C4 The Rise of Sumerian City-States

The environment of Sumer was

• Low and flat, with little rain

• Hilly and dry, with many stones

• High and cold, with sharp mountain peaks

The name of Mesopotamia comes from its location, which was

• In mountain foothills

• Between 2 rivers

• Near a region of many conflicts

• At the site of the earliest cities

Why were Sumerian communities called city-states?

• Each of them kept written records

• They were all part of one great empire

• Each of them had its own ruler and farmland

• They all depended on each other for water

What development caused food shortages in the Zagros foothills?

• Increase in population

• Overuse of the soil

• Change in the climate

• Fighting between villages

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

• Moved south to the flat plains

• Grew more crops

• Joined villages together

Why did the rivers flood in the spring?

• Heavy rain fell throughout the area

• Ice on the rivers broke into bits

• Strong winds blew from the Persian Gulf

• Snow melted in the mountains where the rivers began

What was the main purpose of dams and reservoirs?

• To allow travel by boat

• To store water for later use

• To make it easier to fish

• To protect villages from attack

The people of Sumer constructed moats to

• Get crops to grow better

• Make villagers work together

• Bring drinking water into towns

• To protect cities from attack

What system was created by Sumerian farmers to water their crops in the fields?

• Tunnel system

• Flooding system

• Dam system

• Irrigation system

What did Sumerian farming villages eventually become?

• Private estates

• Self-governing cities

• Groups of hunter and gatherers

• Abandoned archaeological sites