Guided Reading netw rks Sumerians used irrigation to water ...

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Guided Reading

Mesopotamia Lesson 1 The Sumerians

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netw rks

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How does geography influence the way people live?

What are the characteristics that make up a culture?

The First Civilizations in Mesopotamia

Determining Causes and Effects Afterpeoplesettledin

theMesopotamianregion,certaindevelopmentsledtothe formationoftheSumerianCivilization.Thesedevelopmentshada causeandeffectrelationship.Intheflowchartbelow,namethree ofthesedevelopments.Thefirstdevelopmenthasbeenprovided.

1. Peoplesettledin Mesopotamia.

2. 1. Sumerians used water from the

Tigris and Euphrates rivers to water ccrops.

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies.

3.

4.

Plentiful food allowed some Sum erians to specialize in work

other than farming, such as bein

g an artisan

Sumerians used irrigation to water their crops, which increased harvests

People began to live together in areas that favored trade, thereby developing cities.

5. Describing Writethreesentencesthatdescribetheterrain ofMesopotamia.

Mesopotamia is the region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. These rivers run parallel to each other. Mesopotamia has a fertile plain.

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Guided Reading Cont.

Mesopotamia

Sumer's Civilization

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netw rks

Listing Thefirstcolumnbelowidentifiesfiveelementsof

Sumeriancity-states.Inthesecondcolumn,writeonefact abouteachelement.

Elements of Sumerian City-States

Location

1.

Facts

Sumerian city-states were located near rivers.

Economy

2. Sumerian city-states produced their own crops.

Population

3.

The population of Sumerian city-states varied from 20,000 to 250,000.

Politics

4. Sumerian city-states formed alliaTnecxet s with other city-states.

Religion

5. Sumerian city-states often had a ziggurat.

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies.

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Guided Reading Cont.

Mesopotamia

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netw rks

Categorizing Sumeriansocietyhadthreeclasses.Eachclass

consistedofpeoplewhoheldcertainpositions.Forexample,a personwhowasapriestwaspartoftheupperclass.

BelowisalistofpositionsinSumeriansocietyandatable dividedintoclasses.Fillinthetablewiththeappropriatewords fromthelist.

artisan warrior debtor

merchant slave governmentofficial

criminal king farmer

Sumerian Society

Upper Class 6. warrior, governme nt officia l,king

Middle Class 7. artisan, m erchant, farmer

Lower Class 8. d ebtor, slave, crim in al

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9. Identifying IdentifyfourgoodsthatSumeriansreceived fromotherregionsinexchangeforSumeriangoods.

Possible answers: tin, timber, carnelian, lapis lazuli

NAME

Guided Reading Cont.

Mesopotamia

Sumerian Contributions

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netw rks

Describing Youareahistorianrecordingthevarious

contributionsSumeriansmadeinwriting,technology,and mathematics.Describesomeofthosecontributionsonthe scrollsbelow.

1. Writing

Sumerians developed a form of writing called cuneiform, developed a form of poetry called the epic, and wrote the poem called the Epic of Gilgamesh.

2. Technology

Sumerians invented the wheel, developed the first carts and chariots, developed the sailboat, invented the wooden plow, made bronze, and developed the potter's wheel.

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies.

3. Mathematics

Sumerians used geometry to measure the size of fields and design buildings, created a system of numbers based on 60, charted the position of the stars to learn the best times to plant crops and hold religious ceremonies, and developed the 12-month calendar.

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