Agriculture+in+Mesopotamia

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In Mesopotamia, there were a lot of crops to grow. Farmers raised grain, fruit, vegetables, and barn yard animals. Farmers changed their houses from reed house to brick (made from mud and reeds) and left to dry in the sun. They plowed the ground with stone hoes, before they invented the plough. The metal plows had a funnel shape. They filled containers with seeds. Cows would pull the plough and the seeds would go into the ground through the funnel shape seed container. This method was quick and easy. Sumerians had handbooks that told much how to plant. =====

Irrigation in Mesopotamia
Farming brought people together. During harvest season, everyone was made to gather the crops together. Economy was based on wheat and grains. The economy grew stronger because of irrigation. Irrigation led to an increased food supply. Irrigation helped water dry lands with streams, canals, or pipes. Farmers planned for the seasonal flooding, which usually happened in late spring and late fall. They also used wooden plows led by a pair of oxen, but by 2800 BC, they learned how to make bronze tools. They used tools made of flint to cut wheat. They threw seeds into the ground to grow fruit and vegetables. Farmers led farm animals to help trample the seeds into the soil.

==== In mesopotamia when farming the farmers needed to know 3 main tasks. how to concretate desirable plants into manigable areas. also how to prevent weeds from growing there, and how best to encourage the plants to flourish. the most important method is that they delivered water to the land for farming uses or canals, ditches. ====

[[image:http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/nile/shaduf.jpg width="148" height="166"]][[image:http://www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/images/parsley.jpeg width="224" height="161"]]
This video is about irrigation in ancient Mesopotamia []

Crops in Mesopotamia
In Mesopotamia wheat and barley were the most important grown crops by the Sumerians. Shade trees protected trees from harsh winds and from the sun. Some of the fruits they planted were dates, grapes, figs, melons, and apples. Their favorite vegetables they grew were eggplants. They planted vegetables such as onions, radishes, beans, and lettuce. Farmers irrigated the land and started planting wheat, barley, millet, beans, and sesame seeds. They used spears to hunt, caught fish in nets, and killed birds with sling shots and arrows. Sumerians got their food from nearby marshes and rivers, and the fish were plentiful. They also used the entrails (guts) of fish for fertilizer. Though the climate in Mesopotamia was very hot, they still didn't receive enough rainfall for crops, but they invented many ways to move and store water, such as dams and aquaducts. Soon, Mesopotamia became very rich for farmers.



= = =Domestic animals in mesopotamia=

Many different types of animals lived in Mesopotamia. By at least 7000 B.C. sheep, goats and pigs had been domesticated. Sheep were very important and provided wool, meat, dairy products and fertilizer, and were valuable as sacrifices in religious ceremonies. From around 6000 B.C. cattle were domesticated and were used for food and sacrifices. The use of milk products didn't take place until after 4000 B.C. Oxen were used to pull ploughs, wagons and haul boats against the current of rivers. Their hides were also useful. From around 4000 B.C. donkeys were used to carry heavy loads - on their backs or pulling carts - and for riding; horses were used from the third millennium as pack animals and in the second millennium to pull chariots.



Critical thinking
From the past to the present in Mesopotamia the Tigress River is still the life blood in the country. Agriculture has changed where they can now use machinery instead of using animals to plough the fields. Domestic animals were usually sheep, goats and pigs, and still are today. Although machinery is used, domestic animals are still used too to help plough the fields.

Bibliography
This is where i got my information on the domestic animals @http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/staff/topics/animals.html

This is the part where I got my irrigation and crops on Mesopotamia

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This is where I got my summary of Mesopotamia agriculture

World book encyclopedia Mesopotamia agriculture

Conclusion
In conclusion we owe the people of this land a lot, for the inventions they gave us, in helping to move and store water. They invented pipes for moving water, and damns for storing water during the dry seasons. They made the land very fertile for growing grains and vegetables and fruit trees.

Now just about every country in the world uses some of their inventions.

<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 19px;">They’re still raising the same kind of animals that they have been doing for thousands of years. A lot of their ancient sacrifices have stopped, like when they were killing animals, and then offering it to their Gods, but I think some of them still do it.

<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 19px;">They taught people how to fertilize and make the soil better for growing, by using the parts of a fish they didn’t eat and put it in the ground for the soil to be richer in vitamins.

<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 19px;">I think if you came back in 100 years you would see the people, (farmers) using the same methods, that have been successful for many many years.



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