The Rise of Sumerian City-States [Sections 1-3]

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 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.

How did the Sumerian city walls relate to the environment?

• The walls were made of wood cut from the trees of the footlhills.

• The walls were made of steel through trade from Egypt.

• The walls were made of stones from a quarry in the Zagros Mountains.

• The walls were made of bricks using local mud.

What made Mesopotamia a difficult environment to live in?

• The daily rain showers made the soil soggy and unworkable.

• The short growing seasons made it hard to grow food.

• The sun was hot, and there was very little rain.

• Farmland was scarce because of the dense forests.

What was the key to successful farming in Sumer?

• hiring workers from nearby communities

• controlling the water supply

• planting crops before the floods came

• growing crops in the foothills and not on the plains

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

The name of Mesopotamia comes from its location, which was

• between two rivers

• in mountain foothills

• near a region of many conflicts

• at the site of the earliest cities