Geography
Two rivers that provided water for farming
Tigris/Euphrates Rivers
Belief in many gods
Polytheism
Mesopotamian system of wedge-shaped writing
Cuneiform
Independent cities with their own governments
City-states
Growing crops and raising animals for food
Farming
Fertile area where Mesopotamia developed
Fertile Crescent
Religious leaders who served the gods
Priests
Invention used for transportation and pottery
Wheel
Idea that punishment should match the crime
"Eye for an eye"
Extra food beyond what people need
Surplus
Flooding
Large temples built to honor the gods
Ziggurats
Mesopotamians developed math based on the number 60
Math
Written collection of laws created by King Hammurabi
Hammurabi's Code
Exchanging goods with other people or places
Trade
The meaning of the word Mesopotamia
"Land between Rivers"
Free people who lived and worked in society
Citizens
System used to organize and track time
Calendar
People who buy, sell, and trade goods
Merchants
Powerful rulers at the top of society
Kings
Enslaved People
System of bringing river water to crops
Irrigation
People trained to write and keep records
Scribes