Download BM#2 Q1

Social Studies 6th grade
Ancient Mesopotamia
BM#2 Study Guide
6.12 Explain the effects of how irrigation, metal-smithing, slavery, the
domestication of animals, the inventions such as the wheel, the sail, and the
plow on the growth of Mesopotamian civilization.
1. Although most Sumerians were farmers, many made metal, cloth, and pottery and
became skilled artisans.
2. In Mesopotamia, floods deposited silt, which made the soil fertile.
3. Domestication is adapting animals to live with humans for the advantage of the
humans.
4. Two rivers (Tigris, and Euphrates) and irrigation technology make it possible for the
Mesopotamian civilization to arise. These allowed greater production of food, so some
people could spend time on other, activities besides farming – developing technology,
trade and skills.
5. Babylon became rich from trade because it was located on a major trade route between
the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf.
6. The civilization of Mesopotamia used the material of mud brick as a building material.
7. One factor that contributed to the success of the Assyrian army was its iron weapons.
8. The two early uses for the wheel were the potter’s wheel and the plow.
6.13 Analyze the important achievements of Mesopotamian civilization, including
its system of writing (and its importance in record keeping and tax collection),
literature (Epic of Gilgamesh), monumental architecture (the ziggurat), and art
(large relief sculpture, mosaics,
and cylinder seals).
9. The purpose of Hammurabi’s Code was to establish laws and the penalties for breaking
them.
Social Studies 6th grade
Ancient Mesopotamia
10. Few Sumerians who learned to write often held high positions in society as scribes.
11. The ancient form of writing that involved cutting wedge-shaped marks into clay is
cuneiform.
12. A Sumerian temple to honor their chief god was called a ziggurat.
13.
According to the excerpt, the owner of the ox must pay money if a free-born victim dies.
14. These cylinder seals below were used to show
ownership and seal documents.
15. This was the oldest epic, first recorded was the Epic of Gilgamesh. It was first told
orally, word of mouth. Eventually it was recorded on clay tablets using cuneiform.