Download Name ______ Chapter 3 Honors Study Guide Block

Mesopotamia Study Guide
* Due by Friday, Oct. 3
*Mesopotamia Test Monday, Oct. 6
Terms to know: Surplus, Irrigation, Polytheism, Monotheism, Architecture, Social Hierarchy, Silt
1.
Why did crops grow well in Mesopotamia?
2. What two rivers helped to form Mesopotamia? What does “Mesopotamia” mean?
3. Why were floods in Mesopotamia helpful to the people?
4. Why did the Mesopotamians build canals?
5. Why are the Sumerians important in Mesopotamian history?
6. What is a ziggurat, and why was it important in Mesopotamian society?
7. Who served as a mediator between the Sumerians and their gods?
8. List two important inventions of the Sumerians.
9. What was the purpose of the Sumerian cylinder seal?
10. Which Mesopotamian group was famous for their war-like nature and invention of the chariot & battering
ram?
11. Describe Hammurabi’s code. (Who, what, when, where, why…) How did the laws apply to people of
different social ranks?
12. Who is Sargon, and why is he important in Mesopotamian history?
13. How were scribes viewed in Sumerian society?
14. Describe cuneiform. What was it first used for in Sumer?
15. Why did Phoenicia become powerful in Mesopotamia?
16. What religion did the Hebrews follow? How was it different from Sumerian religion?
17. Describe the importance of Abraham and Moses to the Hebrew people.
18. How was the Phoenician alphabet different from cuneiform pictographs?
19. What is the difference between a city-state and an empire?
20. What building material created most structures in Mesopotamia?