Geography
What does Mespotamia Mean in Greek?
The Land Between Rivers
The main problem the rivers caused for farmers.
Unpredictable flooding (too much or too little water)
This was the world's first system of writing, using wedge-shaped marks
Cuniform
A system for supplying dry land with water.
Irragation
Three major cities built in Sumer around 3000 BC.
Ur, Uruk, Eridu
The two major rivers that bordered Mesopotamia.
Tigris and Euphrates rivers
The solution the Mesopotamians used to control the rivers and water their crops.
Canals and dams (irrigation systems)
A person who was trained to write documents and keep records.
Scribe
An amount of something left over after a need has been met
Surplus
The relationship that the Sumerian city-states had with each other.
That they traded during peace but sometimes fought over territory.
This is the name for the wide, curving strip of fertile farmland where Mesopotamia was located.
Fertile Cresent
This happened as a result of having a food surplus.
People could specialize in new jobs/skills
This is why Mesopotamia is called the "cradle of civilization."
It was the beginning of organized human society.
A city that governs itself and its surrounding territory
City-State
Tiny, fertile soil particles left behind after a river flood
Silt
The role of men in Sumerian society.
The head of the home, important jobs, and going to school
Name two major Sumerian inventions
(Any 2) the wheel, sailboat, mathematics, or astronomy
The belief in more than one god
Polytheism
Two present-day countries that are part of this ancient area.
(Any 2) Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel , and Jordan
This term describes how the next ruler was determined after a king died.
Hereditary Rule
A long poem that records the deeds of a legendary or real hero.
Epic
A pyramid-shaped structure with a temple at the top