Vocabulary
silt
small particles of rocks
What helped Neolithic people to farm in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains?
mild weather and plentiful rains
Why was it difficult to raise crops in Sumer?
-dramatic seasonal changes
-too little or too much water
-floods could wash away plants
How did farmers make sure that their crops could get water?
Irrigation systems
How did Sumerian city-states protect themselves?
-built walls out of mud bricks
-dug moats
irrigation
a means of supplying land with water
What was the geography of Sumer like?
low plains, flat, little rain
Why did the people of Sumer construct moats?
to protect cities from attack
What was a major problem with irrigation systems?
-managing irrigation systems across village boundaries.
-silt disrupting the system
What did Sumerian city-states fight over?
the right to use more water
levee
a wall of earth built to prevent a river from flooding its banks
What happened to cause food shortages in the foothills?
Increase in population
Why were levees built?
To prevent floods
Why did the villages of Sumer depend on each other?
They cooperated to keep the water systems working
What did some cities up-river do to impact the water supply?
built new canals or blocked other cities' canals
city-state
self-governing city (had their own laws and governments)
What did people in the foothills do to solve the food shortage?
Moved to the south, moved to the low plains
What was the chief purpose of dams and reservoirs?
to store water for later use
What made irrigation systems hard to keep clear?
Silt clogged the canals
True or False: Dams and reservoirs protected city-states from attacks
False
Mesopotamia (what does it translate to?)
"land between two rivers"
Describe the seasonal weather changes in Sumer.
Spring: flooding from rain and from snow melting in the mountains.
Rest of the year: hot, dry, and windy
Snow melted in the mountains where the rivers began.
What was the result of Sumerians working together on irrigation systems?
Formed larger communities/cities
In case of attacks, what did people who were living outside the city walls do?
fled into the safety of the city walls