Agriculture and Geography
The Fertile Crescent includes what major city?
Mesopotamia
Uruk has a population of how many people?
40,000
Sumerians practiced polytheism. What is polytheism?
The worship of many gods
What was the name of the system of writing created by the Sumerians
Cuneiform
True or False: Technology in the time of the Sumerians included things like phones and computers
FALSE
Mesopotamia is located between what two rivers?
The Tigris and Euphrates rivers
What were the other 3 early cities other than Uruk?
Ur, Lagash, and Nippur
What did the Sumerians think would happen if their gods were unhappy with their offerings?
They believed their gods might bring war, floods or other disasters.
What is the definition of Cuneiform?
a system of writing that uses triangular shaped symbols to stand for words, ideas or sounds
What two inventions made farming easier for the Sumerians?
Irriaation and seed plow
Northern Mesopotamia includes what mountain chains?
The Taurus and Zargos mountain chains
What did Sumerians use the wheel for?
Wheels were used on carts to make trade easier
What is the name of the buildings used as temples to worship the Sumerian gods?
Ziggurats
What year did cuneiform begin to appear?
3100 BCE
How did the Sumerians make bronze?
by mixing copper and tin
Even though Mesopotamia is hot and dry with little rainfall, they had fertile soil because....
Of the silt left by the flooding rivers.
What did Sumerians add to their boats to make sailing easier?
Sumerians added sails to their boats.
In times of war, priests would choose someone to lead the city into battle. What was expected to happen after the battle?
The person chosen would be expected to return to their normal life.
Why was Cuneiform originally created?
Cuneiform was created to record sales, taxes, and agreements.
How did the Sumerian advances spread throughout other parts of the land?
Sumerian advances spread through trade.
Why was irrigation important?
Irrigation was important because it allowed crops to get water even during hot and dry seasons.
How many classes were in the Sumerian social class?
There were 3 classes
Priests had a role in creating kings. Explain how this happens.
Priests would select someone to be king and say they were chosen by their gods. If the king stayed on the priests good side, they continued to rule as king
How many clay tablets were used to write the Epic of Gilgamesh?
12 clay tablets
What advances did Sumerians make regarding days and time?
Dividing an hour into 60 minutes and a minute into 60 seconds, A year into 12 months of 30 days each