CMS/RMS Ancient Mesopotamia

How did the location of the cities on the map effect trade?

• They used the rivers as transportation.

• The surrounding desert made travel easier.

• They could only travel south on the rivers.

• The cities were spread too far apart for trade.

Which feature of geography was the most important in the development of early river valley civilizations?

• fertile soil from the rivers

• high mountains

• vast deserts

• smooth coastlines

How did calendars contribute to growth in cities and agriculture in ancient Mesopotamia?

• They notified more people of important feast days, which brought visitors and increased wealth to the cities.

• They helped farmers plan their crops to avoid floods, which allowed them to grow more food and to feed more people in the cities.

• They caused people who believed that the astronomers who created calendars could predict the future and therefore they moved closer to the cities to hear those predictions.

• They helped leaders to predict when neighboring armies would attack, and defend the cities, allowing them to grow

Cuneiform writing provided the basis for the development of what?

• subsistence farming

• painting and sculpture

• oral traditions

• recorded history

Which is the best explanation for why Mesopotamians built canals?

• They needed a way to control the river’s flow to prevent flooding and increase farming.

• They needed a way to control water so people could wash their clothes.

• They needed a way to control low water levels.

• They needed a way to control the surplus.

How did the metal plow help to increase Mesopotamian trade with other civilizations?

• Many farmers who had learned metalworking to make plows also made other metal goods for traders to sell.

• Farmers could plant faster, so they had more free time to go to markets and buy from traders.

• Farmers could plant faster, helping them plant larger areas and grow extra grain as a surplus for traders to sell.

• Farmers who bought plows from traders found their new tools so helpful that they later bought many other goods from trade

Which of the following facts serve as evidence that the Mesopotamians were polytheists?

• Mesopotamian government was centered on the city-state.

• Goods made in India and Egypt were brought to Mesopotamia by traders.

• The Sumerian story of the Great Flood is similar to the Bible story about Noah’s Ark.

• The city of Ur had temples dedicated to worshipping the goddess Ishtar and the god Enki.

Who was the ancient Babylonian king who created the earliest known code of laws which focused on harsh punishments to keep order in society?

• Sargon

• Hammurabi

• Eannatum

• Nebuchadnezzar

High crop earnings in ancient Mesopotamia, which resulted in a surplus of food, contributed most directly to the development of what?

• metal tools

• irrigation systems

• division of labor/specialized jobs

• a network of roads

Based on the map above and its central location and time period, ancient Mesopotamian traders had connections with traders in what other civilizations?

• Egypt

• China

• Australia

• Greece