The Land Between Two Rivers

Chapter 3 Lesson 1

ObjectivesLocate the major river systems where the

earliest civilizations developed

Describe the physical settings that supported permanent settlements and early civilizations

VocabularyTributary – rivers that flow into larger rivers

Plateau – a high, flat area of land

Alluvial Plain – a low, flat land formed from fine soil left behind by streams

Silt – soil and tiny rocks carried or deposited on the land by floodwaters

Importance of Major River SystemsMany early civilizations

formed in the valleys of major river systems

People used the river water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and fishing

The land in river valleys was good for farming and raising livestock

See page 95 in textbook for early river valley civilizations

The Tigris and Euphrates One of the earliest

civilizations formed in Sumer in an area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers called Mesopotamia

Sumer arose in southern Mesopotamia

The Need for IrrigationThe hot dry climate of

Mesopotamia made farming a challenge, and rainfall was unreliable

Farmers in southern Mesopotamia solved this problem by developing increasingly sophisticated systems of irrigation

Access to water from the Tigris and Euphrates allowed permanent settlements to thrive in the south

Ubaid CultureUbaid culture was based

on farming

Formed in 5000 BC in southern Mesopotamia

They built irrigation systems, larger homes and temples; produced surpluses; had leaders; created pottery, and traded

SummaryLike some other major rivers systems, the

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers gave rise to an early civilization

Between these rivers in southern Mesopotamia, the Sumerians developed new ideas for more complex cultures there

This led to one of the world’s first civilizations in Sumer