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Teacher Answer Sheet
Mesopotamia (Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians) Webquest
Go to the following website:
http://www.ducksters.com/history/mesopotamia/ancient_mesopotamia.php
Or use the QR Code!
Scroll down and answer the following questions:
1. Why is Mesopotamia often called the “Cradle of Civilization”?
Mesopotamia is where some of the first large cities formed thousands of years ago
2. What does the word Mesopotamia mean?
"the land between rivers"
3. What two rivers flow through or near the area of Mesopotamia?
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
4. What modern countries are located where Mesopotamia once thrived?
Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria
5. Why was Mesopotamia a great place for farming?
The land is fertile and there is plenty of water for farming
6. What did the Sumerians invent?
Writing and government
7. What were the Babylonians the first known people to do?
The Babylonians were the first to write down and record their system of law
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8. What type of society did the Assyrians create?
Warrior society
9. What was at the center of each Mesopotamian city?
A temple to the city's god called a ziggurat
10. About how long are Tigris and Euphrates Rivers?
Both are over 1,000 miles long
11. In what city did historians and archeologists find most of the written history of
Mesopotamia?
Assyrian city of Nineveh
Click on the Sumerians
12. When were the first cities and towns of Sumer created?
Around 5000 B.C.
13. What did many of the Sumerian city-states do to one another?
Fight
14. List several of the Sumerian inventions that changed the world?
Writing, a number system, the first wheeled vehicles, sun-dried bricks, and
irrigation for farming
15. What number was the Sumerian number system based on?
60
Click on Sumerian Writing and Cuneiform
16. What did the Sumerians write on?
Clay tablets
17. What was the wedge shaped writing of the Sumerians called?
Cuneiform
18. How did people sign documents in Mesopotamia?
Personal seals made of stone, metal, or wood
Click on Daily Life of Mesopotamia
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19. How did life change in Mesopotamia with the start of Sumerian civilization?
More jobs and opportunities for people
20. What groups of people were in the upper class?
King and family, priests
21. What groups of people were in the middle class?
Craftsman, merchants, and civil servants
22. What groups of were in the lower class?
Laborers and farmers
23. Who typically owned slaves? How were slaves acquired?
King, people in the upper class, captured through war or battle
24. What were most houses like in Mesopotamia?
Mud brick rooms that had a couple of levels
25. List some things people in Mesopotamia did for entertainment?
Music, sports, art
26. What was clothing like in Mesopotamia?
It was made from sheep skin or wool
27. Who wore make-up in Mesopotamian society? Men and women
Click on Art and Artisans
28. Pick two groups of Artisans and describe what they did in Mesopotamia?
Answers will vary
Click on The Ziggurat
29. What did ziggurats look like?
Step pyramids
30. What were ziggurats used for?
To practice religion
Click on Great Cities of Mesopotamia
31. About how many people lived in Uruk at its peak?
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80,000 people
32. Who was the famous king of Uruk?
Gilgamesh
33. What city was the center of the Akkadian Empire?
Akkad
34. About how many people lived in Babylon at its peak?
200,000 People
Click on Science, Inventions, and Technology
35. What was the first major piece of literature in human history?
Epic Tale of Gilgamesh
36. What was the wheel probably first used for?
To make pottery
37. How many months did the first Mesopotamian calendar have?
12 months
38. What metals were Mesopotamian tools made from?
Bronze
39. What did the Archimedes Screw allow?
The screw can move water upwards
Click on Religion and Gods
40. Who was the main god of the Babylonians? What did he have for a pet?
Marduk, he had a dragon
41. Who was the primary god of the Assyrians?
Ashur (Assur)
Click on the Epic of Gilgamesh
42. What were some of the powers of Gilgamesh?
Great strength, strongest person in the world
43. Who does Gilgamesh become friends with?
Enkidu
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44. What does Gilgamesh eventually learn about human beings?
All human beings die
Click on the Akkadian Empire
45. What person united northern and southern Mesopotamia?
Sargon the Great
46. About how long did the Akkadian Empire last?
200 to 300 years
47. How did Sargon create the first dynasty?
He made his sons his replacements
Click on Babylonian Empire
48. What Babylonian leader united all of Mesopotamia?
Hammurabi
49. What river was Babylon built next to?
Euphrates River
50. How did Nebuchadnezzar II improve Babylon?
He built a moat around the city for defense, the city and temples were improved
51. What were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?
A series of terraces covered in plants
Click on Hammurabi
52. What is Hammurabi best known for?
Hammurabi’s code
53. How old was Hammurabi when he became king?
18
54. How did Hammurabi improve Babylon?
He focused on improving trade and peace through treaties, he created a powerful
army
55. How long did Hammurabi rule?
43 years
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Click on the Code of Hammurabi
56. What was the Code of Hammurabi written down on?
The Code of Hammurabi was written down on clay tablets and etched into stone
57. How many total laws are in the Code of Hammurabi?
282 laws
58. Why is the Code of Hammurabi important? It is the first major document to have
clear laws and punishements
Click on Nebuchadnezzar II
59. What is Nebuchadnezzar II best known for?
He is known for rebuilding much of Babylon and restoring it to its former glory. He
also built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
60. According to the Bible, what happened to Nebuchadnezzar II for seven years? He
has insanity
Click on Assyrian Empire
61. In what part of Mesopotamia did the Assyrians live?
They lived in northern Mesopotamia near the start of the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers
62. What areas of the world did the Assyrians conquer?
All of Mesopotamia and most of the Middle East
63. What did Ashurbanipal have built? Why are the ruins of this building so important
in modern times? Great library, it tells us the history of Mesopotamia
Click on Assyrian Army
64. What would the Assyrian Army do every spring?
Start a battle campaign
65. What did the cruelty of Assyrians often cause?
Rebellions
66. What was the greatest strength or weapon of the Assyrian army?
Chariots
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67. What material did the Assyrians use to make their weapons stronger?
Iron
68. What did the Assyrians use to break into and destroy enemy cities?
Battering rams and siege towers
69. What Mesopotamian Empire would you want to live in if you had to? Please explain
why?
Answers will vary
70. What grade would give the Mesopotamians for their impact on world?
A
B
Please explain your grade!
Answers will vary
C
D
F