Share Lesson 4: The Rise of Sumerian City-States
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The environment of Sumer was
low and flat, with little rain
The name of Mesopotamia comes from its location, which was (where?)
between two rivers
Why were Sumerian communities called city-states?
Each of them had its own ruler and farmland.
Which fact allowed Neolithic people to farm in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains?
The region had plenty of rain.
What development caused food shortages in the Zagros foothills?
Increase in population
What solu-on did people in the Zagros foothills find to fix the problem of food shortages?
moving to the south
One factor that made farming difficult in the area of Sumer was
lack or rainfall
Why did the rivers flood in the spring?
Snow melted in the mountains where the rivers began
What was the chief purpose of dams and reservoirs?
to store water for later use
If you were in ancient Sumer, you might see a levee beside a river. Why was the levee built?
to prevent floods
Why was silt a problem for the people of Sumer?
It clogged the irrigation canals
Why did the villages of Sumer depend on each other?
They cooperated to keep the water systems working
Using natural resources found in the environment, Sumerians built strong walls with
bricks made of mud
The people of Sumer constructed moats to
protect cities from attack
