 The
following questions are multiple
choice and each question is a key idea
from Chapter 4.
 There are additional study ideas to help
prepare you for the test at the end of the
power point
The name of Mesopotamia comes from it’s
location, which was
 in
mountain foothills.
 between two rivers.
 at the site of the earliest cities.
 near a region f many conflicts.

between two rivers.
The environment of Sumer was
 high
and cold, with sharp mountain
peaks.
 thickly forested, with heavy storms.
 hilly and dry, with many stones.
 low and flat with little rain.
 low
and flat with little rain.
Why were Sumerian communities called
city-states?
 Each
of them had its own ruler and farm
land.
 Each of them kept records.
 They were all part of one great empire.
 They all depended on each other for
water.

Each of them had its own ruler and farm
land.
Which fact allowed Neolithic people to
farm in the foothills of the Zagros
Mountains?
 Shallow
canals watered the fields.
 Harsh climates are good for grains.
 The region had plenty of rain.
 Goats can live on dry grass
 The
region had plenty of rain.
What development caused food shortages
in the Zagros foothills?
 Increase
in population.
 Overuse of soil.
 Fighting between villages together.
 Change in climate.

Increase in population.
 What
solution did people in the Zagros
foothills find to fix the problem of food
shortages?
 Joining
villages together.
 Constructing reservoirs.
 Moving to the south.
 Building terraces.

Moving to the south.

One factor that made farming difficult in the area
of Sumer was _____________________.
 lack
of rainfall
 growth of weeds
 rocky soil
 steep hillsides

lack of rainfall
Why did the rivers flood in the spring?
 Ice
that had formed on the rivers broke
into bits.
 Snow melted in the mountains where the
rivers began.
 Heavy rain fell throughout the area.
 Strong winds blew from the Persian Gulf.

Snow melted in the mountains where the
rivers began.

What was the chief purpose of dams
and reservoirs?
Store
water for later use.
To allow travel by boat.
To protect villages from attack.
To make it easier to fish.

Store water for later use.
 If
you were in ancient Sumer, you might
see a levee beside a river. Why was the
levee built?
 To
control workers
 To prevent floods.
 To load barges.
 To irrigate crops.

To prevent floods.

Why was silt a problem for the people of
Sumer?
 It
ruined the soil for planting.
 It dried up the rivers.
 It clogged the irrigation canals.
 It ruined the soil for planting.

It clogged the irrigation canals.
 Why
did the villages of Sumer depend on
each other?
 They
had to fight off attacks from empires
to the east.
 They formed caravans to safely visit the
mountains.
 They exchanged different kinds of
natural resources.
 They cooperated to keep the water
systems working.

They cooperated to keep the water
systems working.
 Using
natural resources found in the
environment, Sumerians built strong
walls with _________________.
 Logs
with pointed tips
 Bricks made of mud
 Rocks shaped into squares
 Reeds cut near the rivers

Bricks made of mud
 The
people of Sumer constructed moats
to _______________.
 Bring
drinking water into towns
 Get crops to grow better
 Protect cities from attack
 Make villages work together

Protect cities from attack
 Which
phrase belongs in the empty box?
Sumerian farming
villages
 Large
scale private estates.
 Abandoned archaeological sights.
 Bands of hunters and gatherers.
 Self-governing cities.
 Self-governing
cities.






Be able to draw and label a Sumerian city-state. Your
drawing must include the following features:
A river
A city wall
A moat
An irrigation system
The location of crops
After you complete your diagram, select 3 of the features
on your diagram that were a Sumerian response to
geographic challenges. For each of these 3 features,
briefly explain these points:
 What geographic challenge led to the feature
 Describe how the feature fixes the geographic
challenge

Study the map on page 34 of your text and be able
to answer the following questions while looking at
the map?
What are 2 Mesopotamian city-states shown on the
map?
 About how long is the Euphrates River according to
this map?
 The Tigris and lower Euphrates rivers flow in a
generally _______ direction until the reach the
southeast body of water called the ____ _______.
 What major physical feature lies between the
waters of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf?
