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