Unit 2: Mesopotamia, Ancient
Egypt, and Kush
Chapter 3: Mesopotamia and the
Fertile Crescent 51-77
Bell Work
9-9
 P. TN10 (1-5)
Bell Work 9/10
Societal Changes
Instructions: List features of the following societies. Leave cities blank
and we will come back to it.
Characteristics
____________
Hunter-Gatherer
Society
Characteristics
Farming Societies
(Small Villages)
Characteristics
_______________
Cities
(Civilizations)
______________
Chapter 3: Mesopotamia and the
Fertile Crescent
 The first civilizations grew up in river valleys
in Asia and Africa. Such valleys provided
water and fertile land for farming. In the
region of the Tigris and Euphrates river valley,
the Sumerians developed the world’s first
civilization.
Mesopotamia and the Fertile
Crescent
 Early farming villages were not technologically
advanced.
 As the communities grew more food, their
settlements grew in size. What inventions,
technology, or organizations would be needed
in the community as it grows?
Chapter 3: Mesopotamia and the
Fertile Crescent
 Fertile
Crescent
 Silt
 Irrigation
 Canals
 Surplus
 Division
of Labor
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
Rural
Urban
City-State
Gilgamesh
Sargon
Empire
Polytheism
Priests
Social
Hierarchy

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
Cuneiform
Pictographs
Scribe
Epics
Architectur
e
 Ziggurat
 Monarch
 Hammurabi
’s Code
 Chariot
 Nebuchadn
ezzar
 Alphabet
Civilization
A civilization is a society with cities, a central government,
workers, who specialize in certain jobs leading to social
classes, that has religion, writing, art, and architecture.
There is no civilization without agriculture – societies need a
stable food supply before they can develop.
A civilization is made up of many parts. We will use the
acronym G.R.A.P.E.S. to remember them!
Geography – Where is the civilization? What sort of crops
can they grow? What natural resources do they have?
Religion – What do the people believe? How do their beliefs
affect their lives?
Achievements – What did they contribute to the world?
What did they invent? What did they build (architecture)?
Politics – What was their government like? Who made the
decisions in the society?
Economy - -How did the society distribute their resources?
Did they trade or use money? What did they sell or trade?
What did they need to get from outside of their civilization?
Social Structures – What were their social class systems?
Who was considered more important in their society? What
were their art, music, and recreation like?
Fertile
Crescent
Mesopotamia
Flooding &
Silt
Fertile Crescent
Mesopotamia (land between the rivers)
 Draw a quick sketch of the Fertile Crescent with
labels.
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
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

Fertile Crescent (color this area green)
Asia Minor
Arabian Peninsula
Persian Gulf
Mediterranean Sea
Mesopotamia
Tigris and Euphrates River
Africa
 P. 55
Farming Community Activity
 Part I: Sketch a small farming community in
its early stages (color #1)
 Add irrigation to your community (color #2)
 Add surplus of food to your community (color
#3)
 Surplus of food leads to a division of labor.
Add division of labor (color #4)
Things You Should Have Included in
Your Farming Community Sketch
 Wood/
Mud
Houses
 Crops
 Water
Source
 Megalith
 Water
Diverti
ng
From
the
Water
Source
to
Crops
 Added
Food
Sources
through
out the
commu
nity
 People
in the
commun
ity
doing
chores:
making
pottery, cropping,
taming animals,
building canals,
building homes
How might big construction projects
like the building of canals and large
buildings lead to laws and
government?
Farming settlements grew in size and
complexity. They gradually developed
into cities between 4000 and 3000 BC.
Quick Review
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What is the acronym for characteristics of a
civilization and what does each letter stands for?
What region did the first civilizations choose to
settle?
How did Mesopotamians control the floods that
destroyed crops, killed livestock, and washed away
homes?
What lead to the creation of laws and
governments?
Picture: Ziggurat at Ur
p. 51
Mesopotamian temples known as ziggurats served as
places of worship and were the largest, most
important buildings in their cities. The photo here
shows one of the most famous Mesopotamian
ziggurats, the ziggurat at Ur. The ruins of the
ancient Sumerian temple, believed to have been built
in about 2100BC, are located near the present-day
city of Nasiriyah, in southeastern Iraq. Attempts at
restoring the ziggurat took place in the 1930s, but
only the lower level of the temple was restored.
What types of technology or knowledge were
probably needed to build this temple?