Social Studies for 9th E.G.B.

Teacher: Mauricio Torres

GEOGRAPHY OF MESOPOTAMIA

WATER IS LIFE• With bands of hunter-gatherers settling down all

around the world, into farming settlements, they began to domesticate animals and plants.

• Civilizations needed water to support their growing numbers.

• They learned how to control floods.

• These were the River Valley Civilizations.

THE LAND BETWEEN RIVERS• The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are the most important physical features of the region

known as Mesopotamia.

• Its Greek for: “in between rivers”

THE LAND BETWEEN RIVERS

GEOGRAPHY• It lies between Asia Minor and the Persian Gulf.

• The region is part of an area known as the Fertile Crescent (a large arc of rich, fertile farmland).

• Mesopotamia is made of two parts:

• A plateau in the North.

• A flat plain in the South.

VocabularyPlateau: An area of flat, high land.Plain: is a land with with relatively low relief.

RISE OF CIVILIZATION• 12,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers first settled in the

area.

• Every year, the flood of the rivers made the land ideal for farming, because the soil was rich in nutrients.

• By 7,000 BC they began producing:

• Farming: Wheat, barley and other types of grain.

• Growing: Livestock, fish and birds.

FARMING & CITIES• The first thing farmers needed, was to control

water.

• If it rained too much were the rivers began, floods would destroy crops, kill livestock and wash away everything.

• It it didn’t, then crops dried up.

• Controlling Water

• They developed irrigation.

• They dug canals. VocabularyIrrigation: a way of supplying water to an area of land.Canals: human-made waterways.

FOOD SURPLUSES• With these new developments, along with

the use of Iron Tools, farmers now produced more than what they actually needed, and this is called surplus.

• Along with surplus, trade was the next step. This allowed for people in the area to feed on a wide variety of foods.

• People now had more time for themselves, so new jobs were created and also something called division of labor.

BIGGER GOALS

• When people where available to work on different jobs, this meant that society could accomplish more.

• This was done because:

• Large projects needed more specialized workers.

• They needed to be organized (structure and rules).

• To complete those goals, government and laws were needed.

CITIES ON THE HORIZON• Settlements in Mesopotamia grew in size

and complexity.

• Between 4000 and 3000 BC they developed into cities.

• Even though cities emerged, their main activity was still agricultural based.

• But in cities everything was done in a much larger scale:

• Trading

• Building

• Culture

ASK YOURSELF• Identify:

• What does Mesopotamia mean?

• What were the two rivers where it developed?

• Explain:

• What is the Fertile Crescent?

• How did irrigation help farmers?

• Summarize:

• When, how and why were settlements established in Mesopotamia?

• Analyze:

• What effects did irrigation have on farming?

ASSIGNMENT!

• Type a paragraph describing your life in Mesopotamia as a farmer, and bring it for next class.

• It hasn’t rained in a very long time, but you know the rainy season is coming.

• What will you have to do in order to use the floods to your advantage?

• Draw an image, beneath the paragraph, showing your home.

BIBLIOGRAPHY• Burstein, S. M., & Shek, R. (2012). World History (Teacher´s Edition) (1st Edition ed.). (H.

McDougal, Ed.) Orlando, Florida, US.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

• Images taken from Google.com