3.1 The Land Between Two Rivers

3.1 The Land Between Two Rivers

Connections!

• Genesis 2 - Garden of Eden

• 10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 3 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

Importance of Major River Systems

• The river valley is a source of WATER and FOOD

• Drinking, Cooking, and Bathing all happened in the rivers

• Because of the rivers, new agricultural techniques are created and more advanced cultures develop

• Fish, livestock, and crops all thrived in this fertile valley.

Multiple Select

What TWO things do River Valley's provide in abundance?

• baskets

• water

• rocks

• food

Open Ended

What kids of food would a river valley provide?

Open Ended

What does this have to do with what we observed in our ancient civilizations game?

The Tigris and Euphrates

• The land of Sumer sits in the river valley between the Tigris and the Euphrates

• In ancient times this land was known as Mesopotamia.

• It sits on the high, flat land of an alluvial plain

• These plains are areas of land formed by silt (fine, fertile soil left over long periods of time as the river flooded in the spring)

• The shape of the valley gave it the nickname "The Fertile Crescent"

Multiple Choice

What is: "fine, fertile soil left over long periods of time as the river flooded in the spring"

• igneous rocks

• silt

• biofuel

• desert

Open Ended

Discuss: What made the land of southern Mesopotamia good for farming?

•Use the words alluvial plain and silt in your answer.

Open Ended

Analyze the name "Fertile Crescent." Why do you think it is called that?

The Need for Irrigation

• The rivers provided food and fertile soil, BUT they also caused a problem

• The rivers were too unpredictable. Floods in the spring and droughts in other places caused damage to to crops.

• The solution: Irrigation! They dug channels into the mud/clay soil that allowed the river to ebb and flow without either damage to the crops or a lack of water during the year.

Multiple Choice

How did the people learn to deal with droughts and floods?

• buckets

• they didn't

• irrigation

• imagination

Open Ended

What problems do floods and droughts cause to crops?

Ubaid Culture

• First known settlement in southern Mesopotamia

• Simple way of life developed and changed along with the development of new technology

• A big part of that culture was their pottery (seen here)

City to Civilization

• As time grows, the Ubaid culture and the Sumerians create complex cultures.

• By 4000 BC the small farming villages in the fertile valley turn into cities and became one of the world's first civilizations

Multiple Choice

Which culture is the first known settlement in Mesopotamia

• Egyptian

• Sumerian

• Greek

• Ubaid