Lesson 4
What change began the Neolithic Age, about 8000 B.C.E.?
Farming
The name of Mesopotamia comes from its location, which was?
Between two rivers
A society has a stable food supply if?
It has enough food for its people
Which of these leaders of empires came first?
Sargon
Scholars believe that large carved heads created by the Olmec depict?
Important rulers
How did people in the Paleolithic Age get their food?
By hunting and gathering
Why were Sumerian communities called city-states?
Each of them had its own ruler and farmland
Which of these ancient Sumerians most likely lived in a two-story house near the center of the city?
A government official
How did the Akkadians get the resources to build up their capital city?
Collected tribute from conquered peoples
In which present-day country or region did the Olmec civilization flourish?
Mexico
One animal that was domesticated mainly for meat and milk was the?
Goat
The environment of Sumer was?
low and flat, with little rain
The Sumerian civilization had a social structure with different social levels and jobs. A social structure is
The way a civilization is organized
What was a problem caused by Sumerian city-states’ independence from one another?
They could not defend themselves against stronger groups
Indigenous tradition provided a plan for?
Governing the community
Archaeologists have found houses in which the doorways were built high up on the walls. What was the most likely reason for this?
People wanted to be safe from wild animals or enemies
If you were in ancient Sumer, you might see a levee beside a river. Why was the levee built?
To prevent floods
Which one of these inventions most affected the food supply in Sumer?
A Plow
The Sumerians were a civilization but not an empire. What feature did the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires have that the Sumerians lacked?
One government ruled several groups
What enabled the Olmec population to grow and, thus, their civilization to expand?
How did dividing up the work help communities produce more to meet their needs?
Individuals developed a variety of skills
Why was silt a problem for the people of Sumer?
It clogged the irrigation canals
Why were scribes important in Sumerian government?
To write down laws
Which city was the capital of the Assyrian Empire?
Nineveh
Why do historians believe that the Caral civilization was built in the desert?
To serve as a trading center