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Unit 2
Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush
Lesson 1
The Land Between Two Rivers
I. Importance of Major River Systems
A. World’s major river systems formed valleys
1. River valleys supported permanent settlements and early civilizations
B. Valleys
1. Plenty of water
a. can be used for: drinking, cooking, bathing
2. Fishers would spear, hook or net fish
3. Farmers raised crops and grazed their livestock on wide, fertile plains
a. Early farmers would grow a surplus of crops,
which led to more advanced cultures and early civilizations
C. Early Civilizations developed in the valleys of four major river systems
1. Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (southwestern Asia)
2. Nile River (northern Africa)
3. Indus River (southern Asia)
4. Huang Hu (eastern Asia)
II. The Tigris and Euphrates
A. One of the world’s first civilizations formed in the river valley between the two
rivers
1. Arose in the land that became known as Sumer
B. Sumer lay in the southern part of the region, called: The Fertile Crescent
1. Had fertile soil
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C. Both rivers flow south from the Taurus Mountains, then southeast through the
Fertile Crescent
1. Many tributaries join the Tigris
a. Tributary is a smaller river that flows into longer rivers
D. The Tigris and Euphrates join together and flow into the Persian Gulf
1. The land between these two rivers is known as: Mesopotamia
III. Mesopotamia
A. Means the land between Rivers
1. Northern Mesopotamia sat on the high, flat land area of a plateau
2. Southern Mesopotamia lay on the low, flat land of an alluvial plain
a. a plain formed by streams or rivers
3. In the spring, the rivers overflowed their banks
a. deposited tiny rocks onto the land and formed a new level of silt
b. it was on this fertile soil (in Southern Mesopotamia) that the people
of Sumer built their civilization
III. The Need for Irrigation
A. Annual flooding of the rivers enriched the soil but was not counted on to water the
crops
1. floods often rushed over land, destroying crops and livestock
a. also swept away villages
B. Northern Mesopotamia received enough rainfall for farmers to grow crops
C. Southern Mesopotamia often suffered from droughts
1. People in the south dug canals to carry water from the rivers to the land
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2. They also stored water in basins
a. areas of low land
b. Used the stored water in times of droughts
3. To protect from floods, they built walls of dirt along river banks
IV. Ubaid Culture
A. 5000 BC, first known settlement in southern Mesopotamia
B. People lived simply, raising just enough crops to survive
1. Used stone hoes to work fields
a. Lived close to fields in huts made of reeds and mud
2. Worshipped gods in small, one room temples
C. Simple life eventually grew more advanced
1. Needed rules and organization
a. Leaders were needed, village chief
2. Built larger homes and temples
3. Began creating painted pottery
4. Began trading more extensively
a. Boats carried pottery and other goods down rivers to other villages
for trade
V. From City to Civilization
A. After Ubaid Culture, Sumerians developed new ideas in southern Mesopotamia
1. Led to complex cultures in the region
2. Some villages emerged into the first cities
a. Eridu, Uruk, Kish, and Ur developed around 3500BC
3. Sumerians formed one of the world’s first civilizations - SUMER
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