The word Mesopotamia means the "Land between the Rivers"-the rivers are the Tigris River and the Euphrates River both of which have their headwaters in the mountains of Armina in modern-day Turkey.
The early settlers of Mesopotamia decided that this land was a good place to live because they were close to two pretty big rivers.
Rivers give you fresh water to drink. People can't live without water, and people can't
drink salt water, so being near a river was most important because it meant survival. It was the begging of the ladder of civilization. It allowed many crops to be grow, so a surplus of food developed. That allows for a greater population and divisonn of labor to be started.
The early settlers of Mesopotamia decided that this land was a good place to live because they were close to two pretty big rivers.
Rivers give you fresh water to drink. People can't live without water, and people can't
drink salt water, so being near a river was most important because it meant survival. It was the begging of the ladder of civilization. It allowed many crops to be grow, so a surplus of food developed. That allows for a greater population and divisonn of labor to be started.
"The Fertile Crescent"
The Fertile Crescent includes all of Mesopotamia (on the right) and the land around the Nile River in Egypt (Above).
It has this nickname because the land in this region is very fertile, and it is shaped like a crescent. This land is fertile because the rivers flood every year, leaving behind nutrients in the soil that make it really easy to grow food.
The geographic setting of Mesopotamia promoted civilization by allowing the access to fresh water rivers for drinking and trading with Egypt (Lower Egypt), Nubia (Upper Egypt and Ethiopia) and the civilization of the Indus Valley (India). They also used it for irrigating crops/trading such as flax and other grains, onions, apples, barley, grapes and turnips. That is why the geography of ancient Mesopotamia was important to the growth and development of their civilization.
The Fertile Crescent includes all of Mesopotamia (on the right) and the land around the Nile River in Egypt (Above).
It has this nickname because the land in this region is very fertile, and it is shaped like a crescent. This land is fertile because the rivers flood every year, leaving behind nutrients in the soil that make it really easy to grow food.
The geographic setting of Mesopotamia promoted civilization by allowing the access to fresh water rivers for drinking and trading with Egypt (Lower Egypt), Nubia (Upper Egypt and Ethiopia) and the civilization of the Indus Valley (India). They also used it for irrigating crops/trading such as flax and other grains, onions, apples, barley, grapes and turnips. That is why the geography of ancient Mesopotamia was important to the growth and development of their civilization.
By JOHN RASTELLI
Chapter 1 in The Textbook
ww.ancient.eu.com/Mesopotamia/
mesopotamia.mrdonn.org/
www.ask.com/Ancient+Mesopotamia
http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/geography/index.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/mesopotamia