Unit 1, Lesson 4 Review: The Rise of Sumerian City-States

The environment of Sumer was

• high and cold, with sharp mountain peaks.

• thickly forested, with heavy storms.

• hilly and dry, with many stones.

• low and flat, with little rain.

Why were Sumerian communities called city-states?

• Each them had its own ruler and farmland.

• They all depended on each other for water.

• They were all part of one great empire.

• Each them kept written records.

What development caused food shortages in the Zagros foothills?

• fighting between villages

• increase in population

• change in climate

• overuse of the soil

One factor that made farming difficult in the area of Sumer was

• growth of weeds.

• lack of rainfall.

• steep hillsides.

• rocky soil.

What was the chief purpose of dams and reservoirs?

• to protect villages from attack

• to make life easier with fishing

• to store water for later use

• to allow travel by boat

Why was silt a problem for the people of Sumer?

• It dried up the rivers.

• It crumbled the city walls.

• It ruined the soil for planting.

• It clogged the irrigation canals.

The people of Sumer constructed moats to

• bring drinking water into towns.

• make villagers work together.

• protect cities from attack.

• get crops to grow better.

Why did the villages of Sumer depend on each other?

• They had to fight off attacks from empires to the east.

• They exchanged different kinds of natural resources.

• They cooperated to keep the water systems working.

• They formed caravans to safely visit the mountains.

If you were in ancient Sumer, you might see a levee beside a river. Why was the levee built?

• to control workers

• to prevent floods

• to load barges

• to irrigate crops

What solution did people in the Zagros foothills find to fix the problem of food shortages?

• joining villages together

• constructing reservoirs

• moving to the south

• building terraces