Definations
This includes the city and its surrounding lands and settlements.
city-state
This was the land where the first major civilization was build
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia's first civilization
Sumer
a pyramid-shaped temple
ziggurat
What did people use to write on in early forms of cuneiform?
clay tablets
An order-based on power and weatlh
social class
Mesopotamia's river valley lies mostly in what present day country?
Iraq
This was the number of city-states built along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
12
A belief in many gods
polytheism
After writing on these, people did this to save the writings?
Put the clay in the sun to dry out
People who are skilled at making things
artisans
Why was agriculture difficult in Mesopotamia?
The rivers either dried up or flooded
Frequent wars broke out for these three reasons
This happened to protect fertile land, limited resources, and trade routes
Acts always performed in the same way
rituals
What are those people who wrote things down called?
scribes
watering fields using man-made systems
irrigation canals
What improved technology was invented in early Mesopotamia?
ox-driven plow
This led to growth in population
food surplus
They didn't have control over natural resources and they believed the gods did.
the reasons Sumerians worshipped many gods
What kinds of things did people write down?
lists, patterns of weather, trade items, receipts,
The Euphrates and Tigris Rivers
the two rivers in Mesopotamia
what is silt?
fine, fertile soil good for agriculture
These are the social classes of Mesopotamia
kings, priests, administrators, scribes, merchants/artisans, farmers, slaves
the name for a god or goddess
deity
Why did people write things down?
To record events, patterns and ownership of items (trade)