7th Grade TCI 5 and 6: Ancient Sumer

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 citie

Why were Sumerian communities called city-states?

• Each of them kept written records

• Each of them had their own ruler and farmland

• They all depended on each other for water

• Each of them kept written records

What 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

• Shallow canals watered the fields

• Harsh climates are good for grains

What development caused food shortages in the Zagros foothills?

• overuse of 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

• joining villages together

What factors made farming difficult in the area of Sumer?

• rocky soil

• steep hillsides

• lack of rainfall

• growth of weeds

Why did the rivers in Sumer 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

What was the chief purpose of dams and reservoirs?

• to allow travel by boat

• to make it easier to fish

• to store water for later use

• to protect villages from attack

Why were levees built in Ancient Sumer?

• to load barges

• to irrigate crops

• to prevent floods

• to control workers