______________ ________________ is a region of the Middle East that stretches in a large, crescent- shaped curve. In this area, there is a fertile plain called Mesopotamia.
Fertile Crescent
100
During the hot, dry summer, Sumerians used _______________ to supply water to their crops. They dug trenches so the river's water could reach their crops.
irrigation
100
Each city-state was a center of trade. Most trade was done by ________________, or exchanging goods directly without using money.
Bartering
100
The lowest class was made up of
Slaves
100
By 3400 BC, Sumerian priests created the world's 1st system of writing called ________________- by pressing a wedge shaped stylus into clay tablets. They used triangular-shaped symbols to stand for things.
Cuneiform
200
Mesopotamia means...
Land between 2 rivers
200
Early Sumerian farmers used oxen to cut trenches in the soil and they dropped seeds by hand. Describe how Sumerians developed a new way of planting crops.
Sumerians developed a seed funnel they attached to their plows and the seeds automatically dropped into the soil.
200
Traders often used _____________ to transport their goods.
Rivers
200
Sumerians practiced _________________, the belief in many gods.
Polytheism
200
Sumerian ________________ was originally used to record sales, taxes, & agreements.
Cuneiform
300
What are the 2 rivers that Mesopotamia is in between?
Tigris and Euphrates
300
Better agriculture techniques helped Sumerians produce more food and _________________ began to grow. In 3400 BC, the first cities began to form
Population
300
Name 3 technology inventions that helped Mesopotamia grow...
1. Wheeled carts
2. Sail boats
3. Plow
300
Sumerians believed only ________________knew how to communicate with the gods.
Priests
300
An important achievement of Sumerian literature was the _________________________. It told about a Mesopotamian hero named Gilgamesh who might have ruled the city-state of Uruk.
Epic of Gilgamesh
400
On the Mesopotamian plain, the world's first civilization began to form called...
Sumer
400
The first Mesopotamian city was ______________, with a population over 40,000 people.
Uruk
400
Who made up the upper social class of the Sumerians?
Ruler, his officials, priests, wealthy merchants, & land owners
400
Temples of Sumerians were pyramid-shaped brick towers called ________________.
-Tallest were 7 stories
Ziggurats
400
The first leaders of Sumerian city-states were ____________, not kings.
Priests
500
The fertile crescent's soil is rich and fertile because...
The 2 rivers spread silt during floods.
500
Uruk, Ur, Lagash, & Nippur became the world's first ______________- ______________; an independent state that had its own government & its own main god
City-States
500
Who made up the middle class of the Sumerians?
Farmers & skilled workers
500
At first, Sumerian priests drew pictographs on clay to keep track of
Stored goods
500
When conflicts arose, priests picked the best person to lead in battle. Some military leaders kept control even after war ended. These military leaders became the first ________________.