WorksheetsMesopotamia
Total questions: 12
Worksheet time: 3hrs 0mins
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
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
What development caused food shortages in the Zagros foothills?
Overuse of the soil
Change in the climate
Increase in population
Fighting between the villages
What solution did people in the Zagros foothills find to fix the problem of food shortages?
They built terraces
They moved between the two rivers
They constructed reservoirs
They joined villages together
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
One factor that made farming difficult in the area of Sumer was
rocky soil
steep hills
lack of rainfall
growth of weeds
Why did the rivers flood in the Spring?
Underground geysers would cause the rivers to overflow
Strong winds blew from the Persian Gulf
Ice that had formed on the rivers broke into bits
Snow melted in the mountains and flowed into the rivers
What was the 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 attacks
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
They had to fight off attacks from empires to the east
Using natural resources found in the environment, Sumerians built strong walls with
bricks made of mud
logs with pointed tips
reeds cut near the river
rocks shaped into squares
Why was silt a problem for the people of Sumer?
It dried up the rivers
It crumbled the city walls
It ruined the soil for planting
It clogged the irrigation canals
What caused the Sumerians to develop cities?
The Sumerians realized they should live closer together because most of them were friends
The Sumerians did not like being alone so they banded together.
There were quite a few dangerous animals lurking about, so the Sumerians started to live together for protection.
The Sumerians had to work together to maintain their water supply, and as a result they moved closer together.
