Food Shortages in the Hills
The environment of Sumer was
low and flat, with little rain.
One factor that made farming difficult in the area of Sumer was
lack of rainfall
Why was silt a problem for the people of Sumer?
It clogged up the canals
The people of Sumer constructed moats to
protect cities from attack.
Why were Sumerian communities called city-states?
Each of them had its own ruler and farmland.
The name of Mesopotamia comes from its location, which was
The Land Between Two Rivers
Why did the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers flood?
Rain and Snow melted melted from the mountains
If you were in ancient Sumer, you might see a levee beside a river. Why was the levee built?
to prevent floods
What caused cities to attack one another?
built new canals, or blocked other cities' canals.
To control the water supply, villagers built
complex irrigation systems
Why did the Mesopotamians move from the foothills of the Zargos Mountains?
For most of the year, Sumer's soil was
sunbaked and hard as a stone
True or False: Did the villagers have to work together to maintain the canals?
True
What are natural barriers?
Mountains, rivers, deserts to protect from invasion
What two things did the city-states build to protect them from invaders?
Moats and Walls
What resources did Mesopotamia lack?
trees and stones for making shelter and tools
What did the Sumerians invent to help move water to the crops?
Irrigation canals
Why did the Sumerians have to work together to maintain and build irrigation systems?
to stop the silt from clogging and make sure the reservoir had equal water
What did the city-states construct to build around the city and what were they made of?
Walls and made of mud bricks
Why did the villages of Sumer depend on each other?
They cooperated to keep the water systems working.
The region where the Mesopotamians settle is called
Sumer
What did the Sumerians construct to help block the water and store for later use?
They constructed dams
True or False: Villages grew into cities with thousands of people.
True
Where were the farms located in the city?
outside the city walls
The two rivers in Ancient Mesopotamia were:
Tigris and Euphrates