Nurishtar
Invents the Ard
Directions: Read this fictional story about
a farmer named Nurishtar, who lived in the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia
around 4000 B.C.E.
After reading the story, complete the assessment by answering the questions.
Nurishtar
was the eldest son in a very large family of farmers who grew grain used to
make bread called bappir. Bappir was made from starch extracted from wild grains.
Bappir was spread on a flat rock, placed over a fire and cooked into a
primitive form of fl atbread. Bappir could be stored for a long time. Nurishtar
and his five brothers spent over 60 days in the spring each year tilling the
soil on their small plot of land. They used long pointed wood spikes to work
the soil by hand. It was very hard work. Each year, they grew just enough grain
to produce the bappir the family would eat for the year. If the weather was
good, they might have enough bappir to trade a small surplus of grain to
others. If the weather was bad, they risked periods of hunger and had to forage
for other food. One
day, Nurishtar had an idea: If he could attach the spike to one of the cows
they raised, the cow could pull the spike through the hard soil. He designed a
tool he called an ard. He attached the spike to a frame that was harnessed to
the cow. The cow dragged the ard through the soil, creating furrows in which to
plant seeds. Nurishtar or one of his brothers put their weight on the frame to
sink the spike into the ground. It took a long time to determine the right way
to use the new tool and to train the cow to pull
the
ard.
By
using this innovation—the ard, pulled by the cow—Nurishtar
and his brothers could work their plot of land in far less time and increase
their productivity. Because they saved so much time, some of the
brothers could spend their time making a new harness for the cow or building an
irrigation ditch to bring more water to their land. When they had more water,
they could plow
a larger plot of land and grow more grain to make more bappir. They increased
their production of grain and bappir. With some of the brothers free to
work on other jobs, they built better homes and more tools. With a more
abundant and sure food supply, they could have more children and enjoyed better
health. Their standard of living improved, and they made a major
contribution to the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution.
Nurishtar Invents the Ard
–Assessment
Fill in the blanks with the
correct economic term (bolded in the reading).
1. When Nurishtar and his
brothers were able to plow their land in a shorter period of time, they
improved their ____________________.
2. The ard was a/an
___________________ that made farming easier.
3. When Nurishtar’s family
could consume more food and build better homes, they improved their
_______________________________.
4. Because Nurishtar could
work more land with the ard, he was able to increase his ____________________
of grain.
