World History Unit 4 Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia: A Difficult Environment

100

The Northern part of Mesopotamia is----- and gets a lot of ----

It´s hilly and gets a lot of rain.

200

 The sun beat down fiercely on the plains between the --------- and the ---------.

Tigris River and the Euphrates River.

300

The Mesopotamian´s were-------

Farmers

400

For most of the year the soil was hard and dry.

hard and dry

500

Mesopotamian´s faced four major problems as they attempted to survive in this environment, what were they.

• food shortages in the hills
• uncontrolled water supply on the plains
• difficulties in building and maintaining systems that provided water across village boundaries
• attacks by neighboring communities

Food Shortages in the Hills

100

One of the areas that had good conditions for growing crops was the rolling foothills of the-----------

Zagros Mountains

200

Over several thousand years, these good conditions allowed the number of people in Mesopotamia to------

Grow dramatically 

300

Then problems arose. Some historians believe that by 5000 B.C.E., farmers in the Zagros foothills did not have enough ------ to grow food for the increasing population.

Land

400

Driven by the need to -------, people moved out of the foothills and onto the plains.

Grow food

500

Below the foothills and to the south, the Euphrates and Tigris rivers ran through -------.

Flat plains

Uncontrolled Water Supply in the River Valley

100

What causes the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to flood in the spring?

Rain and melted snow from the mountains flowed into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

200

Faced with such dramatic seasonal changes, why were farmer constantly struggling to raise crops?

To much or to little water.

300

Sumerian farmers began creating for their fields.

Irrigation systems

400

When the land was dry, what did farmers do to the levees?

They poked hole in them to allow water to come through.

500

What were the three things farmers created in order to control the water supply?

They built dams, levees, and canals.

Attacks by Neighboring Communities

100

As Sumerian cities grew, they fought over the right to use more-------.

Water.

200

Why did the plain provide no natural barriers?

There were no mountains or rushing rivers.

300

What did the Sumerians construct walls out of.

Mud bricks baked in the sun.

400

Where did the houses and farms lie with the walls.

Houses lay within the walled cities and farms lay outside.

500

The walled cities of Sumer were like independent countries. Historians call them -------.

City-states

From Small Farming Villages to Large City-States

100

What had forced settlers in Mesopotamia to move from the foothills down to the river valley?

Food shortages

200

The irrigation system crossed village boundaries, so the Sumerians had to-------------.

Cooperate with one another.

300

What did Sumerians do to defend themselves.

They built walls and dug moats.

400

What led City-states to fight one another.

Need for water.

500

 A basic challenge for any group of people is how to -----------. 

How to provide food for themselves.