Download Chapter 3 – Mesopotamia

Chapter 3 – Mesopotamia
Study Guide
1. What is the name of the large crescent-shaped area of fertile land in the Middle East?
2. Which 3 rivers gave this area of land its name?
3. In which present day country is Mesopotamia located?
4. What does “Mesopotamia” mean?
5. What happened around 15,000 B.C or 12,000 ya.?
6. Where did farming first begin?
7. “Cradle of Civilization”:
8. What is the earliest known civilization?
9. How did Sumerians build their houses? Why?
10. List three important steps that Sumerian farmers took to change their physical environment and make farming successful.
11. Why were the priests important in Sumerian society?
12. Why did the Sumerians set up governments?
13. How many Sumerian gods existed?
14. Which ancient culture has the oldest written records known?
15. List the members of each class:
a. Upper Class:
b. Middle Class:
c. Lower Class:
16. Why was the ziggurat important?
17. Why did writing develop in the Sumerian city-states?
18. How do the rights of Sumerian women compare to the rights of women today?
19. What leads to the fall of priests as kings?
What word describes the statements below? Words may be used more than once.
36. A person who is skilled in writing:
21. Center of trade and commerce:
22. Surrounded each Sumerian city:
23. Legendary hero of Sumerian culture:
24. First person know to pass laws:
25. Found in the center of each Sumerian city:
26. A Sumerian city and its surrounding farmland:
27. A Sumerian temple with many levels:
28. Passed on from parent to child:
29. Gilgamesh:
30. A person who is skilled in a craft:
31. Leading city-state of Sumer:
32. “mountain of god” or “hill of heaven”:
33. Allowed to attend school:
34. “tablet houses”:
35. A wedge-shaped Sumerian writing system:
36. 9 characteristics of civilization; give an example of each characteristic using the Sumerian city-state of Ur.
37. polytheism:
38. city-state
39. urban and rural:
40. Social hierarchy:
41. Sargon I and Akkad:
42. Contributions:

Writing –

Technical Advancements:

Math/Sciences:

Arts / Music:

Architecture:
Study your handouts and the map of the Middle East!!!!!!!!!
Hammurabi will NOT be on the test