Ancient Mesopotamia Stripes Team L. Nabulsi All information in this PowerPoint came from Banks, J. World Adventures in Time and Place. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.

Timeline 4000 BC – Mesopotamia 3000 BC - Ur 2300 BC – Kish 1800 BC – Babylon 1250 BC - Canaan

Vocabulary Plateau Drought Fertile Crescent Tigris River Euphrates River Mesopotamia

Geography of the Fertile Crescent

This is a direct quote so it needs quotation marks around it This is a direct quote so it needs quotation marks around it. The period goes outside the Parentheses which give the documentation information. If you used this quote in a paper, however, you would indent it because of its length, over 25 words. Read Aloud “For six days and seven nights the wind blew, flood and tempest [storm] overwhelmed the land; when the seventh day arrived the tempest [and] flood…blew themselves out. The sea became calm, the …wind grew quieter, the flood held back….Silence reigned, for all mankind returned to clay” (Banks 104). NOTE: clay” (Bank 104).

The Big Picture The Fertile Crescent was located northeast of Egypt and was developing at the same time as Egypt. It is called a crescent because it is shaped “like a quarter moon” (Banks, 104). Modern countries that are located in the Fertile Crescent are Lebanon, Israel, Syria and Iraq.

The land of two rivers The Tigris River and the Euphrates River made the rocky, desert a fertile valley. These rivers compare to the Nile in the way they affected the lives of the people near the river both positively and negatively (Banks, 104).

Between Two Rivers pp. 105-107

Between two rivers The area between the two rivers was called Mesopotamia, which is its meaning in Greek. Present day Iraq.

From Mountains to the Sea Mountains – Taurus Mountains – the source of the two rivers in present-day Turkey Flow from mountains through canyons to valleys below Extend to a plateau in “present-day Iraq” (Banks 105). Plateau – Southern Iraq – land is lower where rivers eventually empty into the Persian Gulf

Flood Mesopotamians “depended on river deposits of silt” (Banks 105). Farmers challenged Flooding not regular Often at harvest time Cost crops and lives Farms needed protection Crops needed watering South Mesopotamia experienced droughts Northern Mesopotamia had sufficient water but not large areas of fertile soil Less silt in the North than in the South South known for fertile fields

Maps that might help

Assignment Take a piece of paper. Divide it in half horizontally. On the back of the paper, put your name, Social Studies, Fertile Crescent, date On the front which has a line halfway down the page horizontally, draw the map of the Nile on page 71 in the upper half of the page. Give an arrow to indicate the flow of the river. Determine from a world map the longitude and latitude. Mark these degrees on the map. Color the map and code the colors. On the lower half of that same page, draw a map of the Fertile Crescent as seen on p. 105. Indicate the longitude and latitude. Color code the map.

In Class Assignment: Can you compare the impact of the Nile River with the Tigris and Euphrates?

Outline Information from VENN diagram I. Compare/contrast geography and effect of two rive cultures, the Nile River Valley and the Fertile Crescent A. River 1. Nile 2. Tigris and Euphrates B. Source 1. Nile Source – mountains in Africa 2. Fertile Crescent source – Taurus Mountains C. Flow 1. Nile – south to north 2. T and E – north to south D. Empties 1. Nile – Mediterranean Sea 2. T and E – Persian Gulf E. Carries silt F. Effect on people 1. Nile – predictable so they could plan where to live and when to harvest 2. Fertile Crescent – unpredictable causing loss of life g. Effect on land 1. Nile – fertile land along the river which allowed for the development of land the length of the river 2. Fertile Crescent a. North as water but not much silt or land area b. South had land area and silt but no water Outline Information from VENN diagram

From River to Field PROBLEMS: Fall – Planting season in south; no water Spring – Harvest time, but floods came. SOLUTIONS Built “water-control and irrigation systems” (Banks 106). See page 106 and http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/geography/challenge/cha_set.html

Farming in Ancient Mesopotamia Crops grown in Mesopotamia Barley Wheat Beans Onions Lettuce Cucumbers Spice plants Date Palm Apple Pomegranate Animals Sheep Milk Wool Goats Cattle Work animal Leather Meat Wild animals Jackals Lions

Why it matters Uninviting area of the world developed into one of the “earliest civilizations developed” (Banks 107). Geography – the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers made the civilization Farmers solving problems – managing the geography- made it work Over producing lead to growth.

Assignment- Cause/Effect Problem/solution Journal Topic: You are a farmer in the North visiting in the South during the flooding season. Make a speech to the leaders of the south showing how the ability of man to handle the problems of the geography will result in prosperity for the farmers. Outline by listing each problem and then give the solution. Write Greet your audience and tell the purpose of your speech. Give the problems Give the solution End with a call for action

Research Find information about devastating three floods along the Mississippi River. What season of the year did they happen? What was destroyed? What are other effects? What was learned from these floods? What adjustments were made? Did this culture handle the situation as well as the Egyptian and Mesopotamians did? Place this information on a chart. Write a five paragraph paper. Use MLA template. Document and have a works cited page.

Location When Effects Learned Adjustments Flood 1 Flood 2 Flood 3

Outline for paper Introduction Give historical background about Egypt and Mesopotamia Floods still exist Thesis: Modern man does/not learn and conquer nature the way ancient man did. Development Flood One – Topic sentence what/where and if anything learned simply stated Where When Effects Learned Adjustments Evaluate Flood Two - Topic sentence what/where and if anything learned simply stated Flood Three - Topic sentence what/where and if anything learned simply stated Conclusion – Who learned the most from nature and prospered

Grade for this unit 1. Answer the questions on page 107. Answer in complete sentences. (10 points- in class) 2. Draw the maps of the Nile and Fertile Crescent as indicated. (25 points – in class) 3. Make a Venn diagram comparing/contrasting the Egypt and Mesopotamia. (10 points – in class) 4. Write a journal entry (part of notebook grade) 5. Make a chart for the research. ( 25 points – in class) 6. Write the paper from the chart: MLA, Outline, five paragraph paper with documentation, work cited page. (100 points – in class) 7. Ticket Outs – (10 points each) 8. Test – (100 points)

Timeline January 25 – Read pp. 104-107l do study questions on p. 107 January 29 – Go over PP in class, TO 1, Venn Diagram. February 2 – TO 2, Write journal (outline, write rough draft, peer evaluation, correct errors) February 6 – TO 3 -Do research on floods, make charts February 8 – TO 4 -Write outline for paper; fill in and document as you go (last para. #) or “Word in title” para. #). February 12 – TO 5 – Test ; Read pp. 108- 115 and do questions p. 115.