Transcript Fertile Crescent - Maria Regina School

I. The Land Between the
Rivers
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 One of the world’s first farming communities developed
in the Fertile Crescent in Asia.
 Land lies between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
 Greeks called it Mesopotamia
 Present-day – Southwest Asia known as the Middle East
 Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flow southeast emptying into
the Persian Gulf
 Area’s climate – usually hot and dry, and rains are
unpredictable
 The rivers were important because they were the only
source of water for drinking, farming, and washing.
 Prayed to gods for rain and good crops
Map Skill:
 Location: Into what
body of water do the
Tigris and Euphrates
flow?
 Persian Gulf
How did the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers affect the
people of Mesopotamia?

 Drinking
 Farming
 Washing
 Travel
 Trade
II. Life in Mesopotamia
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 Learned how to direct water
 Used irrigation
 Built canals and dams which were used to collect
water in ponds for storage
 Built levees to prevent flooding
 Some of the first laws dealt with sharing water.
 Used simple tools to farm – wooden plows and hoes
 Grew – wheat, barley, dates, onions, and other crops

 Used geography to their advantage
Farmed
Caught fish in the rivers
Rivers provided mud for building houses
Used valuable resource of wood to make plows and
furniture
 Invented the potter’s wheel – used for pottery
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A. Animals Go To Work

 Animals were used for food and other goods.
 Sheep – supplied meat and wool for clothing
 Cattle – used for meat and skin made leather
 Trained to carry goods and pull plows
B. Trade and Crafts

 Rich soil, hard work, and new irrigation techniques
helped to produce a surplus of crops
 Surplus led to trade.
 Travel to other villages
 Allowed specialization in crafts, making baskets, cloth,
and pottery
 Villages became centers of trading and crafting.
How did geography
affect the way people

lived in Mesopotamia?
 Irrigate crops
 Build levees
 Brought fish
 Brought mud and reeves for building homes
Let’s Become a Farmer

 Geography Challenge
III. Civilizations in
Sumer

 By 3,000 B.C. villages turned into large cities.
 The region near the Persian Gulf became known as
Sumer.
 Developed city-states
 Had own government
 Strict social class systems – certain groups of people
held the same positions in society

Kings, priests,
government officials
Farmers, traders,
Craftspeople
slaves
A. Religion in Sumer

 Practiced polytheism - the belief in many gods and
goddesses
 Father of the gods – An
 Inanna - goddess of love and war
 Important god - Enki - god of water
 ziggurat or “mountain of god” - main building in
each Sumerian city
 A temple stood at the top of each ziggurat
 Sumerian believed priests could communicate with
the gods and goddesses.
B. Sumerian Empire

 Sumer’s most powerful city-states tried to gain
control of the area for years.
 2300 B.C - Sargon - king of the city-state of Akkad
succeeded
 Created the first empire in World history
 Ruled for 56 years
C. Sumerian Inventions

 Made discoveries
 Writing- cuneiform or wedge-shaped marks
 Could record laws and important events
 Marks were pressed into wet clay tablets and then the
tablets were baked in the sun until dry.
 Edubbas or “tablet houses” – schools
 Wealthy boys went to school
 Studied math, music, etc.
 Official record-keepers were scribes
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 Other inventions
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Irrigation
Pottery
Wagon wheel
Sailboat
measurement
Calendar
Time
How did Sumerian
inventions affect life in
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Mesopotamia?
 Improved life in Sumer
 Made it possible to keep accurate records
 Measure time
 Improve transportation