Unit 4: Rise of Sumerian City-States

The word Mesopotamia means

• the land between two rivers

• a region of many conflicts

• a place of the earliest cities

• in the foothill mountains

What was the major problem with population growth in the foothills?

• competition for land

• lack of job opportunities

• crowded living conditions

• food shortages

The environment in Sumer was

• thickly forested with heavy storms

• high and cold with sharp mountain peaks

• low and flat, with little rain

• hilly and dry, with many stones

The earliest settlements in Mesopotamia were called

• nations

• city-states

• vassal-states

• fiefdoms

How did the people of the Zagros mountains fix the problem of food shortages?

• They moved south.

• They joined villages together.

• They constructed reservoirs.

• They built terraces.

How did Sumerian farmers control the water supply?

• They built levees to prevent flooding.

• They dug canals.

• They built reservoirs to store water for later use.

• All of the above.

Why did the rivers flood in the spring?

• Heavy rain fell throughout the area.

• Snow melted in the mountains where the rivers began.

• Ice that formed the rivers broke into bits.

• Strong winds blew from the Persian Gulf.

Why did farmers clean canals regularly?

• An unsanitary canal would make villagers ill.

• A dirty canal was bad for the tourist industry.

• A clogged canal could spoil the entire system.

• All of the above.

What was the chief purpose of the dams and reservoirs?

• To store water for later use.

• To allow travel by boat.

• To make it easier to fish.

• To protect villages from attack.

Why was silt a problem for the people of Sumer?

• It dried up the rivers.

• It crumbled the city walls.

• It clogged the irrigation canals.

• It ruined the soil for planting.