The Rise of Sumerian City-States

Sumer is located in...

• Ur

• Mesopotamia

• Louisiana

The environment of Sumer was

• low and flat, with little rain.

• hilly and dry, with many stones

• thickly forested, with heavy storms

• high and cold, with sharp mountain peaks

Why were Sumerian communities called city-states?

• each of them kept written records

• they were all part of one great empire.

• they all depended on each other for water

• each of them had its own ruler and farmland.

Which fact allowed Neolithic people to farm in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains?

• Goats can live on dry grass

• the region had plenty of rain

• harsh climates are good for grains.

What development caused food shortages in the Zagros foothills?

• overuse of the soil

• change in the climate

• increase in population

• fighting between villages

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

• building terraces

• moving to the south

• constructing reservoirs

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

• rocky soil

• steep hillsides

• lack of rainfall

• growth of weeds

What was the main purpose for dams and reservoirs?

• to allow travel by boat

• to make it easier to fish

• to store water for later use

• to protect villages form attack

Why did the villages of Sumer depend on each other?

• They formed caravans to safely visit the mountains

• they cooperated to keep the water systems working

• they exchanged different kinds of natural resources

Why did the rivers flood in the spring?

• Heavy rain fell throughout the area
• Strong winds blew from the Persian Gulf
•  Ice that had formed on the rivers broke into bits.
• Snow melted in the mountains where the rivers began