Mesopotamia

Using what you have learned about Sumerian civilization, what can you infer about the advantages of Sumer’s location?

• Sumer was in the south; so Sumerian farmers enjoyed a longer growing season.

• Access to rivers and the Persian Gulf, plus the invention of the sailboat, may have provided faster transportation routes for trading.

• Because of its location, Sumer was protected from Asian enemies in the north and Arab enemies in the south.

• Limestone from the rivers was a rare resource that could be traded for wood.

Which of the following describes the people who first settled on the plain of the Tigris–Euphrates valley in 7000 B.C?

• people fleeing the Assyrian army

• Sumer farmers who raised livestock on a seasonal basis

• hunter-gatherers that set up temporarily during planting season

• hunter-gatherers who depended on their environment for food

What accomplishment of the early Mesopotamian cultures resulted in a long-term solution to seasonal climate changes?

• growing a surplus of food and developing a way to store it to prevent famine

• settling further from the rivers to prevent damage to homes and fields

• building retaining walls around the entire farming settlement

• supplying water to fields with dams and canals

How did Sumerians use the resources in their climate when building their cities?

• Due to the environment, early Sumerians built cities that were isolated from each other.

• They built tall ziggurats to keep people off the scorching ground and away from mudflats.

• They combined reeds and mud to form bricks for building homes and city walls.

• Most middle-class Sumerians farmed land on the city-state perimeter.

Read the excerpt from the Code of Hammurabi. (moderate)

95

If a son strike his father, his hands shall be hewn off.

196

If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.

[An eye for an eye]

197

If he break another man’s bone, his bone shall be broken.

198

If he put out the eye of a freed man, or break the bone of a freed man, he shall pay one gold mina.

—from the Code of Hammurabi

Which statement best describes the nature of the code?

•  The punishment should fit the crime.

• The slightest infraction will incur severe punishment.

• The laws are simple and made to be broken.

• The code shows an improvement over Sumerian culture.

What effect did the Code of Hammurabi have on the further development of civilizations?

• They shaped emerging civilizations through the use of fear.

• They introduced the written law that would emerge elsewhere later in ancient history.

• They showed other civilizations how not to function.

• They kept the city under strict rule.

Which achievement of the Sumerian culture did the Assyrians improve upon for military use?

• They built bigger and better libraries to keep records of wars.

• They created law codes and posted them for all to see.

• They built wheeled carts called chariots.

• They changed the design of the sailboat to make it faster.

Look at the cause and effect chart. Which set of information best completes the chart to identify the events that contributed to the Chaldean Empire’s downfall?

• 1) poor harvest; 4) materials for goods; 5) goods; 6) economy

• 1) flooding; 4) food; 5) jewelry; 6) bartering power

 How did the Assyrians use the technologies of the Hittite people for their own gain?

• They crafted swords made out of silver.

• They invented the slingshot, which was easy to carry.

• They learned how to use iron for making spears.

• They made their own bows and arrows and dipped the arrows in bronze.

Which of the following would be the most reliable source of information about agricultural practices in ancient Mesopotamia?

• a painting showing Mesopotamian farm workers

• a lecture discussing crops grown in Mesopotamia

• an article about planting seasons in Mesopotamia

• an artifact used to grow and harvest food in Mesopotamia