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A Stable Food Supply is the most influential Characteristic of Civilization because people can’t survive without food. Food is very important and provides nutritions that people need to perform in their day to day life.

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Evidence 1. According to Elements of a Civilization: Stable Food Supply, it says, “For example, they built canals to control water flow and levees to protect crops from flooding.”

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Evidence 2: Another piece of evidence in the article, Elements of a Civilization: Stable food Supply, it says, “But Sumer’s unique location and farming techniques enabled people to finally settle in one place.”

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Evidence 3. A third piece of evidence from Elements of Civilization: Stable Food Supply, it states, "The most important crop was barley. This grain was used to make bread, cereal, soup, cake, and even beer. Barley, along with oil and wool, was also used to pay wages and in trade."

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Reasoning 1: These canals were engineered so Mesopotamians could easily access water to grow their crops. They could control the amount of water flow coming in so the water wouldn't start to overflow, killing the crops.

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Reasoning 2: This was very helpful because the Mesopotamian people were finally able to settle in the perfect location which provided both water and fertile soil to grow crops. They accomplished this by being able to create a Stable Foods Supply, which allowed them to stay year round in this location without having to move depending on the seasons.

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Reasoning 3: This is very beneficial because barley is the most important crop and was used in almost all the foods. Without this many people could starve. People can also make a profit off of this grain while trading.

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However some people might argue that the government is more influential than a Stable Food Supply because it makes people follow certain laws and rules that keep us safe and controlled. In the text, Elements of a Civilization: Government, it states, "This type of decentralized government supported Sumerian cultural growth and innovation."

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Counterclaim Reasoning: This shows that the Mesopotamian Government succeeded by making laws that kept everybody controlled even though the majority of the laws were not fair to different social classes.