The Fertile Crescent

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The Civilization of Sumer
Please quietly enter the room, find your seats
and discuss your three sticky notes with your
row group.

Central Question:
How did the physical location of Mesopotamia
affect the people who lived there? (3.5g)


The Fertile Crescent
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Introduction
This chapter will introduce you to The Fertile
Crescent, a region of the Middle East where early
civilizations started. You will learn about these
civilizations and their achievements.

Section 1: The Civilization of Sumer
Section 2: The First Empires
Section 3: The Assyrian and Persian Empires
Section 4: The Phoenicians
Chapter Introduction
The Fertile Crescent
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The Fertile Crescent
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The Civilization of Sumer
Fertile land between the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers supported the earliest known
civilization.

Priests and kings held great power in the
city-states of Sumer.

Sumerian achievements included new
technology, a written language, and epic
poetry.
Key Ideas
The Fertile Crescent
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The Fertile Crescent
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The Civilization of Sumer
Key Terms
city-stateindependent state consisting of a city and its
surrounding territory

bartertrading system in which people exchange goods
directly without using money

polytheismworship of many gods or deities

zigguratbrick, pyramid-shaped Mesopotamian temple

cuneiformMesopotamian system of writing that uses
triangular-shaped symbols to stand for ideas or things

The Fertile Crescent
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The Civilization of Sumer
Geography of Mesopotamia
The foothills of the Taurus and Zagros
mountain chains are in northern
Mesopotamia.

Mesopotamia is a hot, dry region with little
rainfall.
The Fertile Crescent
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How could the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
be both helpful and harmful?
The Civilization of Sumer
Farming the Land
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Helpful Harmful
The Fertile Crescent
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How were farmers successful
in the desert conditions of Mesopotamia?


What technology did Sumerians invent
to make planting easier?
The Civilization of Sumer
Technology and Agriculture
The Fertile Crescent
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The Civilization of Sumer
Sumerian City-States
With a dependable food supply,
the population grew and city-states formed.

Each city-state was a center of trade
that used a barter trading system.

Sumerians developed a social order
with three classes.
The Fertile Crescent
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Rotations
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Research
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