Geography & Economy
List three things that the Mesopotamians used their rivers for.
Any of these:
Drinking Water
Irrigation
Transportation - for trade
Silt
Bathing
Were the Mesopotamians Atheistic, Monotheistic, or Polytheistic?
Polytheistic. Believed in many gods.
What was Sumerian writing called?
What was Sumerian writing written on?
What was the tool used to write Sumerian writing?
It was called Cuneiform.
It was written on clay tablets.
It was written with a tool called a Stylus (like a chopstick).
What was the reason for Hammurabi creating Hammurabi's Code?
To give everyone protection and make Babylon a safer place.
**Textbook definition** The main purpose of Hammurabi’s Code was to give Babylon peace and justice, so that the weak could be protected from the strong, property could be protected, and to regulate trade and economy.
What were the five social Groups of Ancient Sumer?
Priests, slaves, farmers and laborers, Craftspeople, merchants, and traders, and kings.
**I used a pattern of italicized and not italicized so it would be easy to tell the social groups apart.
What was the main economic activity of Mesopotamia?
Farming
**NOT TRADE---THAT WAS THE PHOENICIANS**
What did the Mesopotamians think of the gods?
Something along these lines:
The Mesopotamians thought that the gods were beings that could use their powers to either help the city-states or hurt them and that which one they chose was up to how the city-states behaved.
**Not on quiz--not optional**
What was the number Sumerian math was based on?
60.
What was Hammurabi's Code?
The first written code of laws.
List the Social Groups of Ancient Sumer in order.
**In order from most power to least power**
Kings
Priests
Craftspeople, merchants, and traders
Farmers and laborers
Slaves
What invention did the Mesopotamians invent to keep track of trade and business transactions and improve record keeping?
Cuneiform.
What was a Ziggurat?
A Ziggurat was a pyramid like structure, kind of like a palace.
What was the earliest form of Sumerian art?
Pottery.
Who was Hammurabi and why was he important?
Hammurabi was the king of Babylon who later created the Empire Babylonia and the famous Hammurabi’s Code.
What social group was the largest in size?
The farmer and laborer group.
What was the first trading empire in Mesopotamia?
Phoenicia.
What was a Ziggurat used for?
It housed the kings and was believed to be a place were the gods lived.
What were the two main inventions that Mesopotamians invented to make farming easier, and more efficient?
Irrigation & the Seed Plow
How did the Code treat different social classes?
Unfairly. The code had bigger punishments for poor people than it did for rich people, and it had way more rights for men than it had for women.
Why were the priests important to Sumerians?
Priests were important because they were trusted to please the gods and make them happy so that they would help the people.
What were the two rivers that ran through Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent called?
Tigris & Euphrates.
**Not on quiz--optional**
What does atheistic, monotheistic, and polytheistic mean?
**Not on quiz--optional**
Atheists believe that there are no gods, monotheists believe that there is one god, polytheists believe that there are many gods.
How did Phoenicians influence language?
Something along these lines:
Phoenicians greatly influenced language because they were the first society to have a language that consisted of a small number of letters (22 to be exact) that would spell out words, instead of many characters (over 500) one for each word.
**Not on quiz--optional**
What countries did the Sumerians first influence after creating Cuneiform?
Rome & Greece.
What are two things Sumerians had in common?
**So many options--these are just examples**
Sumerians all believed in the gods (polytheistic).
Sumerians all spoke the same language.