Film Study Guide For

ANT 3142 Study Guide for Iraq: The Cradle of Civilization

 What people called the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers “Mesopotamia”?

 What is one of the common characterizations of ancient and recent peoples of Mesopotamia?

 Where do the “Marsh Arabs” live? What do they live upon? How do they build their houses?

 What site is known as the “Mound of Creation”?

 What did archaeologists document at the lowest levels of Eridu?

 What was the first city in Mesopotamia?

 How long are the walls of Uruk? What kind of center was Uruk upon its establishment?

 In the last 200 years of Uruk’s existence, by how much did its population increase?

 By how much did the population in the surrounding plain increase?

 What were the consequences of such population increases?

 What remains have been exposed at the base of the Uruk Ziggurat?

 With what were the facades of temples and palaces faced in Uruk?

 Besides the wheel and writing, what other distinctive inventions or developments characterize Uruk?

 Who runs (and ran) the temples and mosques of Iraq?

 What representations did scribes of Ur make of the city’s destruction?

 Where did the refugees do and what did they do after the destruction of Ur?

 The film claims that the region experienced long cycles of growth and decay: Is this an accurate representation for all city-states?

 What was distinctive about ancient Nippur?  Where was the Talmud written?

 What was inscribed the “magical bowls” and what purpose did they serve?

 When did the city of Nippur die?

 Who are the modern-day followers of John the Baptist and where did they come from?

 When was Baghdad destroyed? Who were the agents of destruction?

 What religions are found in the northern city of Mozul?

 Contemporary Iraq is compared with what ancient state?

 What characterizes the rule of that state (above)?

 What famous place/city has been reconstructed by the Iraqi government?

 Who has appropriated an identification with ancient sites and how has this been done?