Vocabulary
What does neolithic mean?
New Stone Age
What does sedentary mean?
to stay still or in one place
Mesopotamia is located between what two rivers?
The Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers
What kind of food source does a civilization need?
a stable food supply (surplus)
What is the name of the first written language?
What was Sumer?
The first known civilization in Mesopotamia
What is a ziggurat?
pyramid-like temple
What is Mesopotamia is known as what?
The land between two rivers
What kind of language must a civilization have?
a written language
What is the name of the pyramid-like temples built by the Sumerians?
Ziggurats
What is a civilization?
an advanced stage of human society where people live with a reasonable degree of organization and comfort and can think about things like art and education.
What is a city-state?
an independent city with its own government
Why was the Fertile Crescent an ideal location for early civilizations?
It provided people with fertile soil and access to freshwater where they could create complex irrigation systems.
What do you call the part of civilization that directs peoples behaviors and keeps life orderly?
Government System
The Sumerians were known for their many accomplishments. What was one of their most famous accomplishments/inventions?
the wheel
What was Mesopotamia?
the area of land where the world’s first civilization developed
What is domestication?
taming of animals to use for farming and food
Does the fertile crescent still have fertile land today?
No, the water has dried up and turned the land into desert.
What part of a civilization creates new tools and inventions to make life easier ?
The Sumerians were polytheistic (believed in polytheism). What does polytheistic mean?
The belief in more than one god.
What was the Fertile Crescent?
the crescent-shaped area of land between the Tigris and Euphrates River ideal for farming and irrigation.
What is agriculture?
the practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and domestication of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.
Why is Sumer so important to our history studies?
It is the first known complex civilization
What part of a civilization focuses on beliefs, places of worship and gods?
Religious System
Unlike the people of the Paleolithic Age who were hunter-gatherers, where did the mostly get their food from?
Sumerians mostly ate food they grew (crops) and meat they raised (livestock)