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