Download Chapter 3 Section 1 - San Marcos High School

Chapter 3 Section 1
Geography of the Fertile Crescent
Rivers support the growth of civilization
Euphrates
River
Tigris
River
1. What is the Fertile
Crescent?
It is a large arc shaped
area of rich, or fertile
farmland in a region
called Mesopotamia.
• Mesopotamia means “the
land between two rivers”
in Greek.
• It was first settled more
than 12,000 y.a.
Rise of Civilization
2. What is silt?
Silt is a mixture of
rich soil and tiny
rocks.
• Every year floods
would bring rich silt to
replenish the soil with
nutrients.
• The first farms formed
as early as 7000 BC.
3.What did farmers grow?
Flax
Barley
Farmers grew wheat, barley, flax, and other
types of grain.
• Livestock, birds, and fish were good sources of
food.
Farming and Cities
4. Why was farming
difficult?
There was very little
rainfall.
If it did rain a lot, the
rivers would flood
the crops.
If there was not
enough rain, crops
would die. (drought)
Controlling Water
5. What is irrigation? Irrigation is a way of
supplying water to an area of land.
6. What are canals? Canals are human made
waterways that connected these basins to a
network of ditches.
7. Why did Mesopotamians build canals? To
control the river’s flow.
Food Surpluses
Oats
8. What is surplus? Surplus means more than
you need.
• Irrigation increased the amount of food farmers
were able to grow which created surpluses of
food.
• Irrigation made farmers more productive so
fewer people needed to farm.
9.What is division of labor? It is an arrangement in
which each worker specializes in a particular task or
job.
Why
Did Craftsmen
came to
work in
Mesopotamia?
Because
of
Division
of
Labor and
More
jobs
The Appearance of Cities…
around 4000 and 3000 BC
UR
Ishtar’s
Gate
Babylon
Babylon
Nineveh
Summary
• Mesopotamia’s rich, fertile lands supported
productive farming which led to the development
of cities. If they had a steady food supply, people
could develop a complex society.