Ancient Sumer
What development caused food shortages in the Zagros foothills?
Increase in the population
What was the chief purpose of dams and reservoirs?
to store water for later use
The Sumerian civilization had a social structure with different levels and jobs. A social structure is:
the form of organization of a civilization.
Who was at the top of the social class order?
Kings, priests, officials
What solution did people in the Zagros foothills find to fix the problem of food shortages?
moving to the southern plains
If you were in ancient Sumer, you might see a levee beside a river. Why was the levee built?
to prevent floods
Which of the following inventions had the greatest impact on the food supply in Sumeria?
the plow
Who was in the middle of the social class order?
Artisans, farmers, merchants
Why were Sumerian communities called city-states?
Each of them had its own ruler and farmland.
What type of person leads the army, enforces the laws, and has temples built?
a king
Who was at the bottom of the social class order?
slaves
Why did the villages of Sumer depend on each other?
They cooperated to keep the water (irrigation) systems working.
What Sumerian belief about the king served to reinforce social order?
The gods supported him.
What was the first written language with letters called?
Cuneiform
How did geographic challenges lead to the rise of the city-states in Mesopotamia?
The geography created problems of too little or too much water, and the humans always found a way to solve these problems. However, these solutions created new problems. One example is when the river would flood, they would create levees. However, the levees needed to be maintained, which led to people working together and forming cities.
What were two key inventions by the ancient Sumerians?
The wheel and the arch