1. Mesopotamia 8,000 BC
Start with a story: imagine you are a farmer living near Southwest Asia. The yearly flood which makes farming possible has not come. Now the village is fighting for it’s life…!

2. Do Now pg 65 IAN
Think of a time when you’ve seen pictures about a flood on TV or in the Newspapers. Floods cause destruction by washing away objects in their path. Do you think a flood can also have good consequences?
SWBAT explain how the land between the Tigris and Euphrates river was essential to early life.

3. Before & Now.. So far you’ve learned… This is where we are going…
As people became better farmers, they settled in large villages. Some settlements developed complex villages with NEW ways of life!
This is where we are going…
The geography of Mesopotamia influenced where people settled and HOW they lived!

4. The Land between Two Rivers…
The word “Mesopotamia” means the land between two rivers.
Mesopotamia is between the:
Tigris River
Euphrates River

5. Where in the world are we???

6. Let’s ZOOM in!
Asia
Africa

7. Tiny bit closer….

8. The Euphrates River

9. The Tigris & Euphrates Located in Southwest Asia Provide Water
Good for travel
Easier to move by boat in Ancient times

10. The Tigris & Euphrates Fertile Soil
Every year it would rain and melt the snow in the mountains, this caused the river to overflow!

12. As the water flowed down the mountains it picked up soil.
When the rivers reached the plains water overflowed onto the FLOOD PLAIN.
A flood plain is flat land bordering the banks.

13. The fine soil picked up by the overflowed river created SILT
Silt was fertile which means it was great for growing crops!

14. Irrigation
6,000 BCE

15. Floods and droughts!
A long period when too little rain falls is called a drought.
Mesopotamia was ARID (dry)
Drought is BAD because during a drought the Tigris & Euphrates water level would drop making it hard for famers to water their crops!
IF CROPS FAIL…the people Starve!

16. Irrigation
As early as 6000BCE Mesopotamian farmers took steps to control water they built walls to control water during floods they built canals to carry water from rivers to the fields This system of watering dry land is called IRRIGATION!

17. The downside…
Water from Tigris and Euphrates was muddy and silt often clogged the canals
Keeping canals clean was a big challenge for farmers

18. Read up a little more
Go to the following website and answer these questions:

19. Let’s try a game!

20. Current Events

21. What are the downsides of this great land Mesopotamia?
Lack of natural resources
No forests for wood so they couldn’t build advanced homes
Limited protection- not surrounded by mountains or other natural barriers
Built brick walls
They did trade because they had a SURPLUS of crops! This lead to a very diverse society.