Rise of Sumerians - Chapter 4
  • 1. The name of Mesopotamia comes from its location, which was
A) in mountain foothills
B) near a region of many conflicts
C) between two rivers
D) at the site of the earliest cities
  • 2. The environment of Sumer was
A) low and flat, with little rain
B) thickly forested, with heavy storms
C) high and cold, with sharp mountain peaks
D) hilly and dry, with many stones
  • 3. Why were Sumerian communities called "city-states"?
A) They all depended on each other for water
B) They were all part of one great empire
C) Each of them kept written records
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) Shallow canals watered the fields
B) The region had plenty of rain
C) Harsh climates are good for grains
D) Goats can live on dry grass
  • 5. What development caused food shortages in the Zagros foothills?
A) change in the climate
B) increase in population
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) building terraces
C) moving to the south
D) constructing reservoirs
  • 7. What is a factor that made farming in Sumer difficult?
A) large mountain ranges
B) lack of rainfall
C) steep hillsides
D) growth of weeds
  • 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) Ice that had formed on the river broke into bits
D) Strong winds blew from the Persian Gulf
  • 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 irrigate the crops
B) to load barges
C) to control workers
D) to prevent floods
  • 11. Why was silt a problem for the people of Sumer?
A) It crumbled the city walls
B) It dried up the rivers
C) It ruined the soil for planting
D) It clogged the irrigation canals
  • 12. Why did the villages of Sumer depend on each other?
A) They exchanged different kids of natural resources
B) They formed caravans to safely visit the mountains
C) They cooperated to keep the irrigation system working
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) logs with pointed tips
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) Zagro and Euphrates Rivers
B) Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
C) Sumer and Tigris Rivers
D) Nile and Tigris Rivers
  • 16. The earliest cities developed by what year?
A) 10000 B.C.E
B) 3500 AD
C) 1904 AD
D) 3500 B.C.E
  • 17. What is irrigation?
A) The climate that the Sumerians needed to adjust to
B) A means to control water supply to the land
C) A new method of fighting
D) A Paleolithic tool
  • 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) Persian Gulf
B) Zagros Mountain Range
C) Tigris River Valley
D) Sumer
  • 20. Irrigation is still used today>
A) False
B) True
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