first day of western civ

For or first class of western civ we got to pick our seats which was fun. We started off class by getting textbooks and taking notes on Mesopotamia. Then Mr. Schick told us that our homework is to answer two questions:

1. define these terms

• Fertile Crescent- curved shaped of rich land between Tigris and Euphrates 
• Mesopotamia- the first Asian civilization
• City-state- city with surrounding territory that forms an independent state
• Dynasty- series of rulers from a single family
• Cultural Diffusion- the process in which a new idea or product spreads from one culture to another
• Polytheism- the belief in more then one god
• Empire- a central group of states under the same influence 
• Hammurabi- extended his kingdom and conquer all of Mesopotamia 

2. The three environmental challenges that were faced were unpredicted flooding and little rain, no natural barriers for protection, and limited natural resources.