Download Land between two rivers-key

Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ________ Section: _____
The Land Between Two Rivers
Rice/LaBrache
Behind all history lies geography!
DIRECTIONS: Read The Mesopotamian Plain (p.150-152) then complete the chart below.
Mesopotamia is an area divided into two regions:
North: Plateau
South: Plain
The southern region is known as _____Sumer______ and is home to the world’s first cities.
Describe the climate problems the ancient Sumerians faced.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hot summers
Little rain
Parched, dry land
Unpredictable floods
o Heavy spring floods created spongy marshes killing young crops
o Fall floods could destroy the harvest
5.
Few resources
What was the one positive feature of this physical environment?
Rich, fertile soil deposited by flooding
Explain the solutions to the climate problems the Sumerians developed.
SOLUTION = Irrigation
1. Problem = The Tigris and Euphrates rivers were slightly higher than the plain.
Solution = The farmers dug canals from the rivers to the fields. Then, they would open the
gates and allowed gravity to pull the water down to the fields as needed.
2. Problem = The river flooding was unpredictable; sometimes there was too much water,
sometimes these was not enough water.
Solution = They built artificial lakes and ponds to hold the excess water until it was needed.
DIRECTIONS: Read The Remarkable Sumerians (p.152-155) then answer the
following questions in COMPLETE SENTENCES. Support your answer with
specific examples from the textbook.
1. In terms of government, was there any relationship between one city-state and the
next? Explain why or why not. (ex. In the U.S each state has to answer to the
federal government.)
The city states were independent. No central power controlled all the citystates, there were no boundary lines.
2. Describe the role of Priests in the early city-states.
Priests ruled the early city-states (indication of the primary role that religion
played in Sumerian life). Religion s and government were combined. Priests
ran the irrigation systems, watched over canals, planned new ones, gathered
work crews, appointed inspectors, and settled arguments. They stored the
surplus grain in the temples and distributed it during droughts and other
hard times for framers. They collected taxes in the form of grain, animals,
etc… They also prayed and made sacrifices to please the Sumerian gods.