Download Chapter 4 and 5 Study Guide

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Chapter 4 and Chapter 5
Study Guide
Pages 33-49
Directions: Using your History Alive text book, answer the following questions. Remember to write in complete
sentences. Failure to do so will mean loss of credit.
1.
What does Mesopotamia mean in Greek?
2.
What are city states?
3.
If you were living in northern Mesopotamia, what type of weather would you experience?
4.
If you were living in southern Mesopotamia, what type of weather would you experience?
5.
Besides bad weather, what else would cause problems for people living on the plains?
6.
What were the four key problems people in Mesopotamia faced?
7.
Why were the foothills of the Zagros Mountains a great place for early settlers in Mesopotamia?
8.
What problems started to arise for people in the Zagros Mountains?
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9.
What were the advantages and disadvantages of living next to the Tigris and Euphrates?
Advantages
Disadvantages
10. Explain how levees and irrigations systems solved this problem near the Tigris and the Euphrates?
11. What is a natural barrier?
12. Did Mesopotamia have a lot of natural barriers? Was this an advantage or disadvantage for the people
living there?
13. Explain the purpose of mud bricks? Why were they used so heavily in this region?
Group the following people under the appropriate social structure:
14. Priests
15. Slaves
16. Fishermen
21. Upper
17. Farmers
18. Land Owners
19. Government Officials
22. Middle
20. Merchants
23. Lowest
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24. What responsibility did farmers have a day-to-day basis? How might their responsibility change during
times of war?
25. Who ruled Sumerian city-states?
26. How did the Sumerians believe their kings were chosen?
27. What were the responsibilities of a Sumerian king?
28. What was a governor’s role under the king?
29. What was a scribes’ role under the king?
30. Did the king actually patrol the canals or did he have help?
31. Describe the role religion played in the Sumerian life style?
32. How were ziggurats used in Mesopotamia?
33. What did metalworkers make in Sumer?
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34. How was music used in Sumer?
35. What is a lyre?
36. What type of technology did the Sumerians develop?
37. What is cuneiform? What problems do it pose for people?
38. Before cuneiform, what did the Sumerians use for writing? Why do you think this was not effective?