Vocabulary
A city that was like a small, independent country with its own laws and government.
What is a city-state
The two largest rivers in Southwest Asia that flows from Turkey to the Persian Gulf
What are the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
What did the Mesopotamians do when there was a food shortage?
They moved south to Sumer
Levees are made out of these.
What are mud bricks
These foothills are located in Upper Mesopotamia
What is the Zagros Foothills
What is silt
Sumer
What is a city-state?
Early city that was like a small, independent country with its own laws and government.
What are canals
What did the Mesopotamians use to make the city walls?
mud bricks
A Greek word that means "The land between the rivers"
What is Mesopotamia
The area that is considered the cradle for civilizations.
What is the Fertile Crescent
What development cause food shortages in the Zagros foothills?
increase in population
How did the farmers get water to where they wanted it to go?
They would poke holes in the levees when the land was dry.
What problem did silt cause?
Clogged the canals disrupting the water flow to cities.
What geographic features affected where people settled in Mesopotamia?
climate, Zagros Mountains, and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
What was built around the walls of city-states to keep enemies out?
moats
What would cause the floods in the plain?
rain and melted snow from the mountains.
Describe the environment of SOUTHERN Mesopotamia.
There was little rain, most of the year the soil was hard and dry, hot temperatures, seasonal floods.
An area in southern Mesopotamia where cities first appeared.
What is Sumer
This revolutionized farming and is a way to control the flow of water to a specific area.
What is irrigation
What were the four major problems that the Mesopotamians face as they attempted to survive?
Food shortages in the hills, uncontrolled water supply on the plains, difficulties in building and maintaining systems that provided water across village boundaries, and attacks by neighboring communities.
What are Levees, Canals, Reservoirs, and Dams.
What were the three reasons for bringing irrigation systems?
Bring water to dry areas, prevent floods, and to bring water to crops.