Rise of Sumerians - Chapter 4
  • 1. The name of Mesopotamia comes from its location, which was
A) in mountain foothills
B) between two rivers
C) near a region of many conflicts
D) at the site of the earliest cities
  • 2. The environment of Sumer was
A) low and flat, with little rain
B) hilly and dry, with many stones
C) high and cold, with sharp mountain peaks
D) thickly forested, with heavy storms
  • 3. Why were Sumerian communities called "city-states"?
A) Each of the had its own ruler and farmland
B) They all depended on each other for water
C) Each of them kept written records
D) They were all part of one great empire
  • 4. Which fact allowed people to farm in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains
A) The region had plenty of rain
B) Harsh climates are good for grains
C) Shallow canals watered the fields
D) Goats can live on dry grass
  • 5. What development caused food shortages in the Zagros foothills?
A) increase in population
B) change in the climate
C) overuse of the soil
D) fighting between villages
  • 6. What solution did people in the Zagros foothills find to fix the problem of food shortages?
A) joining villages together
B) constructing reservoirs
C) moving to the south
D) building terraces
  • 7. What is a factor that made farming in Sumer difficult?
A) steep hillsides
B) large mountain ranges
C) lack of rainfall
D) growth of weeds
  • 8. Why did the rivers flood in the spring?
A) Heavy rain fell throughout the area
B) Strong winds blew from the Persian Gulf
C) Snow melted in the mountains where the rivers begin
D) Ice that had formed on the river broke into bits
  • 9. What was the chief purpose of dams and reservoirs?
A) to make it easier to fish
B) to store water for later use
C) to protect the villages from attacks
D) to allow travel by boat
  • 10. If you were in ancient Sumer, you might see a levee beside a river, why was the levee built?
A) to control workers
B) to irrigate the crops
C) to load barges
D) to prevent floods
  • 11. Why was silt a problem for the people of Sumer?
A) It ruined the soil for planting
B) It dried up the rivers
C) It clogged the irrigation canals
D) It crumbled the city walls
  • 12. Why did the villages of Sumer depend on each other?
A) They cooperated to keep the irrigation system working
B) They formed caravans to safely visit the mountains
C) They exchanged different kids of natural resources
D) They had to fight off attacks from empires to the east
  • 13. Using natural resources found in the environment, Sumerians built strong walls with
A) reeds cut near the rivers
B) rocks shaped into squares
C) bricks made of mud
D) logs with pointed tips
  • 14. The people of Sumer constructed moats to
A) make villagers work together
B) get crops to grow better
C) protect cities from attacks
D) bring drinking water into towns
  • 15. What two rivers run through Mesopotamia?
A) Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
B) Nile and Tigris Rivers
C) Sumer and Tigris Rivers
D) Zagro and Euphrates Rivers
  • 16. The earliest cities developed by what year?
A) 1904 AD
B) 3500 AD
C) 10000 B.C.E
D) 3500 B.C.E
  • 17. What is irrigation?
A) A Paleolithic tool
B) A new method of fighting
C) The climate that the Sumerians needed to adjust to
D) A means to control water supply to the land
  • 18. A self governing city that has its own ruler and laws is known as a
A) Culture
B) City-State
C) State-City
D) Empire
  • 19. The low flat plains of Mesopotamia are know as:
A) Sumer
B) Zagros Mountain Range
C) Persian Gulf
D) Tigris River Valley
  • 20. Irrigation is still used today>
A) True
B) False
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