Zagros mountains

South/Central Mesopotamia

New York county

The bowls were primarily prestige objects produced for wealthy individuals.

 Most households were producing pottery only for their own private use.

Mesopotamian societies had not yet developed systems of organized labor.

 Economic activities were becoming increasingly organized and involved large numbers of people.

To understand political power, expansion, and their effects on different communities

To determine which empire was the largest

Because all ancient societies were empires

To study military weapons

The end of food production

The invention of Pottery

A complete return to hunting and gathering

The disappearance of social organization

In the Anatolia highlands

In the Arabian dessert

Along the Mediterranean coast

Between two rivers (mesos, meaning "middle" or "between," and potamos, meaning "river.")

Cyprus

The Arabian Peninsula

Nubia

The Levant

It led to population movement, new administrative systems, and changes in art, architecture, and trade as empires spread their influence

It caused all Mesopotamian cities to abandon their traditional religions and use exactly the same language and customs.

It stopped long-distance trade and prevented Mesopotamian societies from exchanging goods, ideas, and artistic styles.

It had no effect on local communities or their material culture because Mesopotamian empires left conquered peoples completely independent.

The High Sierras and the Cotopaxi 

The Alps and the Pyrenees 

The Taurus and the Zagros

The Uruk and the Sahara 

It prevented people from settling in cities.

It made agriculture impossible.

 It influenced agriculture, settlement, and movement.

It had little effect on human societies.

How modern Egyptian cities developed

How the Assyrian empire conquered Egypt

How Christianity spread through Egypt

How urban society developed in ancient Egypt