text book notes pg. 26-34 part 2

• the earliest civilization in Aisa arose in Mesopotamia and organized into city-states
• the development of this civilization reflects a settlement pattern that has occurred repeatedly throughout history
• around 3300 B.C. Mesopotamia had unpredictable flooding combined with a period of little or no land, the land sometimes became almost a desert; with no natural barriers for protection, a Sumerian village was nearly defenseless; the natural resources of sumer were limited, building materials and other necessary items were scarce
• over a long period of time, the people of sumer created solutions to deal with these problems, they dug irrigation ditches that carried river water to their fields and allowed them to produce a surplus of crops; they built city walls with mud bricks/ they traded their grain, cloth, and craft tools with the people of the mountains and the desert, in exchange, they received raw materials such as stone, wood, and metal
• sumerians invented arithmetic geometry, architectural innovations, and cuneiform