River Valley Civilizations: Ancient Mesopotamia Unit— Unit Study Guide
DIRECTIONS: This is the study guide for our Unit Test. This is NOT a homework assignment. It is NOT an extra credit
assignment. It is simply meant to provide you with important vocabulary and the key questions that will be addressed by
our Unit Test. Use it to help you study and prepare throughout the next few weeks!
Unit Vocabulary:
1. Mesopotamia - a Greek word meaning between the rivers; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
2. Fertile Crescent - a large arc of rich, or fertile farmland from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea
3. Silt – a mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks
4. Irrigation – a way of supplying water to an area of land
5. Division of Labor – workers specialize in a particular task or job
6. Canals – human-made waterways
7. Surplus - more than needed
8. Urban - city
9. Rural - countryside
10. City-state – a city and all the countryside around it
11. Sargon – the world’s first emperor; the first ruler to have a permanent army
12. Empire - land with different territories and people under a single ruler
13. Priests – people who performed religious ceremonies
14. Polytheism – the worship of many gods
15. Social Hierarchy – the division of society by rank and/or class
16. Cuneiform – the world’s first system of writing
17. Scribe – a writer
18. Epic – long poems that tell stories of heroes
19. Architecture – the science of building
20. Hammurabi’s Code – a set of 282 laws that dealt with almost every part of daily life; the earliest known written
collection of laws
21. Alphabet – a set of letters than can be combined to form words
Unit Essential Questions:
1. What geographic features are beneficial to the formation of a civilization?
2. How was irrigation important to ancient human civilizations?
3. Why is agriculture important to civilizations?
4. What about the geography of Mesopotamia BEST explains why civilizations began in that area?
5. How did division of labor aid help Mesopotamian society to advance at a more rapid speed?
6. What tactics did Sargon use in order to successfully establish his empire in Mesopotamia?
7. Why did the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia value religion within their societies?
8. How was the social hierarchy of Mesopotamia organized? What were some of the social classes within
Mesopotamian society?
9. Identify examples of Mesopotamian inventions that would have allowed them to increase and be more successful
at trading with other cultures.
10. Identify examples of Mesopotamian inventions that would have aided them in improving their agricultural
production.
11. Why was Hammurabi’s Code important to the development of government within human societies?
12. What geographic features allowed Phoenicia to become a powerful trading society?
Unit Geography: You must be able to identify the following locations/geographic features on a
world map.
1. North America
2. South America
3. Europe
4. Africa
5. Asia
6. Australia
7. Antarctica
8. Atlantic Ocean
9. Pacific Ocean
10. Indian Ocean
11. Arctic Ocean
12. Southern Ocean
13. Gulf of Mexico
14. Caribbean Sea
15. Rocky Mountains 16. Andes Mountains
17. Appalachian Mountains
18. Amazon River
19. Mississippi River
20. Tigris River
22. Persian Gulf
23. Mesopotamia
21. Euphrates River
Absolute Location: For the test, you must be able to identify the coordinates of various spots around the world.
Practice for the test using the absolute location sheet that is in your notebook!
Review Vocabulary: These vocabulary words were not part of this unit of study but were part of previous units of study.
Questions on these vocabulary terms will appear on your next test.
1. Geography
2. History
3. Archaeology
7. Secondary Source
8. Culture
13. Anthropology
14. Government
18. Traditional Economy
9. Values
5. Artifacts
10. Anthropology
15. Monarchy
19. Command Economy
22. Hunter-Gatherer Society 23. Nomadic
4. Fossil
16. Anarchy
20. Market Economy
24. Domestication
6. Primary Source
11. Culture
12. Values
17. Economic System
21. Mixed Economy
25. Civilization
26. Agriculture
Review Essential Questions: These questions were not part of this unit of study but were part of previous units of study.
These questions will appear on your next test.
1. What geographic features are beneficial to the formation of a civilization?
2. How did the creation of agriculture and domestication change human societies?
3. Provide examples of artifacts. Provide examples of fossils.
4. Provide examples of primary sources. Provide examples of secondary sources.
5. In what ways are agricultural societies different from hunter-gatherer societies?
6. Why do people create governments to rule themselves?
7. Describe an example of a society with a command economy. Describe an example of a society with a market
economy.