Getting into Civilizations
Inventions/Jobs
Government/Social Structures
Economics
Religion
100
What does it mean when nomads/hunter gatherers “exhausted” the land?
They used up the majority of the resources there and it was time to move on.
100
Why was the wheel such an important invention?
The wheel provided for traveling quicker, the chariot, making farming easier, and other daily tasks quicker. Today, the wheel is used for similar things.
100

Explain why Mesopotamians built walls.

Walls were built for protection from others who wanted the resources that Mesopotamians had.

100
What primary type of commerce took place with trade?
Barley would be used as a type of payment. Bartering (exchanging services) was also common.
100
Explain some of the gods that Mesopotamians worshiped.
Each individual person had their own god they worshiped. Each city state had their own gods they worshiped. There were hundreds of gods that were worshiped.
200
Why did nomads/hunter gatherers travel in groups?
More minds to come up with good ideas, warmth, extra people to find/obtain food, shelter, and resources.
200
Explain the importance of cuneiform.
Cuneiform was the first system of writing. This record of writing is what helped us later understand the first known civilization.
200
Explain city states.
These formed inside different walls as individual nations. Though they often faught, different city states shared and adopted ideas. People were free to travel from one to another.
200
What did traders do?
Traders would travel on land or overseas to give imports (items that were made in abundance that they could spare) in exchange for exports (items Mesopotamia did not make). They would be gone for long period of time.
200
Explain what ziggurats were and why they were important.
Ziggurats were temples. The higher you were, the better the gods in the skies could hear you. People left gifts to please the gods.
300
Why were the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers so important?
The rivers provided fresh water for things like: drinking water, food, bathing, waterways for travel and trade, crops, etc. The rivers provided fertile soil with their floods.
300
Name at least two countries in the current day that are located on the same land that Mesopotamia once was.
Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey.
300
Explain who was the head of government and what their roles were.
The king was the head of government and made laws and decided when to go to war. People (of high classes) could tell the king when an idea was unfair, and he would be wise to listen otherwise they would likely kill or overthrow him.
300
List some other jobs that took place in Mesopotamia other than traders.
Potters, weavers, farmers, scribes, priests (who were doctors and teachers).
300

Who would often take the gifts for the gods? Why?

Priests, because they felt they were representations of gods on Earth.

400
What was so special about the land that Mesopotamia sat on?
The land was an exception of the land nearby, which was dry and not usable for much. This land was fertile from the rivers.
400
Explain what a child's typical day at school looked like.
It was a belief that if students performed poorly in school, they should be beaten by the priests that run the schools. Since education was so rare at that time, children generally didn't make a fuss of it because they wanted to have good jobs in the future.
400
List the five main social structures.
Kings, Priests, Upper Class, Lower Class, Slaves
400
Explain the importance of trade in Mesopotamia.
This was the first time people got the idea to exchange exports (items that were made in abundance that could be spared) in order to import goods that they did not make much of or any at all.
400
Who was Gilgamesh? Why was he important to the Mesopotamians?
Gilgamesh is widely accepted as the historical 5th king of Uruk whose influence was so profound that myths DEVELOPED of his divine status. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the great king is thought to be too proud and arrogant by the gods and so they decide to teach him a lesson by sending the wild man, Enkidu, to humble him.
500
Why did hunter gatherers/nomads make permanent civilizations?
These people were tired of living each day as a constant battle to survive. They wanted to settle down at a place with plentiful resources.
500
Explain the life of women.
Women were allowed to leave their homes, go the market, own property and businesses. They could even get an education (not in the schools, but a private tutor). Women could not vote.
500
Explain who Hammurabi is and what his importance is.
A king who was tired of watching changing and "unfair" laws, so he made a very long and strict set of "fair" laws.
500
Explain how this idea of trade is going to lead us to our next steps in later civilizations.
Trade forced people to travel away from Mesopotamia. Mesopotamians would meet other people and see other places that also had good land. This led to people moving away from Mesopotamia and settling in other civilizations.
500
Why did people want to please the gods?
People felt that everything good or bad came from the gods, so, they were constantly trying to please them in order to be rewarded.
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