Name: Date:Homeroom: 6th Grade World HistoryObjective: SWBAT describe characteristics of the geography Mesopotamia and analyze the challenges that were faced by the Sumerians

Do Now Directions: Read and annotate the following document by boxing key words, underlining important details and writing 2 margin notes. Then answer the questions that follow.

1. What is the name of the shaded region in the above map?a. Asia b. Mediterranean Sea c. Fertile Crescent d. Iraq

2. Name the 2 rivers located within the shaded region. _____________________________________ __________________________________

3. Explain the word “fertile” in your own words. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Which of the following best describes the beginning of the Mesopotamia civilization?

a. It began around 3,000 BCE, right after the Neolithic erab. It began around 3,000 BCE, right before the Neolithic erac. It began around 300 CE, 3 centuries after the birth of Jesusd. It began around 300 BCE, right before the Paleolithic era

5. Explain why early humans decided to settle in Mesopotamia. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________U3_L1 1

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Map MinuteThe Middle EastQuiz: ____________

Armenia Azerbaijan Cyprus Georgia IranIraq Kuwait Lebanon Syria Turkey

Number Incorrect: _____________________________

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Building Study HabitsHow much do you need to study tonight?8 – 10 right = You’re killing it! Keep practicing for 5 minutes tonight!6 – 7 right = Almost there! Practice some more for 8 minutes tonight!0 – 5 right = Not too far! Practice, practice for 10 minutes tonight!

0 – 3 right = You can do this! Just

Use GRIT to independently make sense of this challenge!

Etiquette for Watching a Movie in History Class1. Make sure your legs are in front of you, and your feet

are flat on the floor (NOT on the chair or desk in front of you or beside you!)

2. Preview the questions so you know what to listen for 3. Make sure to face forward the whole time so you don’t

miss a minute of the action!4. Use the pauses in the movie to take notes or answer the questions in your Do Now

Packet.5. Respect other’s movie time by staying silent

Before Viewing Questions

1. What is the modern water crisis? _____________________________________________________________

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After Viewing Questions

1. What is water desalination? __________________________________________________________________

2. What environmental factors have led to the need for this process? ____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

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Historical Thinking Question: “How did geographic features and climate lead to the development of inventions in Mesopotamia?”GEOGRAPHY OF MESOPOTAMIASource: Douglas W. Carnine, World History: Ancient Civilizations, 2005 & Wendy Frey, History Alive!, 2011

The Land Between Two RiversThe Tigris (TY•grihs) and Euphrates (yoo•FRAY•teez) rivers are in Southwest Asia. They start in the mountains of what are now Turkey and Kurdistan. From there they flow through what is now Iraq southeast to the Persian Gulf. MESOPOTAMIA The region where these two rivers flow is called Mesopotamia (MEHS•uh•puh•TAY•mee•uh). The name means “land between the rivers.” This land was mostly flat with small, scrubby plants.

The rivers provided water and means of travel. In ancient times, it was easier to travel by boat than over land. Boats can carry heavy loads. River currents helped move boats that were traveling down river. Also, few roads existed.FERTILE SOIL Almost every year, rain and melting snow in the mountains caused the rivers to swell. As the water flowed down the mountains, it picked up soil. When the rivers reached the plains, water overflowed onto the floodplain, the flat land bordering the banks. As the water spread over the floodplain, the soil it carried settled on the land. The fine soil deposited by rivers is called silt. The silt was fertile, which means it was good for growing crops.A SEMIARID CLIMATE Usually, less than 10 inches of rain fell in southern Mesopotamia a year. Summers were hot. This type of climate is called semiarid. Although the region was dry, ancient people could still grow crops because of the rivers and the fertile soil. Farming villages were widespread across southern Mesopotamia by 4000B.C.EControlling the Water by IrrigationBeing a farmer is difficult. Crops need the right amount of water to thrive. The floods and the semiarid climate in Mesopotamia meant that farmers often had either too much water or too little.ANCIENT IRRIGATION The model to the right shows how an ancient irrigation system worked.

FLOODS AND DROUGHTS The yearly flood was unpredictable. No one knew when the flood would occur. It might come in April or as late as June so farmers could not predict when to plant. Also, the flood’s size depended on how much snow melted in the mountains in spring and how much rain fell. If there was too much, the flood might be violent and wash everything away. If there was too little rain and melting snow, the flood would not come.

A drought is a period when not enough rain and snow fall. In a semiarid region, drought is a constant danger. During a drought, the river level would drop, making it hard to water crops. If crops failed, people starved.

IRRIGATION By about 6000 B.C., farmers built canals to carry water from the rivers to their fields. Such a system is called irrigation. Often, the silt in the water clogged the canals. Workers had to clean out the silt to keep the water flowing. They also built dams to hold back excess water during floods.Finding ResourcesSince the beginning of time, humans have had to solve problems in the environment. For example, Mesopotamia had no forests to provide wood. The region also lacked stone and minerals, such as metals.MUD HOUSES AND WALLS Because of that lack of resources, Mesopotamians had few building materials. Since they could not build with

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Plow

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Cuneiform

wood or stone, they used mud for bricks and plaster. However, mud buildings crumbled easily and had to be repaired often.Also, Mesopotamia was easy to invade because it had few mountains or other natural barriers. As a result, people from other regions often came to steal from the Mesopotamians or conquer them. The ancient Mesopotamians wanted to protect themselves, but they had no trees or stone to build barriers. So people built mud walls around their villages.

OTHER SUMERIAN INVENTIONS After creating an irrigation system to water their crops, Sumerians’ second invention was the plow. A plow is a tool used for tilling, or turning, the soil to prepare it for planting. Before the plow was invented, farmers used animal horns or pointed sticks to poke holes in the earth. Then they would plant seeds in the holes. This was a very slow way to farm. Farmers needed a faster way to prepare the land for planting. The Sumerians made the first plow out of wood. One end of the plow was bent for cutting into the ground to turn the soil. Farmers themselves pushed and pulled the plow along the ground, or they used animals such as oxen to pull it.The plow was an important invention, but the greatest Sumerian invention was the wheel. Sumerian pottery makers, first used wheels as a surface for shaping clay into pots. Potters’ wheels spun, flat side up, on an axle. The Sumerians discovered that a wheel that was flipped onto its edge could be rolled forward. They used this discovery to create wheeled carts for farmers, and chariots for the army. Before the wheel, people had to drag their goods on flat-bottomed carts called sledges. The sledges often got stuck in mud, and they couldn’t support heavy loads. Wheeled carts made it much easier to move goods over long distances. The Sumerians created also create a written language called cuneiform. This name comes from the Latin word for “wedge.” The Sumerians used a wedge-shaped stylus (a sharp, pointed too) to etch their writing in clay tablets. The earliest examples of cuneiform show that it was used to record information about the goods people exchanged with one another. At first, cuneiform writing may have contained as many as 2,000 symbols to stand for ideas and sounds. Over time, this number was reduced to about 700.

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Historical Thinking Question: “How did geographic features and climate lead to the development of inventions in Mesopotamia?”

Guided Discourse Norms:1. Track the speaker2. Use Habits of Discussion3. Support your comments using evidence from the documents4. Capture discussion notes in the space provided

STAMP:

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Name: Date:Homeroom: 6th Grade World HistoryObjective: SWBAT describe characteristics of the geography Mesopotamia and analyze the challenges that were faced by the Sumerians

Exit TicketDirections: Analyze the documents and answer the short-answer questions that follow.

While the Sumerians set a high value on individual achievement, there was one factor, which created a strong spirit of cooperation among individuals and communities: the complete dependence of Sumer on fresh water and irrigation for its well-being—indeed, for its very existence. Irrigation is a complicated process requiring community effort and organization. Canals had to be dug and constantly repaired. The water had to be divided equally among all people. To ensure this, a power stronger than the individual landowner or even the single community was needed: hence, the growth of governmental institutions and the rise of the Sumerian state. And since Sumer, because of the fertility of the irrigated soil, produced a vast surplus of grain but had practically no metals and very little stone and timber, the government was forced to obtain the material essential to its economy either through trade or military force.

Source: The Sumerians, Samuel Noah Kramer, 1963

1. Using the excerpts above, answer (a) and (b)(a)Briefly describe the major argument presented by Kramer. (b)Briefly explain ONE Sumerian invention presented by Samuel Noah Kramer.

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NOTES: Unit 3 Lesson 2: Mesopotamian Geography & InventionsTopic Column

Key words, Key questions

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Summary: Summary of your notes in your own words.

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Name: HOMEWORK Date:Homeroom: 6th Grade World HistoryObjective: SWBAT describe characteristics of the geography Mesopotamia and analyze the challenges that were faced by the Sumerians

The Akkadian Empire Document 1: “Life Under Akkadian Rule” adapted from History Alive, pages 56-57 Sargon, the emperor of the Akkadians, was both a strong emperor and a skilled army general. He built his empire through effective military strategies. He used his military skills to gain control of all Mesopotamia. Sargon ruled the Akkadian Empire for 56 years. During that time, he made the city of Agade (Akkad), in northern Mesopotamia, the empire’s capital. He improved the city using money and supplies from tributes collected from the people he conquered. In time, Agade because one of the richest and most powerful cities in the world. The Akkadians may have ruled Sumer, but the Sumerian culture lived on. The Akkadians farmed using the Sumerians’ irrigation techniques. To record information, they used Sumer’s system of cuneiform writing and improved upon it. They even worshiped the same gods and goddesses, although they called them by different names. The Akkadians had their own cultural achievements. Over time, their spoken language replaced the Sumerian language. In art, they became especially skillful three-dimensional sculptures. Sargon lived to be a very great age. He had hoped that his empire would last for thousands of years. But later kings found it difficult to rule such a large territory. The empire grew weak. After about 200 years, the Akkadian Empire fell to new invaders from the north. Nevertheless, Sargon and the Akkadians had created the world’s first empire. This was their greatest achievement.1. Is this a primary or secondary source?

(a) Primary (b) Secondary2. The Akkadians shared many elements of Sumerian culture except…

(a)

(b) Cuneiform Writing(c) Religious Beliefs

(d) Farming Techniques(e) Language

3. Why did the Akkadian empire collapse?

It was too big (b) Sargon died (c) It was too small (d) Food shortage4. The main idea of this section is…

(a) The Akkadians had a similar culture to the Sumerians (b) To summarize the history of the Akkadian Empire(c) Sargon lived until he was very old(d) Agade became one of the richest and most powerful cities

The Babylonian EmpireDocument 2: “Life in the Babylonian Empire” adapted from History Alive, pages 58-59 For a time after the fall of the Akkadians, Sumer was a group of city-states without an empire. The next ruler to unite all of Mesopotamia was a king named Hammurabi. Hammurabi was the king of Babylon, a small city-state in central Mesopotamia. After conquering the rest of Mesopotamia, Hammurabi made Babylon the capital of his empire. The region under his rule became known as the Babylonian Empire, or Babylonia. Babylonia thrived under Hammurabi. He worked to unite the people of his empire. He made the Babylonian god, Marduk, supreme over other gods. He built roads and created a

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postal service. Hammurabi maintained the irrigation systems carefully and agriculture and trade flourished as a result. Babylonians traded with people all along the Persian Gulf. They traded grain and woven cloth for wood, gold, silver, precious gems and livestock. Trade helped the empire’s economy. Many types of artisans used materials brought back from distant lands. Most importantly, Babylonian society was unusually fair for its time. The laws treated the various classes differently, but even slaves had some rights. Slaves could work elsewhere and keep their wages. They could own property. If they saved enough money, they could buy their freedom. Women also had more rights than they did in most ancient societies. Even though their fathers chose their husbands, women could own property. They could also keep money of their own.

1. Who was the main God in the Babylonian Empire?(a) Jesus (b) Hammurabi (c) Marduk (d) Sargon

2. What helped improve the Babylonian economy?

(a) The use of precious metals and stones(b) Decreased trade due to declining agriculture(c) The fact that it was a relatively fair ancient society(d) Increased trade due to improved agriculture

3. Which piece of evidence best supports the statement that “Babylonian society was unusually fair?” Why? Do you

(a) Slaves could keep money and buy their freedom(b) Agriculture and trade flourished in Babylonia(c) Women had their husbands chosen for them(d) Artisans used materials from distant lands

4. How would you describe the reign of Hammurabi, based on this document?(a) Successful(b) Failing(c) Peaceful(d) Unsuccessful

The Assyrian EmpireDocument 3: “The Assyrian Empire” adapted from History Alive, pages 60-61 The line of kings begun by Hammurabi did not continue to rule Babylonia for long. Over the next several hundred years, a number of groups ruled parts of what had been the Babylonian Empire. The next great empire in Mesopotamia was created by a warlike people called the Assyrians. The Assyrians were feared for their military might and their cruelty. Their greatest achievements were their new weapons and their war strategies. They perfected the use of horses and iron weapons in battle. They also became greatly skilled at siege warfare. In a siege, army soldiers camp outside a city and repeatedly attack it until the city falls. The Assyrians developed new ways of attacking cities. They were the first to use battering rams. These long, heavy beams on wheels were used for break down walls. The Assyrians also built moveable towers that were rolled up to a city’s walls. Soldiers used the towers to climb over the walls. The Assyrians were often cruel. They might force entire populations to leave areas they had recently conquered. The Assyrians spread tales of their cruelty far and wide. Creating fear

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among their enemies was part of the Assyrian military strategy. The Assyrian Empire was ruled by powerful kings. Religion, however, remained very important in the social and political order. Even kings were obliged to obey the gods. The Assyrian Empire lasted about 300 years. At its height, it stretched from Egypt to the Persian Gulf. But its weakness lay in being too vast a territory to control. The army was stretched thin, and the Assyrians could not fight off neighbors who rose up against them. In 612 BCE, Nineveh was plundered by a combined army of Babylonians, Scythians, and a group called the Medes. The Assyrians’ power was broken forever.

1. The Assyrians rose to power toward 900 BCE and fell around 600 BCE. How long did the Assyrian empire last?

(a) 400 years (b) 900 years (c) 300 years (d) 600 years

2. Explain in 2 sentences or less what the Assyrians were known for. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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