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What does Mesopotamia mean in Greek?
The land between the rivers
The Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf
Sumer's people were known as what?
Sumerians
Because there was a shortage of stone and wood in these areas, what was their main source of building material?
mud from the rivers which formed bricks
In early days, priests ruled the city-states, but later city-states had what types of governments?
Monarchies
What is the earliest known civilization? (Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, or China)
Mesopotamia
True or False: Too much rain feel during the Summer in Mespotamia, causing violent floods
False: the Spring
Name 3 cities first built in Sumer
1. UR
2. URUK
3. ERIDU
What was located in the center of the of Sumerian city-states?
ruler's palace, a large temple, and other public buildings
Draw and label who was in the upper, middle, and lower social classes in Sumerian society.
What was the largest social class?
Upper: kings, priests, warriors, government officials
Middle: merchants, farmers, fishers, artisans
Lower: enslaved people captured in war, criminals, people who could not pay their debts
Largest Class= MIDDLE!
Mesopotamia developed in what now present day country?
Iraq - Southern Iraq
Flooded rivers did have some perks. They were filled with fine particles of fertile soil called what?
Silt
Sumerian cities were surrounded by mudflats and patches of scorching desert. As a result, how did this affect them?
It made it hard to travel and communicate with other groups, causing cities to be independent.
Sumerians worshipped many gods, a type of belief known as what?
Polytheism
If you lived in Sumer, what was most likely your job?
Farming
What are the two main rivers in Mesopotamia?
Tigris and Euphrates
Overtime, people in Mesopotamia learned to build dams to control the seasonal floods by digging canals. This method of watering crops was called what?
Irrigation
Sumerians formed independent city-states that governed themselves, and had populations of 5,000 to how many people?
20,000
Although Sumerians honored all the gods, each city-state claimed how many as its "OWN"?
One
What were the main crops in Sumer?
Wheat, barley, and dates
Mesopotamia is located in the curving strip of good farmland called?
The Fertile Crescent
Because food was plentiful, not everyone needed to be farmers. So, some became what?
Artisans
Most city-states were surrounded and protected by what?
To honor gods, Sumerians had temples called Ziggurats. The holy place at the very top of the temple was only allowed access by whom?
special priests
Trading was a huge part of Sumer's economy. Trading routes linked Sumer to places as far as ______ and ______.
India and Egypt