ancient sumeria

what is at the center of mankind's first civilization

city of ur

people of sumer called

sumerians

what did sumerians invent

writing, mathematics, wheel, and large cities

do taurus mountains of turkey have a high or low rate of rainfall

high

a landscape shaped by water

the geography and beliefs

mesopotamia

Water from Armenian mountains flows to create a vast flood plain

Bilad al-Rafidayn

the land of two rivers

mesos

middle

potamos

river

what does mesopotamia literally mean

the land between the rivers

what is the perfect habitat for most plants

soil with high silt

true or false: Soil with a high silt content does not tend to hold water better

false

which two rivers transport vast amounts of silt

tigris and euphrates

where do tigris and euphrates transport vast amounts of silt

iraq

is silt inhospitalable

yes

where is the nile consistently supplied

great lakes of africa

what does tigris and euphrates depend on

rain from mountains

ubaid period

several thousand years of settlement down river

what happened 13000 years ago

hunter-gatherers settle down and spread out over s. iraq

irrigation and canals

channels to divert the water inland

what are three things that were harvested during the ubaid period

Wheat, millet, garlic

what is at the deltas of the tigris and euphrates

thickets of reeds

where is the thickets of reeds at the deltas of tigris and euphrates

southern, marshy landscape that the greatest sumerian cities rose

Mesopotamia populated by two peoples:

Sumerians and Akkadians

what type of relationship were mesopotamia people

symbiotic relationship

what type of language did akkadians speak

semetic language

which language group is indigenous to the region

amaramic, hebrew, and arabic

true or false: sumerians are incredibly mysterious

true

language isolate

no relationship to the language groups around them

oannes

half-man half-fish

what happens after oannes teach secrets to others

leap into the sea and swim away

where is sumerian history dominated from

apocalyptic event

what types of myths are the longest continual stories told in human history

flood myths

pleistocene

12500 years ago

how much of the coastline shrinks per day in sumeria

1 feet a day

when did temperatures stabilized

5000 BC

if history is not a rigid set of facts, what is it?

a continual process of inquiry and debate

what are the key aspects of civilization

cow worship, goddesses

Who was Pietro della Valle and what did he discover?

searched ruins and discovered clay tablets.

Why are the Taurus mountains important?

lots of rainfall for Mesopotamia

Where in the world do we see flood stories?

india, greece, maya