Worksheet – Ancient Mesopotamia

Name: Kylie Bucknor, Chad-Anthony Beckford, Abigail Williams, Nathan Palmer,

Dessania Matthews, Jaheim Jackson, DeAndra Davidson.

Teacher: Ms. Stevenson

Form: 2-4_ Date: 3/11/2020_

Instructions: Read the hand-out on ancient Mesopotamia posted on Moodle and answer the
following questions. Your responses must be in complete sentences (where appropriate) on the
spaces provided.
1. State THREE features of the geography and climate of ancient Mesopotamia. (3 marks)
Mountains, Rocks and Deserts

2. Outline ONE natural hazard that posed a major challenge to ancient Mesopotamians. (1 mark)
The flooding of the Tigris and The Euphratees rivers.

3. State TWO ways that the ancient Mesopotamians dealt with this natural hazard. (2 marks)
They built gated canals to manipulate water so that they could open the
gates when they needed the water and close they gates when they had
enough.
They also built levees which are high heaps of earth that would hold back
the waters and reclaim Farmland.

4. State THREE crops produced by the ancient Mesopotamians. (3 marks)

They Produced wheat, Onions, Apples etc.

5. Mesopotamia was not a single civilization or culture. Name THREE cultures which existed in
the area known as Mesopotamia. (3 marks)
The Sumarians, Babylonians and Assyrians.

6. Which of the cultures from question 5 was responsible for the creation of the world’s first cities?
(1 mark)
The Sumarians created the world’s first Cities
7. Briefly describe THREE inventions/technologies from ancient Mesopotamia. (6 marks)
 The wheel- used to carry crops and other items from one place to another.
These wheels were dragged by animals and were also used for travel.
 Calendar- Used the moon and stars to keep track of time. It helped them to
study and manipulate the floods. The calendar is made up of 12 months that
last 29-30 days each. Each month is represented by a zodiac.
 Cuneiform- A written language made up of pictures that changed to shapes and
lines overtime. They were written on tablets, papyrus or wet clay leaves with a
wedge or stylus.
8. Briefly describe the key religious monument that was at the centre of every city-state in ancient
Mesopotamia. (3 marks)
Ziggurats were a form of Temple that is common to the Ancient
Mesopotamians. They were made of mud brick. They were towering
structures built in Mesopotamian Valleys. These were huge as pramids
and had brightly grazed bricks.

9. State ONE reason why the people of Sumer were vulnerable to attack. (2 marks)
The sumarians were vulnerable to attack because of the artificial
landscape that they created. Their land did not provide them with natural
protection.

10. Describe ONE similarity between the economic activities of ancient Egypt and ancient
Mesopotamia. (3 marks).

Both civilizations participated in farming and trading activities. They both

cultivated foods such as wheat, barley, onions etc. When their plants came
to maturity they would trade them for other goods and services.

(Total 27 marks)