Y1S1 | Unit 2 - River Valley Civilizations: Mesopotamia

Everything you need to know about the ancient river valley civilization: Mesopotamia. This is for Benavides honors class.

Civilization

Complex societies that have cities, art, organized government, specialized labor, religion, a food supply, and a social hierarchy

The Importance of River Valley Civilizations

They allowed nomadic people to settle into villages and towns, and eventually civilizations

When Did River Valley Civilizations Exist?

These civilizations existed during the Neolithic Revolution

When was the Neolithic Revolution?

8000 to 3500 BCE

The Neolithic Revolution is Also Called?

The Agricultural Revolution

During the Neolithic Revolution, Humans…

Slowly started to domesticate flora and fauna in SE Asia

What Happened due to Domestication in the Neolithic Revolution?

Populations rose dramatically

Sedentary

Living in one place as a group

Why did people become sedentary?

Agriculture required nomadic people to settle down

Mesopotamia

Area in which the first civilizations began

What does Mesopotamia mean?

“land between the rivers“

What is Mesopotamia also called?

“Fertile Crescent” or “Cradle of Civilization”

What created fertile soil in Mesopotamia?

The Euphrates and Tigris Rivers’ annual flooding

Sumer

first Mesopotamian civilization

What made Sumer susceptible to attack?

Surrounding deserts and lack of natural resources

How were Mesopotamia’s city-states protected?

With high walls

The temples a the center of Mesopotamian cities were called…

Ziggurats

What type of specialized workers were in Mesopotamia?

farmers, priests, kings, slaves, skilled workers

List Mesopotamia’s class hierarchy from left to right:

priests, kings, skilled workers, farmers, slaves

The Babylonians and Sumerians were both monotheistic, true or false?

False

Who were the first monotheistic peoples?

Palestinian Hebrews

What did the Torah and Ten Commandments serve as?

Moral laws