A Difficult Environment
The Fertile Crescent is located in Iran, True or False.
False
What area had good conditions for growing crops?
The Zagros mountains.
Did people know when the Tigris and Euphrates river would flood across the plains?
No
What was clogging the canals?
Silt
What were the walled cities of Sumer called?
City-States
Were the Mesopotamians farmers or hunter gatherers?
Farmers
Driven by the need to grow food,people moved out of the foothills and onto the plains. What was this region later called?
Sumer
Did Sumerians always have the right amount of water for growing crops?
No
Why were the walls so important?
It provided protection and without them they would be in trouble
Why did the Sumerians have to build walls around their cities?
To protect themselves from neighboring community attacks
In between which two rivers is Mesopotamia?
Euphrates River and the Tigris River
In the foothills there was not enough farmland to keep up with the increasing population, what did villages suffer from because of this?
Food shortages
What did Sumerian farmers use to control water supply?
Canals,levees,reservoirs,and dams
Why did Sumerians build larger communities?
To help maintain irrigation systems.
Mud
What material did Mesopotamians have plenty of?
Reeds
What happened when people stayed in one place?
The population grew and there was not enough farmland to grow food.
When the land was dry what did farmers do to the levees?
Poked holes in them allowing water to get to the fields
What would happen when farmers didn't clean their part of the canal?
The canal would flood
People in cities blocked other cities canals, which caused what?
Disputes
What four problems did Mesopotamians have to overcome?
Food shortages, uncontrolled water supply, Difficulties in maintaining irrigation systems, and attacks by neighboring communities.
Why did they use levees and other things?
To control the water supply
What was the first things Sumerians built to control water supply?
levees
What else did Sumerians use to protect themselves?
Moats
Was is Mesopotamia also known for?
The Fertile Crescent