control annual flooding, what did Mesopotamians build to help them with this task?
They built irrigation systems, or man-made canals, ditches, drains, and reservoirs.
Mesopotamians practiced a belief in more than one god. What is this called?
polytheism
Mesopotamians created the first writing system. This writing system is called what?
Cuneiform
How many laws were part of Hammurabi's Code?
282
Name 4 natural resources that Mesopotamians traded with places as far away as Egypt, Greece, and Pakistan.
Possible answers include: grains, crops, wool, clay pottery, fish, gold, silver, and copper.
When the two rivers in Mesopotamia flooded, a fine soil would be left behind. What was this mixture of soil and tiny rocks called?
silt
What was the primary reason why people prayed to the gods?
They wanted to keep them happy so they would not put them in danger or send them signs of unhappiness (war, drought, famine). They wanted to stay on their good side.
Mesopotamians wrote using clay tablets for "paper" and _________ for "pencils."
styluses
Which crime brought a greater penalty: injuring a poor man or injuring a wealthy man?
a wealthy man
Upper Class: King + Family
Upper Middle Class: Priests + Priestesses
Middle Class: Scribes, Artisans, Soldiers, + Farmers
Lower Class: Slaves, Peasants, + Conquered People
Please give examples of ways in which flooding could be positive (or good) and negative (or bad).
Flooding could be good because it provided water to dry farmland and it also deposited silt on the ground, making the land perfect for crops.
Flood could be bad because it washed away entire crops or farms and it could even wash away villages.
Why were women allowed to become priestesses in Mesopotamia?
Women were allowed to become priestesses because goddesses existed and were well-respected...so it gave them more power in everyday life since religion was so important to them.
Possible answers include: the wheel, the plow, cuneiform (first language), the Epic of Gilgamesh (first story), the first surgery, the base-60 number system, the calendar, the sailboat, etc.
A former king, who later became known as a beast and monster slayer in Mesopotamian literature, became the first "super hero" in history.
Gilgamesh
Because of the surplus of food that came as a result of the invention of farming, people were able to have jobs like crafters/artisans, government workers, and religious leaders, or priests. This idea is called _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
job specialization