Studied by 28 people
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
Note 
Flashcard (44)