Geography & Food Supply
What water-control system did Sumerians build to bring a steady supply of water to fields?
Irrigation (canals/dams/reservoirs)
What is the term for how people in a society are organized into levels and jobs?
Social structure
Who ruled Sumerian city-states?
Kings
What stepped temple platform had a shrine at the top?
Ziggurat
What round innovation made carts and chariots possible?
Wheel
What farming tool, first made of wood and often pulled by oxen, helped turn soil for planting?
Plow
Which two groups were at the top of Sumer’s social structure?
Kings and priests (accept nobles/government officials)
Name one duty of a Sumerian king besides leading the army.
Enforcing laws / collecting taxes / building temples / maintaining irrigation
What is the small sacred room at the top of a ziggurat called?
Shrine
What curved structure over doorways added strength and beauty to buildings?
Arch
Name one challenge of Sumer’s environment that irrigation helped solve.
Little rain / spring floods / hot summers
What type of skilled worker made tools, weapons, jewelry, and luxury items?
Artisan (metalworker, etc.)
What record-keepers helped write laws and contracts?
Scribes
What famous artifact shows scenes of peace and war and helps us see social ranks and music?
Standard of Ur
What wedge-mark writing system did scribes press into clay tablets?
Cuneiform
By about 3000 B.C.E. - 3500 B.C.E., most Sumerians lived in what kind of independent communities?
City-states
Where in the city did the highest-status people usually live?
Near the city center in larger homes
What wheeled military vehicle showed organized armies in Sumer?
Chariot
Name one musical instrument played in Sumerian ceremonies.
Lyre, drums, or pipes
What writing tool did scribes use to press signs into clay?
Reed stylus
What two inventions together best explain how Sumer achieved a stable food supply?
Irrigation and the plow
What group was at the bottom level of Sumer’s social structure?
Enslaved people
Why did religious beliefs make Sumer’s government more powerful?
People believed gods supported the kings, so obeying rulers was like obeying the gods
What did Sumerians hope to gain by creating lifelike statues with wide-open eyes?
The gods’ favor/blessings (signs of love, loyalty, and enthusiasm)
About how many characters did later cuneiform use (after early pictographs and thousands of symbols)?
About 700 characters
Name the semiprecious blue stone, imported from what is now Afghanistan, that decorated the Standard of Ur—evidence that Sumer had long-distance trade and the arts of a civilization.
Lapis lazuli