Blue+10

Project Guiding Framework/Questions
Locate and describe the major river systems. [Javier has to do these four assignments.] Discuss the physical settings that supported permanent settlement and early civilizations. Trace the development of agricultural techniques that permitted the production of economic surplus. Explain the emergence of cities as centers of culture and power

Where did early settlers establish the first civilization? Why was the area suitable for farming more productive? What happened as a result of increased production of food? What did the settlers do to make the area suitable for farming?

Suggested Topics
Geography Farming Techniques Food Surplus/ Division of Labor Cities

A New Society The settlers established the worlds first civilations developed in the southern Mesopotomia called sumerarians,by 3,000 BC several hundred thousand Sumerians had settled in a land of their own called sumer.No one knows where they came from or when they moved to the region.There they created a advanced society.Also the sumerians worshiped many gods like,Enlil,the lord of air;Eniki ,god of wisdom; and Inanna,god of the dess of love and war.One of the things that was really important to the sumerarians was the sun and the moon.They worshiped the sun and the moon because they believed that gods represented the sun and the moon named Utu the sun and Nana the moon.

What did the settlers do to make the area suitable for farming? Early settlements/cities in Mesopotamia was located near rivers. Water was not controlled and flooding wasn't either so there was a huge problem. This lead to the invention of canals and irrigation which helped the people grow more food. Silt also made the land good for farming, it made the soil rich.

What happened as a result of increased production of food? As a result of increased production of food less farmers were needed. This lead to many possibilities for the farmers to do many other jobs like making clay pots or tools. This is all called a division of labor which is a arrangement in which each worker is good in a task or job. The food also helped with the population, the population grew.

Why was the area suitable for farming more productive? The area was suitable for farming because the fields that blocked the two rivers were flat which made easier for farmers to farm. Then regular floods and silt gets the soil which makes it rich. The river will also provide the crops with water so the plants can grow faster and better. People also traded goods for tools and other foods so then the Sumerians can have other food.

pg.57 Geography- The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are important because Mesopotamia is in between of them, these rivers are the only close place to water. Mesopotamia is between Asia Minor and The Persian Gulf. Mesopotamia is inside of a place called Fertile Crescent, this place is a large arc of rich, or fertile farmland. The Fertile Crescent goes from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean sea and, in ancient times Mesopotamia was actually made of two parts.

pg.58 Farming techniques- People built canals to protect houses to protect from flooding and to move water to their fields. Irrigation let the people of Mesopotamia were able to grow more food. Every year on the both rivers, Tigris and Euphrates rivers, brings silt which is a mixture of rich soil and pebbles to the land. The silt made the land perfect for farming.

pg.59 Cities- After a while, Mesopotamian towns grew in size and complexity, and bit by bit they advanced into cities between 4000 and 3000 B.C.E. Mesopotamia was still mostly about their agriculture, most people still worked on farming even after the division of labor. People traded goods in cities, and cities provided leaders with power bases.

pg.58 Food Surplus/Division of labor- Irrigation increased the amount of food that the farmers were able to grow. Irrigation helped the farmers so much that they could make a food surplus. Since less people needed to farm because irrigation made farmers better then they were free to do other jobs. This lead to the division of labor, for example people could do jobs like crafters, religious leaders, and government workers.

pg.75 Hammurabi's code- Hammurabi was one of the most famouse people because he invented the first set of laws which lead to a geat life for many people.But it was also bad for other people,why?Because if some body damges some other person by accident,it won't be fair to hurt the person back on purpose. Hammurabi's code was a set of 282 laws that had almost every part of peoples average life. For example one of the laws in Hammurabi's code was: If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. There were also laws for trade, loans, and from people stealing to people getting married, also from injury to murder.