History glossary
Canals
human-made channels that move water for farming, transport, drainage, or urban supply.
- Category
- Infrastructure
- Region
- Ancient Mesopotamia and many other regions
What it means
Canals are artificial waterways dug or maintained by people. In Mesopotamia, canals carried river water from the Tigris and Euphrates into fields, helped drain land, supported transport, and required coordinated labor to build, clear, and repair.
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