The Rise of the Sumerian City States

The environment of Sumer was

• low and flat, with little rain

• hilly and dry, with many stones

• thickly forested, with heavy storms

• high and cold, with sharp mountain peaks

The name of Mesopotamia comes from its location, which was

• between two rivers

• in mountain foothills

• near a region of many conflicts

• at the site of the earliest cities

Why were Sumerian communities called city-states?

• Each of them kept written records.

• They were all part of one great empire.

• They all depended on each other for water.

• Each of them had its own ruler and farmland.

What development caused food shortages in the Zagros foothills?

• overuse of the soil

• change in the climate

• increase in population

• fighting between villages

What solution did people in the Zagros foothills find to fix the problem of food shortages?

• building terraces

• moving to the south

• constructing resevoirs

• joining villages together

One factor that made farming difficult in the area of Sumer was

• rocky soil

• steep hillsides

• lack of rainfall

• growth of weeds

Why did the rivers flood in the spring?

• Heavy rain fell throughout the area.

• Strong winds blew from the Persian Gulf.

• Ice that had formed on the rivers broke into bits.

• Snow melted in the mountains where the rivers began.

What was the chief purpose of dams and reservoirs?

• to allow travel by boat

• to make it easier to fish

• to store water for later use

• to protect villages from attack

If you were in ancient Sumer, you might see a levee beside a river. Why was the levee built?

• to load barges

• to irrigate crops

• to prevent floods

• to control workers

Why did the villages of Sumer depend on each other?

• They formed caravans to safely visit the mountains.

• They cooperated to keep the water systems working.

• They exchanged different kinds of natural resources.

• They had to fight off attacks from empires to the east.