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ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA The Land Between Two Rivers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki8S5I83Ccc
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA The Land Between Two Rivers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki8S5I83Ccc
World Map- You are HereOhio, USA Ancient
Mesopotamia
Southwest Asia- Political Map
Geography- Where in the World?
1. Around 4000 BCE nomadic groups of people (hunter/gatherer) began to settle in one place along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in an area known as Mesopotamia.
2. Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning “between the rivers” Meso (middle).
3. The former Ancient Mesopotamia is located in the Eastern Hemisphere in Southwest Asia.
4. The countries located there today are Syria, Iraq, and Kuwait.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki8S5I83Ccc
Geography- (how did physical features influence human activities?)
5. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers both provided fertile (rich) soil for growing crops.
6. Agriculture- working the land to grow crops for food (farming) developed in these river valleys. This is the reason why people settled in one place.
7. The land is called the “Fertile Crescent” because the area makes the shape of a crescent.
Geography of the Fertile Crescent1. What two important riversare shown on the map?
2. Where do the rivers begin?
3. Into what body of water do these rivers flow?
4. In ancient times what civilization developed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers?
5. What made the Fertile Crescent good for farming?
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Taurus Mountains
Persian Gulf
Mesopotamia
fertile soil, water for crops
Today’s AgendaToday you will be working on the Chromebooks.1) Read through the slideshow and fill in your geography notes.2) Answer What is Agriculture? and What is Irrigation? questions on your own using the information from the notes.3) Get a green book (from the back bookshelf) and read pages 67-68.4) Complete the writing prompt.5) When you are done, label the map of the Fertile Crescent (use book pages 67 and 71 to help you).
Did you know...the map didn’t always look this way?
What does the green circle show that the rivers do?
During the Ancient Mesopotamian time, the Persian Gulf was larger and the rivers never touched.
Favorable Geographic Features
Favorable Geographic FeaturesImportance of the River
1. Fresh water and fish first drew people to the rivers. 2. It also provided natural resources such as reeds
and mud for making baskets and pottery or for building homes and boats.
3. Later, people developed farming techniques for growing crops, for food, also known as agriculture. For this reason, people settled permanently.4. The geographic features- rivers, mountains, silt, and flood cycle allowed for the rich soil for farming. (agriculture- growing crops for food)
Favorable Geographic Features
*Mesopotamian Flood Cycle* ○ In winter and early spring, the rivers will begin to flood
with rain and melting snow from the Taurus and Zagros Mountains.
○ As water flows down the mountain side, small particles of dirt and minerals called silt are picked up along the way. The silt is now in the river.
○ In late spring, the waters overflow their river banks onto both sides of the rivers.
○ During summer, the Fertile Crescent is hot and dry. As temperatures rise, water evaporates, and the rivers begin to shrink, depositing (leaving behind) the silt onto the surrounding land.
Geography- The River Flood Cycle
Favorable Geographic Features *Farming in a Desert?*
1. The mineral rich silt that spilled over from the river to the land mixed in with the dry dirt and created rich soil along the river valleys, perfect for growing crops (farming).
2. People learned to control the river by building levees (high mounds of dirt) to stop water from flooding the crops. They also controlled water through irrigation systems- digging canals to redirect the flow of the water.
3. They would plant crops further away from the main river and then dig irrigation canals to redirect the water to their farming fields.
Describe the favorable geographic features that allowed for people to settle near rivers. Include the words: mountains, rivers, rich soil, silt, crops. Underline the words in answer.
Example Answer:People settled and survived near rivers. In Southwest Asia, the favorable geographic features allowed for people to settle along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Snow-capped mountains melted and streams picked up mineral rich silt which flowed into the rivers. When the rivers flooded, the silt spilled out over and onto the land. The silt mixed in with the dry dirt. This created fertile rich soil for growing crops. People farmed the land for food.
Label the map…
Mesopotamia- Job Specialization 1. Hot weather, rich soil, and irrigation produced
plentiful harvests in Mesopotamia. A variety of crops could grow in abundance(a lot).(soybeans, wheat, barley)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-SFv02zxJk
Job Specialization2. People now had a surplus of food, far more than they
needed for themselves.3. A surplus meant that not everyone had to farm.
Instead many people spent their time becoming skilled at specific jobs that helped the entire community (baker, basket weaver, irrigation digging).This system is called specialization of labor.
4. People began to trade products they specialized in making or provide services.
5. Trading markets began for people to bring a surplus of crops to trade with non-farmers.
Job Specialization
6. Small settlements of people became more complex. City-States (villages) developed along the rivers.
7. People needed a leader to help organize city-states and governments began.
8. Writing began as a way to keep track of/ tally food supply and certify trade agreements.
9. Artists began producing beautiful items, people showed artistic expression in writing, designing buildings(architecture), and skills and inventions continued to be achieved.
Job Specialization
10. As a result, Ancient Mesopotamia is also known as the “Cradle of Civilization” because many cultural ideas that we have today, came from Mesopotamia. It is considered the first civilization-
A civilization is a group of people with a similar culture and whose achievements are reflected in the modern world.
11. Many civilizations prospered in Mesopotamia. However, the first group of people in Mesopotamia were called Sumerians and the region was called Sumer.
Take a Moment..
Writing Prompt-
What allowed for people to become skilled at different jobs?
Writing Prompt Answer
People became skilled at different jobs because there was a surplus (extra) of crops. Not everyone had to farm for themselves. They could become skilled at different jobs to offer.(baker, basket weaver, irrigation digging)
