Download Intro Module Resource

Name
Class
Date
Geography and History
History of the Fertile Crescent
A Fertile Land
Mesopotamia was part of a larger region called the Fertile Crescent.
The Sumerians, the world’s first civilization, settled and farmed the land
between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Although Mesopotamia had
fertile soil, farming there wasn’t easy. The flooding of the rivers destroyed
crops. The farmers eventually developed methods that helped them
increase the amount of food they could grow. In time, other societies
developed along the Tigris and Euphrates, such as Babylonia and the
Hittite Empire.
N
W
EE
S
Araxes R
iv
Mou
Ta urus
nta
er
ASIA MINOR
Caspian
Sea
ins
M
Cyprus
ES
O
PO
IA
os
M
gr
A
Za
T
M
un
o
Dead
Sea
Syrian
Desert
Babylon
ta
in
s
Nile R
iv
er
Sinai
Peninsula
Hittite empire in1400 BC.
Arabian Peninsula
Fertile Crescent
Ancient coastline
0
0
150
150
300 Miles
300 Kilometers
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
22
5796_MSG_GeoHist_MFC.indd 22
Southwest and Central Asia
11/9/05 4:10:42 PM
Name
Class
A Fertile Land, continued
Date
Geography and History
MAP ACTIVITY
1. Use a light color to shade in the area that formed the Fertile Crescent on the map.
2. What large body of water is southeast of the Fertile Crescent? Label it on the map.
3. What are the names of the two rivers that flow through Mesopotamia and the
Fertile Crescent? Label them on the map.
4. What large body of water is west and northwest of the Fertile Crescent? Label it
on the map.
ANALYZING MAPS
1. Region How far did the Fertile Crescent stretch from north to south?
2. Place In what area was the Hittite Kingdom located?
3. Location On what river is Babylon located?
4. Human-Environment Interaction How might the development of farming have
led to civilization? Explain your answer.
5. Movement Why do you think control of the areas within the Fertile Crescent was
important to groups like the Hittites?
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
23
5796_MSG_GeoHist_MFC.indd 23
Southwest and Central Asia
11/9/05 4:11:21 PM
Answer Key
History of the Fertile Crescent
Primary Source
2. The Epic of Gilgamesh and Noah’s flood
from the Bible both have characters that
are told to build a boat and fill it with
animals. There was a flood, and mankind
was destroyed in both stories. In Gilgamesh,
the gods were angry because people made
too much noise. In the Bible, God destroyed
mankind because of their violence and to
rid Earth of evil.
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE
PHOENICIANS
WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
Herodotus Describes a Phoenician Voyage
1. They set out from the Red Sea and
sailed into the Indian Ocean and
eventually rounded Africa to come
through the Straits of Gibraltar before
returning to Egypt.
2. If they went on a long voyage, they
would have to stop to resupply their ship.
Planting crops would be one way of
getting food for their voyage.
ACTIVITY
Answers will vary but students may mention
that some cultures may have developed far
away from bodies of water.
Primary Source
Xenophon Describes a Phoenician Ship
1. “The look-out man” was very
THE CODE OF HAMMURABI
conscientious and hard-working. He
checked on the ship’s equipment during his
leisure time and planned for storms or other
problems that the ship might encounter.
2. Answers will vary but students may say
that Xenophon had not thought before
about how important being organized is
to successfully sailing a ship. Xenophon
had been on other ships that were less well
organized.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
1. Students should recognize that it specifies
punishment for someone in authority—a
judge—while the other laws apply to
everyone.
2. Answers will vary. Students may say that
without a written contract, people
unfamiliar with what had happened
would have no way of knowing which
person was telling the truth.
MAKE A COMPARISON
Primary Source
1. The first selection tells the story of a
major voyage, while the second describes
the inside of a ship. They are alike
because they both show how impressive
Phoenician sailors and ships were.
2. Phoenicians were very capable sailors who
could sail long distances for long periods.
Their ships were well organized.
THE SUMERIAN FLOOD STORY
WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
1. He may cry from relief that the storm is
over and his family has survived, but he
may also be saddened by the destruction
he sees and all the people who died in
the flood.
2. Answers will vary. Students may say that
like the flood, a war is violent, often lasts a
long time, and causes many deaths.
3. Answers will vary. Students may say that
the story might have given people hope
and courage when they endured natural
disasters, because it describes how one
good man and his family survived one of
the worst disasters known at that time.
Geography and History
MAP ACTIVITY
1. Colors used will vary but should shade the
Fertile Crescent.
2. Students should label the Persian Gulf.
3. Students should label the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers.
4. Students should label the Mediterranean
Sea.
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
191
5796_MSG_Answer Key_MFC.indd 191
Southwest and Central Asia
12/28/05 2:24:23 PM
Answer Key
History of the Fertile Crescent
Chapter Review
ANALYZING MAPS
1.
2.
3.
4.
about 1,500 miles
Asia Minor
Euphrates
By increasing the amount of food they
could grow, the development of farming
supported larger populations, which led
to population growth. Villages formed
and eventually these developed into the
world’s first civilization.
5. Conquerors wanted to gain control over
this fertile land and wanted to obtain the
wealth in terms of food production and
the earlier achievements of the Sumerians.
REVIEWING VOCABULARY, TERMS,
AND PLACES
1. silt
2. polytheism
3. cuneiform
4. ziggurat
5. Hammurabi’s Code
6. irrigation
COMPREHENSION AND CRITICAL
THINKING
1. b; false
2. a; false
3. a; false
4. b; false
5. a; false
REVIEWING THEMES
1. location
2. place
3. human-environment interaction
Social Studies Skills
PRACTICE THE SKILL
Events on students’ time lines will vary, but
should be consistent with dates and events
given in the textbook chapter. Time lines
should be neatly constructed and should have
a logical number of years as increments on
their time lines. Events should be in sequence
from earliest to latest and should be marked in
the correct position on the time lines.
REVIEW ACTIVITY: COLLAGE
Students’ posters should highlight one of the
Sumerian achievements mentioned in the
chapter. The best posters will demonstrate an
understanding of the connection between the
Sumerian invention depicted, and the impact
on the world today.
Interdisciplinary Project
APPLY THE SKILL
Students should be able to make a connection
between time lines and comic strips by correctly
sequencing the panels of the strips from left to
right.
FROM WHEEL TO GEAR: MAKING A
MODEL
Students will explore the use of gears. Their
cardboard models should help them analyze
how gears help us in our daily lives.
Focus on Reading
Interdisciplinary Project
Students’ paragraphs should always be
rewritten using their own words. Students
should also be sure to paraphrase the main
idea(s) in each passage and be able to explain
how paraphrasing information helps them to
understand it better.
MESOPOTAMIA: THE FIRST WRITING
Students’ alphabets should reflect what they
know about sound-symbol correspondences.
Their poems or stories should use their
new alphabets. Remind students to revise
their alphabets if they find missing letters as
they write.
Focus on Writing
Students’ posters will vary, but should meet the
project criteria as outlined in steps 1–5. Posters
can be assessed using the evaluation questions
in step 6. Make sure posters have a title, images
that relate to the subject, captions exploring
each image, and an attractive, interesting layout.
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
192
5796_MSG_Answer Key_MFC.indd 192
Southwest and Central Asia
3/28/06 12:52:37 PM