Download Sumerian Guided Notes

The Fertile Crescent Guided Notes
The Sumerians
Where is the Fertile Crescent?
 The _________________ ___________________ stretched from the Mediterranean
coast through the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley to the ____________________
___________________.
 How did the Fertile Crescent get its name?
 ______________________________________________________________________
Mesopotamia: The Cradle of Civilization:
 Within the Fertile Crescent is a region called “______________________”
 The word “Mesopotamia” is Greek for
“____________________________________________________________________”
 This is where civilization would begin to develop in the _______________
____________________.
 Write down 1 thing you found interesting from The Beginnings of Civilization video:
 ______________________________________________________________________
Tigris-Euphrates Rivers:
 Mesopotamian civilizations develop around the ________________ and
_______________________ River.
 In the spring, melting snow picked up _______________ as it rushed down from the
mountains and __________________ the land.
 However, these floods did not always happen at the same time each year.
o These floods were a _________________ and a _________________________.
 Write down 2 things you learned from the Overview Video:
 ______________________________________________________________________
 ______________________________________________________________________
The First Cities:
 As the people in Mesopotamia became better _____________________, small cities
began to develop.
 Mesopotamia is often called “_______________________________________” it is
here where the oldest civilization develops.
 This civilization is called _____________________.
o Dates back to ____________________ BCE
 Based off of what you learned in the video, why do you think cities develop?
 ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
The First Cities: Sumer:
 Sumerian cities were often great ______________________ from one another.
 Because of this ________________-___________________ formed.
 These states acted independently from one another and developed its
______________ form of government.


Based off the video, why do you think Sumerian city-states developed? Where there
any differences between the city-states?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
What Would You Find in a Sumerian City?
 Each city-state was surrounded by __________________.
 Defense _________________ were posted every 30-35 feet.
 The Sumerians used sun-dried ___________________ to form buildings and houses.
 _________________________ Systems: In an effort to control the ________________
of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Sumerian cities develop irrigation systems and
______________________ ditches.
 These irrigation systems would help Sumerians grow _________________ regularly.
 List some of the advances in agricultural technology that you learned from the video:
 ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
 A __________________________ is a temple set atop a stepped tower.
 The temple was the ____________________ of the city and its economic and
_______________________ life.
 This was the most _______________________ building in the city.
Sumer’s Economy:
 Sumer’s economy was primarily based on ___________________.
 Trade and Industry:
o Imported _________________, tin, and timber
o Exported fish, wool, barley, and _________________.
 They traded by __________________ and by ____________________.
Sumerian Religion:
 _____________________________- they believed in many gods.
o Name one civilization we have studied that believed in many gods:
o ________________________________________________________________
 ___________________ and priestesses were powerful and may have been the 1st
____________________ of Sumer.
 Sumerians believed that the gods ______________________ the city.
o This is called ______________________________: a government ruled by
divine authority.
 Sumerians believed that the gods created man to ___________________ him and work
the _____________________.
 Write down 3 things you learned from the Sumerian Religion Video:
 ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Sumerian Social Structure:
Based off the arrows on the PowerPoint slide, fill in the spaces of the pyramid. If you run out of
room, simply draw your own arrow to show which level of the social structure you are referring
to.
King:
Nobles:
Commoners:
Slaves:
Sumerian Social Structure Continued:
Sumerian Kings:
Sumerian Priests:
Sumerian Scribes:
Kings were_______________
(considered gods)
Priests kept _____________,
time, and reported on
_____________ and planting.
Men who recorded all aspects
of ______________________
life.
Led armies
Oversaw the building of
____________ ___________
and structures.
Organized ________________ projects.
Educated, ______________,
teachers, jurists.
________________ wrote
careful records of natural
events on the earth and the
skies.
Upper class, successful,
leaders of ____________,
temples, and armies.
Sumerian Writing:
 Considered to be the first ____________________ language.
 The writing was ____________-________________ writing of Sumerians was called
____________________.
 _______________ wrote on _____________ tablets with a reed ______________.
 Famous Sumerian Epic Poem: __________ _________ ________________________
 If you were going to explain Sumerian writing to one of your classmates, what are some
important things you might mention?
 ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Sumerian Achievements:
 Invented the wagon ________________ and the potter’s wheel.
 1st civilization to make and use ______________________ tools.
 Used a ______________ _______________ to keep time.
 Name one thing you learned from the Time Video:
 ______________________________________________________________________
 Studied _______________________ to chart the constellations.
 Created a ______________________ system based on 60 (60 minute hour)
 Used _______________________ to measure fields and plan buildings.
 Designed the _____________ and the ________________.
 Based off the video, what you do think the most important Sumerian Achievement is
and why?
 ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________