Download Mesopotamia

Name _______________________________________
Social Studies
Mesopotamia Review Sheet
The Mesopotamia social studies test will be on ______________________________.
Chapter 4 – The Rise of Sumerian City-States
How did geographic challenges lead to the rise of city-states in Mesopotamia?
In this chapter, we learned about how geographic challenges led to the rise of city-states in Mesopotamia.
Explain the geography/environment of Southern Mesopotamia (Sumer).
Mesopotamia – A
Difficult
Environment
Why was Mesopotamia considered the Fertile Crescent?
Problem
Solution
Problem
Solution
Problem
Solution
Problem
Solution
Food Shortages in
the Hills
Uncontrolled Water
Supply in the River
Valley
Building and
Maintaining a
Complex Irrigation
System
Attacks by
Neighboring
Communities
Word
irrigation
levee
Definition
Chapter 5 – Ancient Sumer
Why do historians classify ancient Sumer as a civilization?
In this chapter, we learned about the characteristics of a Sumerian society that made it a civilization.
Stable Food Supply
 How did Sumerians know they had
a stable food supply?
 Name two inventions that helped
with farming.
Social Structure
top-level
middle-level
 Describe the three levels of social
structure.
 Explain what types of houses they
lived in.
Government
 How was the king chosen?
 What were some of his
responsibilities?
Religion
 In what ways did Sumerians express
their religious beliefs?
The Arts
 What types of objects did artisans
make for Sumerians?
 Why was music important to
Sumerians?
Technology
 What were two technological
advances of the Sumerians?
Describe their importance.
Writing
 Describe Sumerian writing and why
scribes were important.
Word
civilization
artisan
technology
pictograph
scribe
ziggurat
Definition
bottom-level
Chapter 6 – Exploring Four Empires of Mesopotamia
What were the most important achievements of the Mesopotamian empires?
In this chapter, we learned about the most important achievements of the four empires that once ruled Mesopotamia.
The Fall of Sumer
 Explain what caused the Fall of
Sumer.
What is Sargon best known
for?
Explain the strategies
Sargon used that made him
a successful leader.
What were some of the
Akkadians cultural
achievements?
What is Hammurabi best
known for?
Describe Hammurabi’s code
of laws.
List at least three other
achievements of
Hamnmurabi.
Sargon and the
Akkadian Empire
Hammurabi and the
Babylonian Empire
Contributions
 List at least five Mesopotamian
contributions.
1.______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
4. ______________________________
5. ______________________________
Word
empire
contribution
Definition
Name _______________________________________
Social Studies
Mesopotamia Review Sheet
The Mesopotamia social studies test will be on ______________________________.
Chapter 4 – The Rise of Sumerian City-States
How did geographic challenges lead to the rise of city-states in Mesopotamia?
In this chapter, we learned about how geographic challenges led to the rise of city-states in Mesopotamia.
Explain the geography/environment of Southern Mesopotamia (Sumer).
Mesopotamia – A The environment of Southern Mesopotamia (Sumer)was low and flat with little rain.
Mesopotamia was surrounded by mountains and bodies of water. The Tigris and
Difficult
Euphrates rivers ran through Mesopotamia.
Environment
Why was Mesopotamia considered the Fertile Crescent?
Mesopotamia was a crescent-shaped area of land marked by rich soil.
Food Shortages in
the Hills
Uncontrolled Water
Supply in the River
Valley
Building and
Maintaining a
Complex Irrigation
System
Attacks by
Neighboring
Communities
Word
irrigation
levee
Problem
Solution
The population increased and farmers
did not have enough land to grow food
for its people.
Mesopotamians moved out of the
foothills and onto the plains.
Problem
Solution
Farming was difficult because there was
either too much or too little rain.
Sumerians learned how to control the
water by digging canals, constructing
dams and building reservoirs to store
water for later use.
Problem
Solution
The irrigation system crossed village
boundaries and needed constant care
and repair. The canals often became
clogged with silt.
Sumerians had to cooperate to keep the
water system working. Villages worked
together to clear silt from canals and ensure
water levels in reservoirs were balanced.
Problem
Solution
People fought over the right to use more
water. People built new canals and
blocked other cities’ canals.
Sumerians built strong mud-brick walls
around their cities for protection. They
also dug moats outside city walls to
prevent enemies from entering.
Definition
a means of supplying land with water
a wall of earth built to prevent a river from overflowing its banks
Chapter 5 – Ancient Sumer
Why do historians classify ancient Sumer as a civilization?
In this chapter, we learned about the characteristics of a Sumerian society that made it a civilization.
Stable Food Supply
 How did Sumerians know they had
a stable food supply?
 Name two inventions that helped
with farming.
Social Structure
 Describe the three levels of social
structure.
 Explain what types of houses they
lived in.
Government
 How was the king chosen?
 What were some of his
responsibilities?
Religion
 In what ways did Sumerians express
their religious beliefs?
The Arts
Sumerians had a stable food supply if it had enough food for its people. Their
complex irrigation system and invention of the plow helped with farming.
top-level
~ included priests, landowners
and government officials
~ lived in two-story luxurious
homes in the center of the city
middle-level
~ included merchants, artisans,
farmers and fishermen
~ lived in small mud-brick
houses at the edge of the city
bottom-level
~ included slaves
~ lived in their owners’ homes
~ had no property of their own
The king was chosen by the gods. His responsibilities included enforcing laws,
collecting taxes, building and maintaining temples, making sure irrigations systems
were maintained, leading city-state’s army and appointing government officials.
Sumerians expressed their religious beliefs by constructing temples and
religious towers called ziggurats. They also made statues and held religious
ceremonies.
 What types of objects did artisans
make for Sumerians?
 Why was music important to
Sumerians?
Artisans made weapons, cups, mirrors, jewelry. Music was important to
Sumerians because they believed music brought joy to gods and people. They
played a variety of instruments that included drums, pipes and the lyre.
Technology
1. Sumerians invented the wheel. It was used by potters, wheeled carts for farmers and
chariots for the army. Wheeled carts made moving goods and farming easier.
2. Sumerians also invented the arch. Arches added strength and beauty to Sumerian
buildings and became a common feature of temple entrances and upper-class homes.
 What were two technological
advances of the Sumerians?
Describe their importance.
Writing
 Describe Sumerian writing and why
scribes were important.
Sumerians created a written language called cuneiform. They used a wedge-shaped
stylus to etch their writing on clay tables. Scribes were important because they
wrote down Sumerian laws.
Word
Definition
civilization
artisan
a society marked by developed arts, sciences, government, and social
structure.
skilled workers
technology
the use of tools and other inventions for practical purposes
pictograph
a symbol that stands for an object
scribe
ziggurat
Sumerian writer
ancient Mesopotamian temple tower
Chapter 6 – Exploring Four Empires of Mesopotamia
What were the most important achievements of the Mesopotamian empires?
In this chapter, we learned about the most important achievements of the four empires that once ruled Mesopotamia.
The Fall of Sumer
 Explain what caused the Fall of
Sumer.
The Sumerians never united into one group, which left them open to attacks,
they fought over land and water rights, and they were attacked by a stronger
group (Akkadians).
Sargon is best known for
creating the world’s first
empire.
Explain the strategies Sargon
used that made him a
successful leader.
Military strategies: assembled
large army and taught how to
fight in formation
Political strategies: destroyed
walls of city, demanded loyalty
of city-state governors
What were some of the
Akkadians cultural
achievements?
Akkadians replaced Sumerian
language with their own,
created three-dimensional
sculptures and steles.
What is Hammurabi best
known for?
Describe Hammurabi’s code
of laws.
Hammurabi is best
known for his written
code of laws.
Hammurabi’s code of laws
unified the empire and brought
order to people’s lives. They
were very detailed and spelled
out punishments for crimes.
List at least three other
achievements of
Hammurabi.
Hammurabi maintained
irrigation systems properly,
made Babylon a center for
trade, built roads, and
created a postal service. To
unite the people, he named
Marduk the supreme god
over all others.
What is Sargon best known
for?
Sargon and the
Akkadian Empire
Hammurabi and the
Babylonian Empire
Contributions
 List at least five Mesopotamian
contributions.
Word
empire
contribution
Some contributions included the first written language (cuneiform), earliest
civilization, first government system to run a city, written laws, wheel, plow, arch,
chisel, lever, pulley, 12 month calendar (divided year into weeks, divided days into
hours and hours into seconds), clock (60 minute hour and 60 second minute),
number system based on 60
Definition
large territory in which several groups of people are ruled by a single leader or
government
to give or supply; be an important factor in