Geography
What does fertile mean?
Great for farming; able to produce many crops
Cities in Mesopotamia were called __________, because they were self-ruled political and cultural centers.
City-states
The Sumerian economy was based on
trading of agricultural goods
The New Babylonians described "flies which collect honey". What were they referring to?
Bees
What is it called when you worship multiple gods?
Polytheism
Why did people settle and begin communities in the fertile crescent?
The land was great for growing crops and they had access to water
What did the Sumerian City-States fight over?
Land and water
Name three supplies Sumerians used to build and survive.
Wood, stone, clay, rivers, soil, crops, reeds
Mesopotamia is Greek for:
Between two Rivers
The tallest building in most Sumerian cities was a mud brick temple called?
a ziggurat
The Middle East (Iraq)
Name and describe the first set of written laws in history.
Hammurabi's Code - the rules were strict and harsh. Addressing trade, labor, property and family, the rules did not treat people fairly
At first, the scribes of Sumer marked picture symbols in pieces of what?
wet clay
Who had the role of reading, writing, and copying documents and scrolls?
Scribe
True or False: Priests were at the top of the Sumerian social hierarchy.
True
Mesopotamia is between which two rivers
Tigris and Euphrates
What type of people would be found in the lowest level of society?
Farmers and slaves
Name two Mesopotamian inventions.
Plumbing, the wheel, math, first written language, Ziggurats, battering ram
A busy market close to the city-center where goods were exchanged was called
A bazaar
Why were Ziggurats the tallest structures in most cities?
Because it was believed that Gods could use them to descend to Earth.
List two ways that Mesopotamia was affected by the rivers.
+provided rich soil for crops
+supplied fish for food
+supplied reeds to make boats
+supplied clay for building
-random flooding brought destruction
A wheeled battering ram
Before it was used for transportation, what was the wheel used for?
Pottery, irrigation, and milling
What is Mesopotamian writing called?
Cuneiform
Name two items Mesopotamians brought to the temples to sacrifice to their gods.
Goats, milk, ostrich eggs, lambs, rams, bulls, loaves of bread, dates