WORLD CIVILIZATION

Detailed explanation-1: -It was difficult to raise crops in Sumer because farmers had either too much water or not enough. They had no way to control the water supply. To solve it, the Sumerians controlled the water supply by building an irrigation system.

Detailed explanation-2: -Food Shortages in the Hills A shortage of food forced people to move from the foothills of the Zagros Mountains to the plains between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This plains area became Sumer. Controlling the Water Supply on the Plains Farmers in Sumer faced times of flooding and drought.

Detailed explanation-3: -Uncontrolled Water Supply The farmers who moved to Sumer faced many challenges. One of the biggest problems was the uncontrolled water supply. During the spring, rain and melted snow from the mountains flowed into the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, causing them to flood across the plains.

Detailed explanation-4: -The farmers in Sumer created levees to hold back the floods from their fields and cut canals to channel river water to the fields. The use of levees and canals is called irrigation, another Sumerian invention.