Download Various other cultures dominated part or all of the Fertile Crescent

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The Fertile Crescent Reading ws
Humans lived as nomads for tens of thousands of years before slowly settling down in various parts of the
world. Nomads are people who have no permanent home and travel in search of food and safety. The
nomads would temporarily camp in an area for a few weeks or months. A typical nomadic group might
include an extended family of about ten adults and their children. The men would hunt animals while the
women would gather fruit, grains, seeds and nuts. Nomads got their food from hunting and gathering, but it
was not a reliable source of food. They had to follow the herd or when they exhausted the land, they moved
to a new area.
Civilization developed slowly in different parts of the
world. People began to settle in areas with abundant
natural resources. For thousands of years, people have
given up their nomadic lifestyles to settle in a part of the
world archaeologists later called the Fertile
Crescent. The Fertile Crescent is a boomerang or
crescent -shaped region that extends from the eastern
shore of the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. The
Fertile Crescent is a rich food-growing area in a part of
the world where most of the land is too dry for farming. When people began farming, it changed their way of
life forever. Instead of hunting and gathering people relied on farming for food.
Settling near a river gave people a source of fresh water. They used the fresh water to irrigate the land and
that allowed them to farm. They were able to have a reliable source of food instead of following the herds to
hunt for meat or gather fruits and nuts.
Farming led to advanced civilizations. Now that people were able to stay in one place they had time to focus
on other activities other than finding food. People began to build cities and major architectural achievements
like Ziggurats and the great pyramids. Ancient people created the written language, religions, governments,
and created amazing works of art.
Some of the best farmland of the Fertile Crescent is on a narrow strip of land between the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers. The two rivers travel near one another for thousands of miles before they combine to drain
into the Persian Gulf. The Greeks called this area Mesopotamia, which means "land between the
rivers." Water from the Tigris and Euphrates soaks into the surrounding land, so although Mesopotamia has
very little rainfall, the land is rich in nutrients.
Many different civilizations flourished in this small region. The Sumerians slowly developed one of the first
civilizations in the southeastern region of Mesopotamia as long as 7,500 years ago. The Sumerians created
the first written language called Cuneiform. This wedge shaped language was the first recorded language
that did not use hieroglyphics or pictures to represent words. The Sumerians would imprint the letters onto
clay tablets using a stylus, or writing tool, to make the triangle shaped letters. The first forms of writing were
created to keep track of the crops and trade.
Other inventions and innovations the Sumerians introduced to the world were the first wheeled vehicles like
wheelbarrows and carts, basic algebra and geometry, a twelve month calendar based off the moon’s cycles,
the built huge temple towers called Ziggurats, and were the first to use columns, vaulted ceilings, and domes
in their architecture.
The Sumerian civilization lasted more than three thousand years, but in time
the Sumerians lost their influence. The Babylonians formed a centralized
government under King Hammurabi from about 1770BCE to about 1595BCE.
How many years ago did King Hammurabi begin his rule over the
Babylonians?______________
Various other cultures dominated part or all of the Fertile Crescent The land known as Mesopotamia was
later controlled by the Persians of modern day Iran, the Greeks under Alexander the Great, the Romans, and
the Ottoman Turks. The land between the Tigris and Euphrates has been part of the modern nation of Iraq
since 1932.
1. What are nomads? How did they get food?
2. What is the Fertile Crescent and where is it located?
3. What allowed ancient people to farm? Why was farming such a big influence on ancient civilizations?
4. Once people were able to stay in one place what were some of the activities people focused on?
5. What two rivers make up Mesopotamia? What does Mesopotamia mean?
6. Who were the first group of people to create a great civilization in Mesopotamia?
7. What is cuneiform? How was it written down?
8. Why was the first form of writing created?
9. What are at least three examples of the innovations and inventions of the Sumerians.