Mesopotamia a difficult environment with food shortages
Why did they move down to the plains?
Farming would grow more food
What did the uncontrollable water supply affect?
Farming
Why were the irrigation systems needed?
To control the water supply.
What was the main cause of the attacks?
Water.
What was one reason why they created city-states?
They fought when one city had more water
How many major problems did Sumerians face
Sumerians faced 4 major problems.
What caused the uncontrollable water supply?
Flooding from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
What was the bad cause of their irrigation system?
They had to group up with each other to help clean it
How did they protect themselves from attacks?
They built walls
How can you describe city-states?
What protection did Sumerians have?
They couldn't make protection they couldnt even use natural barriers.
Why was water unreliable?
They either got too little or too much water.
Why did they have to work together to clean the canals?
Canals were clogged with silt.
What did they do to get more water?
They fought.
What did city-states often do?
These independent city-states fought with each other
What did there farms need?
Their farms needed water since the soil was dry and hard but the rivers overflowed sometimes.
Why did water effect sumerians?
They couldn't get enough food from crops.
What happened if someone didn't clean the silt?
It would clog the entire system.
What could cities upriver do?
They could stop the entire system.
What did city states do to protect themselves
They built walls and dug moats.
Did Sumerians find building materials easily?
Building materials were difficult to find.
What did Sumerians build to control the water supply?
Sumerians built dams, reservoirs, canals, and levees to control the water supply.
Why did farmers clean the canals?
They worked together for the common good
What did the people do to help protect themselves?
People lived in houses within the walled cities, but the farms lay outside. In case of attack, farmers fled the fields for safety within the city walls.
What did Sumerians learn from their challenges?
They became walled city-states instead of farming villages.