7. What was the ancient Sumerian counting system based on? 8. Why did the ancient Sumerians track the movements of the sun, moon and other planets? 9. What ancient Sumerian invention do you think was the most important? Explain why. Challenge: Design an advertisement for an ancient Sumerian invention. Describe how it works and what it does to help people. Page 2 of 4 visit twinkl.com
The Incredible Inventions of Ancient Sumer - Answers Read the text carefully and then answer the following questions in as much detail as you can. 1. List three things the ancient Sumerians were good at. Accept any three of the following answers: • maths; • science; • writing; • building cities; • farming. 2. What does cuneiform mean? Accept the answer ‘wedge shaped’. 3. Where have examples of ancient Sumerian writing been discovered? Lots of different examples of writing have been discovered, including letters, prayers and lists. 4. Why did farmers invent new tools? They invented new tools to help them with their farming and allow them to grow and collect crops better. 5. What type of objects did the ancient Sumerians make from clay? They made many objects, such as statues, bowls, vases and jars. 6. Why was it only the rich who wore linen? Only the rich wore linen as it was more expensive than wool. 7. What was the ancient Sumerian counting system based on? The ancient Sumerians counting system was based on groups of six and ten. 8. Why did the ancient Sumerians track the movements of the sun, moon and other planets? They tracked the movements of the sun, moon and other planets to work out the number of hours in a day. Page 3 of 4 visit twinkl.com