Mesopotamian news
A newspaper from ancient Meopotamia
Agriculture update
Mesopotamia has been changing very quickly but have you been up to date with all this change? One recent development is that the people of Mesopotamia have started farming. This development has made it possible for people to settle down in one place but in order to do this they have had to develop a few strategies to make it successful. Some of these strategies include controlling a water source and protecting their land.
One very important factor in farming Mesopotamia is controlling the water. Since the climate is hot, the soil is dry, and it does not rain often this makes it challenging for people to survive and it is especially difficult for hunters and gatherers.This is why they created agriculture which allows them to control their food source. However controlling food means they need to control water an important resource when growing crops. What has made controlling water easier is there are two main rivers beside Mesopotamia; the Euphrates River and the Tigris River. Both of these water sources made agriculture possible in Mesopotamia.
Even though farming brought people resources it has caused many fights and conflicts over farm land. Mesopotamia has very rich soil because it is in the fertile crescent. This makes it easier to farm but creates fighting over land. Due to all these conflicts people built pillars to block off their land because there were no natural boundaries like rivers or mountains.A sumerian saying warned other city-states saying,”you can go and carry off the enemy’s land ;the enemy comes and carries off your land.”This warned the people saying that this is our land not yours.
Farming has been an important development in Mesopotamia. It has allowed people to settle somewhere and not be forced to move all over the place in order to find food. By controlling water and protecting their land they are able to farm the land and survive in Mesopotamia.Life as a merchant and Trading
I sat down with Hazi Gitlam and we discussed the importance of trading in Mesopotamia.Here are some of the interesting facts I learned from Hazi Gitlam.
Me: What is the main job of a merchant?
Hazi Gitlam:The main job of a sumerian merchant is that we buy and sell things for a living and we trade with other merchants
Me: Hazi Gitlam, why is trading so important to mesopotamia?
Hazi Gitlam: Trading is very important to our economy. Mesopotamia, while we do grow many food, we cannot supply all of our own resources. We use trading to supply wood,salt,precious stones,raw copper and tin wheat, barley, copper tools, and plow heads.
Me: Hazi Gitlalm what do you barter in return for the supplies you need?
Hazi Gitlam:The supplies we barter in return are wheat,barley,and copper tools such as axheads and plowheads.These are all resources Mesopotamia has in surplus.
Me: How has trading impacted Mesopotamia?
Hazi Gitlam:Trading has impacted Mesopotamia by the way they eat and how they much value things and different types of foods are.
Discussing the importance of trading with the merchant Hazi Gitlam has taught me many things about how trading has made a difference in the economy of Mesopotamia and the supplies they provide.
Daily weather in Mesopotamia
Recently a massive drought has struck Mesopotamia destroying crops,making drinking water scarce,and leaving people thirsty.
Now Mesopotamia is a dry area with a hot climate,it has very dry soil ,and it is also a place that does not get much rain.
Because Mesopotamia is between the Euphrates river and Tigris river ,they have a water source.But now both rivers are all dried up from the beaming sun.
People in Mesopotamia are trying to toughen out the situation and keep as much resources as they can in stock.