SUMER
![](sumer.jpg)
Sumer
(c. 4500 – 1900 BC)
![](640px-Sumer_satellite_map.jpg)
General
location on a modern map, and main cities of Sumer with ancient
coastline. The coastline was nearly reaching Ur in ancient times
Geographical
range : Mesopotamia, Near East, Middle East
Period : Late Neolithic, Middle Bronze Age
Dates : c. 4500 – c. 1900 BC
Preceded by : Ubaid period
Followed by : Akkadian Empire
Sumer
is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern
Mesopotamia (now southern Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic
and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC.
It is also one of the first civilizations in the world, along with
Ancient Egypt, Norte Chico, the Minoan civilization, Ancient China,
and the Indus Valley Civilization. Living along the valleys of the
Tigris and Euphrates, Sumerian farmers grew an abundance of grain
and other crops, the surplus from which enabled them to form urban
settlements. Proto-writing dates back before 3000 BC. The earliest
texts come from the cities of Uruk and Jemdet Nasr, and date to
between c. 3500 and c. 3000 BC.
Name
:
![](640px-Head_of_Gudea_(Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art).jpg)
Left: Sculpture of the head of Sumerian ruler Gudea, c. 2150 BC.
Right: cuneiform characters for Sag-gíg, "Black Headed
Ones", the native designation for the Sumerians. The first
is the pictographic character for "head" (
,
later
),
the second the character for "night", and for "black"
when pronounced gíg (
,
later
).
The term "Sumer" (Sumerian: eme.gi, Akkadian: Šumeru)
is the name given to the land of the "Sumerians", the
ancient non-Semitic-speaking inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia,
by their successors the East Semitic-speaking Akkadians. The Sumerians
themselves referred to their land as Kengir, the 'Country of the
noble lords' (k-en-gi(-r), lit. 'country' + 'lords' + 'noble') as
seen in their inscriptions.
The
Akkadian word Šumer may represent the geographical name in
dialect, but the phonological development leading to the Akkadian
term šumerû is uncertain. Hebrew Šinar, Egyptian
Sngr, and Hittite Šanhar(a), all referring to southern Mesopotamia,
could be western variants of Sumer.
Origins
:
Most historians have suggested that Sumer was first permanently
settled between c. 5500 and 4000 BC by a West Asian people who spoke
the Sumerian language (pointing to the names of cities, rivers,
basic occupations, etc., as evidence) and a non-Semitic.
![](640px-Blau_Monuments_(front).jpg)
The
Blau Monuments combine proto-cuneiform characters and illustrations
of early Sumerians, Jemdet Nasr period, 3100 – 2700 BC. British
Museum
However, with evidence strongly suggesting the first farmers originated
from the fertile crescent, this suggestion is often discarded. Alternatively,
a recent (2013) genetic analysis of four ancient Mesopotamian skeletal
DNA samples suggests an association of the Sumerians with Indus
Valley Civilization, possibly as a result of ancient Indus-Mesopotamia
relations. According to some data, the Sumerians are associated
with the Hurrians and Urartians, and the Caucasus is considered
their homeland.
These
prehistoric people before the Sumerians are now called "proto-Euphrateans"
or "Ubaidians", and are theorized to have evolved from
the Samarra culture of northern Mesopotamia. The Ubaidians, though
never mentioned by the Sumerians themselves, are assumed by modern-day
scholars to have been the first civilizing force in Sumer. They
drained the marshes for agriculture, developed trade, and established
industries, including weaving, leatherwork, metalwork, masonry,
and pottery.
![](640px-Enthroned_King_of_Ur.jpg)
Enthroned
Sumerian king of Ur, possibly Ur-Pabilsag, with attendants. Standard
of Ur, c. 2600 BC
Juris Zarins believes the Sumerians lived along the coast of Eastern
Arabia, today's Persian Gulf region, before it was flooded at the
end of the Ice Age.
Sumerian
civilization took form in the Uruk period (4th millennium BC), continuing
into the Jemdet Nasr and Early Dynastic periods. During the 3rd
millennium BC, a close cultural symbiosis developed between the
Sumerians, who spoke a language isolate, and Akkadians, which gave
rise to widespread bilingualism. The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian
(and vice versa) is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing
on a massive scale, to syntactic, morphological, and phonological
convergence. This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and
Akkadian in the 3rd millennium BC as a Sprachbund.
The
Sumerians progressively lost control to Semitic states from the
northwest. Sumer was conquered by the Semitic-speaking kings of
the Akkadian Empire around 2270 BC (short chronology), but Sumerian
continued as a sacred language. Native Sumerian rule re-emerged
for about a century in the Third Dynasty of Ur at approximately
2100–2000 BC, but the Akkadian language also remained in use
for some time.
The
Sumerian city of Eridu, on the coast of the Persian Gulf, is considered
to have been one of the oldest cities, where three separate cultures
may have fused: that of peasant Ubaidian farmers, living in mud-brick
huts and practicing irrigation; that of mobile nomadic Semitic pastoralists
living in black tents and following herds of sheep and goats; and
that of fisher folk, living in reed huts in the marshlands, who
may have been the ancestors of the Sumerians.
City-states
in Mesopotamia :
In the late 4th millennium BC, Sumer was divided into many independent
city-states, which were divided by canals and boundary stones. Each
was centered on a temple dedicated to the particular patron god
or goddess of the city and ruled over by a priestly governor (ensi)
or by a king (lugal) who was intimately tied to the city's religious
rites.
Principal
cities :
1.
Eridu (Tell Abu Shahrain)
2. Bad-tibira (probably Tell al-Madain)
3. Larsa (Tell as-Senkereh)
4. Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah)
5. Shuruppak (Tell Fara)
6. Uruk (Warka)
7. Kish (Tell Uheimir and Ingharra)
8. Ur (Tell al-Muqayyar)
9. Nippur (Afak)
10. Lagash (Tell al-Hiba)
11. Girsu (Tello or Telloh)
12. Umma (Tell Jokha)
13. Hamazi
14. Adab (Tell Bismaya)
15. Mari (Tell Hariri)
16. Akshak
17. Akkad
18. Isin (Ishan al-Bahriyat)
(location uncertain)
(an outlying city in northern Mesopotamia)
Minor cities (from south to north) :
1.
Kuara (Tell al-Lahm)
2. Zabala (Tell Ibzeikh)
3. Kisurra (Tell Abu Hatab)
4. Marad (Tell Wannat es-Sadum)
5. Dilbat (Tell ed-Duleim)
6. Borsippa (Birs Nimrud)
7. Kutha (Tell Ibrahim)
8. Der (al-Badra)
9. Eshnunna (Tell Asmar)
10. Nagar (Tell Brak)
(an outlying city in northern Mesopotamia)
Apart
from Mari, which lies full 330 kilometres (205 miles) north-west
of Agade, but which is credited in the king list as having "exercised
kingship" in the Early Dynastic II period, and Nagar, an outpost,
these cities are all in the Euphrates-Tigris alluvial plain, south
of Baghdad in what are now the Babil, Diyala, Wasit, Dhi Qar, Basra,
Al-Muthanna and Al-Qadisiyyah governorates of Iraq.
History
:
![](402px-Portrait_of_a_Sumerian_prisoner_on_a_victory_stele_of_Sargon_of_Akkad.jpg)
Portrait of a Sumerian prisoner on a victory stele of Sargon of
Akkad, c. 2300 BC. The hairstyle of the prisoners (curly hair on
top and short hair on the sides) is characteristic of Sumerians,
as also seen on the Standard of Ur. Louvre Museum.
The Sumerian city-states rose to power during the prehistoric Ubaid
and Uruk periods. Sumerian written history reaches back to the 27th
century BC and before, but the historical record remains obscure
until the Early Dynastic III period, c. 23rd century BC, when a
now deciphered syllabary writing system was developed, which has
allowed archaeologists to read contemporary records and inscriptions.
Classical Sumer ends with the rise of the Akkadian Empire in the
23rd century BC. Following the Gutian period, there was a brief
Sumerian Renaissance in the 21st century BC, cut short in the 20th
century BC by invasions by the Amorites. The Amorite "dynasty
of Isin" persisted until c. 1700 BC, when Mesopotamia was united
under Babylonian rule. The Sumerians were eventually absorbed into
the Akkadian (Assyro-Babylonian) population.[citation needed]
Time
Period |
• |
Ubaid
period : 6500–4100 BC (Pottery Neolithic to
Chalcolithic) |
• |
Uruk
period : 4100–2900 BC (Late Chalcolithic to
Early Bronze Age I) |
|
• |
Uruk
XIV–V : 4100–3300 BC |
|
• |
Uruk
IV period : 3300–3100 BC |
|
• |
Jemdet
Nasr period (Uruk III) : 3100–2900 BC |
• |
Early
Dynastic period (Early Bronze Age II–IV) |
|
• |
Early
Dynastic I period : 2900–2800 BC |
|
• |
Early
Dynastic II period : 2800–2600 BC (Gilgamesh) |
|
• |
Early
Dynastic IIIa period : 2600–2500 BC |
|
• |
Early
Dynastic IIIb period : c. 2500–2334 BC |
• |
Akkadian
Empire period : c. 2334–2218 BC (Sargon) |
• |
Gutian
period : c. 2218–2047 BC (Early Bronze Age
IV) |
• |
Ur
III period : c. 2047–1940 BC |
|
Ubaid period :
![](595px-Frieze-group-3-example1.jpg)
Pottery jar from Late Ubaid Period
The Ubaid period is marked by a distinctive style of fine quality
painted pottery which spread throughout Mesopotamia and the Persian
Gulf. During this time, the first settlement in southern Mesopotamia
was established at Eridu (Cuneiform: nun.ki), c. 6500 BC, by farmers
who brought with them the Hadji Muhammed culture, which first pioneered
irrigation agriculture. It appears that this culture was derived
from the Samarran culture from northern Mesopotamia. It is not known
whether or not these were the actual Sumerians who are identified
with the later Uruk culture. The story of the passing of the gifts
of civilization (me) to Inanna, goddess of Uruk and of love and
war, by Enki, god of wisdom and chief god of Eridu, may reflect
the transition from Eridu to Uruk.
Uruk
period :
The archaeological transition from the Ubaid period to the Uruk
period is marked by a gradual shift from painted pottery domestically
produced on a slow wheel to a great variety of unpainted pottery
mass-produced by specialists on fast wheels. The Uruk period is
a continuation and an outgrowth of Ubaid with pottery being the
main visible change.
Uruk
King-priest feeding the sacred herd
![](640px-Yale_University._Uruk_period_priest-king.jpg)
The
king-priest and his acolyte feeding the sacred herd. Uruk period,
c. 3200 BC
![](611px-Uruk_King_priest_feeding_the_sacred_herd.jpg)
Cylinder-seal
of the Uruk period and its impression, c. 3100 BC. Louvre Museum
By the time of the Uruk period (c. 4100–2900 BC calibrated),
the volume of trade goods transported along the canals and rivers
of southern Mesopotamia facilitated the rise of many large, stratified,
temple-centered cities (with populations of over 10,000 people)
where centralized administrations employed specialized workers.
It is fairly certain that it was during the Uruk period that Sumerian
cities began to make use of slave labor captured from the hill country,
and there is ample evidence for captured slaves as workers in the
earliest texts. Artifacts, and even colonies of this Uruk civilization
have been found over a wide area—from the Taurus Mountains
in Turkey, to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and as far east
as central Iran.[page needed]
The
Uruk period civilization, exported by Sumerian traders and colonists
(like that found at Tell Brak), had an effect on all surrounding
peoples, who gradually evolved their own comparable, competing economies
and cultures. The cities of Sumer could not maintain remote, long-distance
colonies by military force.
Sumerian
cities during the Uruk period were probably theocratic and were
most likely headed by a priest-king (ensi), assisted by a council
of elders, including both men and women. It is quite possible that
the later Sumerian pantheon was modeled upon this political structure.
There was little evidence of organized warfare or professional soldiers
during the Uruk period, and towns were generally unwalled. During
this period Uruk became the most urbanized city in the world, surpassing
for the first time 50,000 inhabitants.
The
ancient Sumerian king list includes the early dynasties of several
prominent cities from this period. The first set of names on the
list is of kings said to have reigned before a major flood occurred.
These early names may be fictional, and include some legendary and
mythological figures, such as Alulim and Dumizid.
The
end of the Uruk period coincided with the Piora oscillation, a dry
period from c. 3200–2900 BC that marked the end of a long
wetter, warmer climate period from about 9,000 to 5,000 years ago,
called the Holocene climatic optimum.
Early
Dynastic Period :
![](514px-Meskalamdug_helmet_British_Museum_electrotype_copy_original_is_in_the_Iraq_Museum,_Bagdad.jpg)
Golden helmet of Meskalamdug, possible founder of the First
Dynasty of Ur, 26th century BC
The dynastic period begins c. 2900 BC and was associated with a
shift from the temple establishment headed by council of elders
led by a priestly "En" (a male figure when it was a temple
for a goddess, or a female figure when headed by a male god) towards
a more secular Lugal (Lu = man, Gal = great) and includes such legendary
patriarchal figures as Dumuzid, Lugalbanda and Gilgamesh—who
reigned shortly before the historic record opens c. 2900 BC, when
the now deciphered syllabic writing started to develop from the
early pictograms. The center of Sumerian culture remained in southern
Mesopotamia, even though rulers soon began expanding into neighboring
areas, and neighboring Semitic groups adopted much of Sumerian culture
for their own.
The
earliest dynastic king on the Sumerian king list whose name is known
from any other legendary source is Etana, 13th king of the first
dynasty of Kish. The earliest king authenticated through archaeological
evidence is Enmebaragesi of Kish (Early Dynastic I), whose name
is also mentioned in the Gilgamesh epic—leading to the suggestion
that Gilgamesh himself might have been a historical king of Uruk.
As the Epic of Gilgamesh shows, this period was associated with
increased war. Cities became walled, and increased in size as undefended
villages in southern Mesopotamia disappeared. (Both Enmerkar and
Gilgamesh are credited with having built the walls of Uruk).
1st
Dynasty of Lagash :
![](524px-Stele_of_Vultures_detail_02.jpg)
Fragment
of Eannatum's Stele of the Vultures
c. 2500 – 2270 BC :
The
dynasty of Lagash, though omitted from the king list, is well attested
through several important monuments and many archaeological finds.
Although
short-lived, one of the first empires known to history was that
of Eannatum of Lagash, who annexed practically all of Sumer, including
Kish, Uruk, Ur, and Larsa, and reduced to tribute the city-state
of Umma, arch-rival of Lagash. In addition, his realm extended to
parts of Elam and along the Persian Gulf. He seems to have used
terror as a matter of policy. Eannatum's Stele of the Vultures depicts
vultures pecking at the severed heads and other body parts of his
enemies. His empire collapsed shortly after his death.
Later,
Lugal-Zage-Si, the priest-king of Umma, overthrew the primacy of
the Lagash dynasty in the area, then conquered Uruk, making it his
capital, and claimed an empire extending from the Persian Gulf to
the Mediterranean. He was the last ethnically Sumerian king before
Sargon of Akkad.
Akkadian
Empire :
![](445px-Prisoners_on_the_victory_stele_of_an_Akkadian_king_circa_2300_BCE_Louvre_Museum_Sb_3.jpg)
Sumerian prisoners on a victory stele of the Akkadian king
Sargon, c. 2300 BC. Louvre Museum
The Akkadian Empire dates to c. 2234–2154 BC (Middle chronology).
The Eastern Semitic Akkadian language is first attested in proper
names of the kings of Kish c. 2800 BC, preserved in later king lists.
There are texts written entirely in Old Akkadian dating from c.
2500 BC. Use of Old Akkadian was at its peak during the rule of
Sargon
the Great (c. 2334–2279 BC), but even then most administrative
tablets continued to be written in Sumerian, the language used by
the scribes. Gelb and Westenholz differentiate three stages of Old
Akkadian: that of the pre-Sargonic era, that of the Akkadian empire,
and that of the "Neo-Sumerian Renaissance" that followed
it. Akkadian and Sumerian coexisted as vernacular languages for
about one thousand years, but by around 1800 BC, Sumerian was becoming
more of a literary language familiar mainly only to scholars and
scribes. Thorkild Jacobsen has argued that there is little break
in historical continuity between the pre- and post-Sargon periods,
and that too much emphasis has been placed on the perception of
a "Semitic vs. Sumerian" conflict. However, it is certain
that Akkadian was also briefly imposed on neighboring parts of Elam
that were previously conquered, by Sargon.
Gutian
period :
c. 2193 – 2119 BC (Middle chronology)
2nd
Dynasty of Lagash :
![](400px-Gudea_of_Lagash_Girsu.jpg)
Gudea
of Lagash, the Sumerian ruler who was famous for his numerous portrait
sculptures that have been recovered
![](515px-Ur-Ningirsu_ruler_of_Lagash_portrait_circa_2110_BCE.jpg)
Portrait
of Ur-Ningirsu, son of Gudea, c. 2100 BC. Louvre Museum
c. 2200–2110 BC (Middle chronology) :
Following
the downfall of the Akkadian Empire at the hands of Gutians,
another native Sumerian ruler, Gudea
of Lagash, rose to local prominence and continued the practices
of the Sargonid kings' claims to divinity. The previous Lagash dynasty,
Gudea and his descendants also promoted artistic development and
left a large number of archaeological artifacts.
"Neo-Sumerian"
Ur III period :
![](640px-Ziggurat_of_ur.jpg)
Great
Ziggurat of Ur, c. 2100 BC, near Nasiriyah, Iraq
c. 2112 – 2004 BC (Middle chronology) :
Later,
the 3rd dynasty of Ur under Ur-Nammu and Shulgi, whose power extended
as far as southern Assyria, was the last great "Sumerian renaissance".
Already, however, the region was becoming more Semitic than Sumerian,
with the resurgence of the Akkadian-speaking Semites in Assyria
and elsewhere, and the influx of waves of Semitic Martu (Amorites),
who were to found several competing local powers in the south, including
Isin, Larsa, Eshnunna and, later ,Babylonia. The last of these eventually
came to briefly dominate the south of Mesopotamia as the Babylonian
Empire, just as the Old Assyrian Empire had already done in the
north from the late 21st century BC. The Sumerian language continued
as a sacerdotal language taught in schools in Babylonia and Assyria,
much as Latin was used in the Medieval period, for as long as cuneiform
was used.
Fall
and transmission :
This period is generally taken to coincide with a major shift in
population from southern Mesopotamia toward the north. Ecologically,
the agricultural productivity of the Sumerian lands was being compromised
as a result of rising salinity. Soil salinity in this region had
been long recognized as a major problem. [citation needed] Poorly
drained irrigated soils, in an arid climate with high levels of
evaporation, led to the buildup of dissolved salts in the soil,
eventually reducing agricultural yields severely. During the Akkadian
and Ur III phases, there was a shift from the cultivation of wheat
to the more salt-tolerant barley, but this was insufficient, and
during the period from 2100 BC to 1700 BC, it is estimated that
the population in this area declined by nearly three-fifths. This
greatly upset the balance of power within the region, weakening
the areas where Sumerian was spoken, and comparatively strengthening
those where Akkadian was the major language. Henceforth, Sumerian
would remain only a literary and liturgical language, similar to
the position occupied by Latin in medieval Europe.
Following
an Elamite invasion and sack of Ur during the rule of Ibbi-Sin (c.
2028–2004 BC) [citation needed], Sumer came under Amorite
rule (taken to introduce the Middle Bronze Age). The independent
Amorite states of the 20th to 18th centuries are summarized as the
"Dynasty of Isin" in the Sumerian king list, ending with
the rise of Babylonia under Hammurabi c. 1800 BC.
Later
rulers who dominated Assyria and Babylonia occasionally assumed
the old Sargonic title "King of Sumer and Akkad", such
as Tukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria after c. 1225 BC.
Population
:
![](640px-Ancient_cities_of_Sumer,_Akad_and_Elam.jpg)
The
first farmers from Samarra migrated to Sumer, and built shrines
and settlements at Eridu
Uruk, one of Sumer's largest cities, has been estimated to have
had a population of 50,000–80,000 at its height; given the
other cities in Sumer, and the large agricultural population, a
rough estimate for Sumer's population might be 0.8 million to 1.5
million. The world population at this time has been estimated at
about 27 million.
The
Sumerians spoke a language isolate, but a number of linguists have
claimed to be able to detect a substrate language of unknown classification
beneath Sumerian because names of some of Sumer's major cities are
not Sumerian, revealing influences of earlier inhabitants. However,
the archaeological record shows clear uninterrupted cultural continuity
from the time of the early Ubaid period (5300–4700 BC C-14)
settlements in southern Mesopotamia. The Sumerian people who settled
here farmed the lands in this region that were made fertile by silt
deposited by the Tigris and the Euphrates.
Some
archaeologists have speculated that the original speakers of ancient
Sumerian may have been farmers, who moved down from the north of
Mesopotamia after perfecting irrigation agriculture there. The Ubaid
period pottery of southern Mesopotamia has been connected via Choga
Mami transitional ware to the pottery of the Samarra period culture
(c. 5700–4900 BC C-14) in the north, who were the first to
practice a primitive form of irrigation agriculture along the middle
Tigris River and its tributaries. The connection is most clearly
seen at Tell Awayli (Oueilli, Oueili) near Larsa, excavated by the
French in the 1980s, where eight levels yielded pre-Ubaid pottery
resembling Samarran ware. According to this theory, farming peoples
spread down into southern Mesopotamia because they had developed
a temple-centered social organization for mobilizing labor and technology
for water control, enabling them to survive and prosper in a difficult
environment.[citation needed]
Others
have suggested a continuity of Sumerians, from the indigenous hunter-fisherfolk
traditions, associated with the bifacial assemblages found on the
Arabian littoral. Juris Zarins believes the Sumerians may have been
the people living in the Persian Gulf region before it flooded at
the end of the last Ice Age.
Culture
:
Social and family life :
![](339px-Reconstructed_sumerian_headgear_necklaces_british_museum.jpg)
A
reconstruction in the British Museum of headgear and necklaces worn
by the women at the Royal Cemetery at Ur
In the early Sumerian period, the primitive pictograms suggest that
Particulars |
• |
"Pottery
was very plentiful, and the forms of the vases,
bowls and dishes were manifold; there were special
jars for honey, butter, oil and wine, which was
probably made from dates. Some of the vases had
pointed feet, and stood on stands with crossed legs;
others were flat-bottomed, and were set on square
or rectangular frames of wood. The oil-jars, and
probably others also, were sealed with clay, precisely
as in early Egypt. Vases and dishes of stone were
made in imitation of those of clay." |
• |
"A
feathered head-dress was worn. Beds, stools and
chairs were used, with carved legs resembling those
of an ox. There were fire-places and fire-altars." |
• |
"Knives,
drills, wedges and an instrument that looks like
a saw were all known. While spears, bows, arrows,
and daggers (but not swords) were employed in war." |
• |
"Tablets
were used for writing purposes. Daggers with metal
blades and wooden handles were worn, and copper
was hammered into plates, while necklaces or collars
were made of gold." |
• |
"Time
was reckoned in lunar months." |
|
There is considerable evidence concerning Sumerian music. Lyres
and flutes were played, among the best-known examples being the
Lyres of Ur.
Inscriptions
describing the reforms of king Urukagina of Lagash (c. 2350 BC)
say that he abolished the former custom of polyandry in his country,
prescribing that a woman who took multiple husbands be stoned with
rocks upon which her crime had been written.
Sumerian
princess (c. 2150 BC)
![](402px-Sumerian_princess_of_the_time_of_Gudea_circa_2150_BCE.jpg)
Sumerian
princess of the time of Gudea c. 2150 BC
![](484px-Sumerian_princess_of_the_time_of_Gudea_2150_BCE._Louvre_Museum_AO_295.jpg)
Frontal
detail. Louvre Museum AO 295
The
Code of Ur-Nammu, the oldest such codification yet discovered, dating
to the Ur III, reveals a glimpse at societal structure in late Sumerian
law. Beneath the lu-gal ("great man" or king), all members
of society belonged to one of two basic strata: The "lu"
or free person, and the slave (male, arad; female geme). The son
of a lu was called a dumu-nita until he married. A woman (munus)
went from being a daughter (dumu-mi), to a wife (dam), then if she
outlived her husband, a widow (numasu) and she could then remarry
another man who was from the same tribe.[citation needed]
Marriages
were usually arranged by the parents of the bride and groom; engagements
were usually completed through the approval of contracts recorded
on clay tablets. These marriages became legal as soon as the groom
delivered a bridal gift to his bride's father.
Language
and writing :
![](534px-P1150884_Louvre_Uruk_III_tablette_%E9criture_pr%E9cun%E9iforme_AO19936_rwk.jpg)
Tablet with pictographic pre-cuneiform writing; late 4th
millennium BC; limestone; height: 4.5 cm, width: 4.3 cm, depth:
2.4 cm; Louvre
![](640px-Development_of_writing.jpg)
Standard
reconstruction of the development of writing, showing Sumerian cuneiform
at the origin of many writing systems
The most important archaeological discoveries in Sumer are a large
number of clay tablets written in cuneiform script. Sumerian writing
is considered to be a great milestone in the development of humanity's
ability to not only create historical records but also in creating
pieces of literature, both in the form of poetic epics and stories
as well as prayers and laws.
Although
pictures—that is, hieroglyphs—were used first, cuneiform
and then ideograms (where symbols were made to represent ideas)
soon followed.
Triangular
or wedge-shaped reeds were used to write on moist clay. A large
body of hundreds of thousands of texts in the Sumerian language
have survived, including personal and business letters, receipts,
lexical lists, laws, hymns, prayers, stories, and daily records.
Full libraries of clay tablets have been found. Monumental inscriptions
and texts on different objects, like statues or bricks, are also
very common. Many texts survive in multiple copies because they
were repeatedly transcribed by scribes in training. Sumerian continued
to be the language of religion and law in Mesopotamia long after
Semitic speakers had become dominant.
A
prime example of cuneiform writing would be a lengthy poem that
was discovered in the ruins of Uruk. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written
in the standard Sumerian cuneiform. It tells of a king from the
early Dynastic II period named Gilgamesh or "Bilgamesh"
in Sumerian. The story relates the fictional adventures of Gilgamesh
and his companion, Enkidu. It was laid out on several clay tablets
and is thought to be the earliest known surviving example of fictional
literature.
The
Sumerian language is generally regarded as a language isolate in
linguistics because it belongs to no known language family; Akkadian,
by contrast, belongs to the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages.
There have been many failed attempts to connect Sumerian to other
language families. It is an agglutinative language; in other words,
morphemes ("units of meaning") are added together to create
words, unlike analytic languages where morphemes are purely added
together to create sentences. Some authors have proposed that there
may be evidence of a substratum or adstratum language for geographic
features and various crafts and agricultural activities, called
variously Proto-Euphratean or Proto Tigrean, but this is disputed
by others.
Understanding
Sumerian texts today can be problematic. Most difficult are the
earliest texts, which in many cases do not give the full grammatical
structure of the language and seem to have been used as an "aide-mémoire"
for knowledgeable scribes.
During
the 3rd millennium BC, a cultural symbiosis developed between the
Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism.
The mutual influences between Sumerian on Akkadian are evident in
all areas including lexical borrowing on a massive scale—and
syntactic, morphological, and phonological convergence.These influences
have prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian of the
3rd millennium BC as a Sprachbund.
Akkadian
gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken language somewhere around
the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC, but Sumerian continued
to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary, and scientific language
in Babylonia and Assyria until the 1st century AD.
![](627px-Early_writing_tablet_recording_the_allocation_of_beer.jpg)
Early
writing tablet for recording the allocation of beer; 3100 –
3000 BC; height: 9.4 cm; width: 6.87 cm; from Iraq; British Museum
(London)
![](578px-Cuneiform_tablet-_administrative_account_with_entries_concerning_malt_and_barley_groats_MET_DP293245.jpg)
Cuneiform
tablet about administrative account with entries concerning malt
and barley groats; 3100 – 2900 BC; clay; 6.8 x 4.5 x 1.6 cm;
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
![](533px-Bill_of_sale_Louvre_AO3766.jpg)
Bill
of sale of a field and house, from Shuruppak; c. 2600 BC; height:
8.5 cm, width: 8.5 cm, depth: 2 cm; Louvre
![](524px-Stele_of_Vultures_detail_02.jpg)
Stele
of the Vultures; c. 2450 BC; limestone; found in 1881 by Édouard
de Sarzec in Girsu (now Tell Telloh, Iraq); Louvre
Religion
:
Sumerian religion
![](562px-Wall_plaque_showing_libation_scene_from_Ur,_Iraq,_2500_BCE._British_Museum_(adjusted_for_perspective).jpg)
Wall
plaque showing libations to a seated god and a temple. Ur, 2500
BC
![](604px-Wall_plaque_showing_libation_scene_from_Ur,_Iraq,_2500_BCE._British_Museum_(libation_detail).jpg)
Naked
priest offering libations to a Sumerian temple (detail), Ur, 2500
BC
The Sumerians credited their divinities for all matters pertaining
to them and exhibited humility in the face of cosmic forces, such
as death and divine wrath.
Sumerian
religion seems to have been founded upon two separate cosmogenic
myths. The first saw creation as the result of a series of hieroi
gamoi or sacred marriages, involving the reconciliation of opposites,
postulated as a coming together of male and female divine beings,
the gods.
This
pattern continued to influence regional Mesopotamian myths. Thus,
in the later Akkadian Enuma Elish, creation was seen as the union
of fresh and salt water, between male Abzu, and female Tiamat. The
products of that union, Lahm and Lahmu, "the muddy ones",
were titles given to the gate keepers of the E-Abzu temple of Enki
in Eridu, the first Sumerian city.
Mirroring
the way that muddy islands emerge from the confluence of fresh and
salty water at the mouth of the Euphrates, where the river deposits
its load of silt, a second hieros gamos supposedly resulted in the
creation of Anshar and Kishar, the "sky-pivot" (or axle),
and the "earth pivot", parents in turn of Anu (the sky)
and Ki (the earth).
Another
important Sumerian hieros gamos was that between Ki, here known
as Ninhursag or "Lady of the Mountains", and Enki of Eridu,
the god of fresh water which brought forth greenery and pasture.
At
an early stage, following the dawn of recorded history, Nippur,
in central Mesopotamia, replaced Eridu in the south as the primary
temple city, whose priests exercised political hegemony on the other
city-states. Nippur retained this status throughout the Sumerian
period.
Deities
:
![](640px-Ea_(Babilonian)_-_EnKi_(Sumerian).jpg)
Akkadian
cylinder seal from sometime around 2300 BC or thereabouts depicting
the deities Inanna, Utu, Enki, and Isimud
Sumerians believed in an anthropomorphic polytheism, or the belief
in many gods in human form. There was no common set of gods; each
city-state had its own patrons, temples, and priest-kings. Nonetheless,
these were not exclusive; the gods of one city were often acknowledged
elsewhere. Sumerian speakers were among the earliest people to record
their beliefs in writing, and were a major inspiration in later
Mesopotamian mythology, religion, and astrology.
The
Sumerians worshiped :
Gods |
• |
An
as the full-time god equivalent to heaven; indeed,
the word an in Sumerian means sky and his consort
Ki, means earth. |
• |
Enki
in the south at the temple in Eridu. Enki was the
god of beneficence and of wisdom, ruler of the freshwater
depths beneath the earth, a healer and friend to
humanity who in Sumerian myth was thought to have
given humans the arts and sciences, the industries
and manners of civilization; the first law book
was considered his creation. |
• |
Enlil
was the god of storm, wind, and rain. He was the
chief god of the Sumerian pantheon and the patron
god of Nippur. His consort was Ninlil, the goddess
of the south wind. |
• |
Inanna
was the goddess of love, beauty, sexuality, prostitution,
and war; [page needed] the deification of Venus,
the morning (eastern) and evening (western) star,
at the temple (shared with An) at Uruk. Deified
kings may have re-enacted the marriage of Inanna
and Dumuzid with priestesses. |
• |
The
sun-god Utu at Larsa in the south and Sippar in the
north. |
• |
The
moon god Sin at Ur. |
|
![](640px-Genealogy_of_Sumero-Akkadian_Gods.jpg)
Sumero-early
Akkadian pantheon
These deities formed a core pantheon; there were additionally hundreds
of minor ones. Sumerian gods could thus have associations with different
cities, and their religious importance often waxed and waned with
those cities' political power. The gods were said to have created
human beings from clay for the purpose of serving them. The temples
organized the mass labour projects needed for irrigation agriculture.
Citizens had a labor duty to the temple, though they could avoid
it by a payment of silver.
Cosmology
:
The Sumerian afterlife involved a descent into a gloomy netherworld
to spend eternity in a wretched existence as a Gidim (ghost).
The
universe was divided into four quarters :
Directions |
• |
To
the north were the hill-dwelling Subartu, who were
periodically raided for slaves, timber, and other
raw materials. |
• |
To
the west were the tent-dwelling Martu, ancient Semitic-speaking
peoples living as pastoral nomads tending herds
of sheep and goats. |
• |
To
the south was the land of Dilmun, a trading state
associated with the land of the dead and the place
of creation. |
• |
To
the east were the Elamites, a rival people with
whom the Sumerians were frequently at war. |
|
Their known world extended from The Upper Sea or Mediterranean coastline,
to The Lower Sea, the Persian Gulf and the land of Meluhha (probably
the Indus Valley) and Magan (Oman), famed for its copper ores.
Temple
and temple organisation :
Ziggurats
(Sumerian temples) each had an individual name and consisted of
a forecourt, with a central pond for purification. The temple itself
had a central nave with aisles along either side. Flanking the aisles
would be rooms for the priests. At one end would stand the podium
and a mudbrick table for animal and vegetable sacrifices. Granaries
and storehouses were usually located near the temples. After a time
the Sumerians began to place the temples on top of multi-layered
square constructions built as a series of rising terraces, giving
rise to the Ziggurat style.
Funerary
practices :
It was believed that when people died, they would be confined to
a gloomy world of Ereshkigal, whose realm was guarded by gateways
with various monsters designed to prevent people entering or leaving.
The dead were buried outside the city walls in graveyards where
a small mound covered the corpse, along with offerings to monsters
and a small amount of food. Those who could afford it sought burial
at Dilmun. Human sacrifice was found in the death pits at the Ur
royal cemetery where Queen Puabi was accompanied in death by her
servants.
Agriculture
and hunting :
The Sumerians adopted an agricultural lifestyle perhaps as early
as c. 5000–4500 BC. The region demonstrated a number of core
agricultural techniques, including organized irrigation, large-scale
intensive cultivation of land, mono-cropping involving the use of
plough agriculture, and the use of an agricultural specialized labour
force under bureaucratic control. The necessity to manage temple
accounts with this organization led to the development of writing
(c. 3500 BC).
![](640px-Ur_mosaic.jpg)
From
the royal tombs of Ur, made of lapis lazuli and shell, shows peacetime
In the early Sumerian Uruk period, the primitive pictograms suggest
that sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs were domesticated. They used
oxen as their primary beasts of burden and donkeys or equids as
their primary transport animal and "woollen clothing as well
as rugs were made from the wool or hair of the animals. ... By the
side of the house was an enclosed garden planted with trees and
other plants; wheat and probably other cereals were sown in the
fields, and the shaduf was already employed for the purpose of irrigation.
Plants were also grown in pots or vases."
![](Issue_of_barley_rations.jpg)
An
account of barley rations issued monthly to adults and children
written in cuneiform script on a clay tablet, written in year 4
of King Urukagina, c. 2350 BC
The Sumerians were one of the first known beer drinking societies.
Cereals were plentiful and were the key ingredient in their early
brew. They brewed multiple kinds of beer consisting of wheat, barley,
and mixed grain beers. Beer brewing was very important to the Sumerians.
It was referenced in the Epic of Gilgamesh when Enkidu was introduced
to the food and beer of Gilgamesh's people: "Drink the beer,
as is the custom of the land... He drank the beer-seven jugs! and
became expansive and sang with joy!"
The
Sumerians practiced similar irrigation techniques as those used
in Egypt. American anthropologist Robert McCormick Adams says that
irrigation development was associated with urbanization, and that
89% of the population lived in the cities.
They
grew barley, chickpeas, lentils, wheat, dates, onions, garlic, lettuce,
leeks and mustard. Sumerians caught many fish and hunted fowl and
gazelle.
Sumerian
agriculture depended heavily on irrigation. The irrigation was accomplished
by the use of shaduf, canals, channels, dykes, weirs, and reservoirs.
The frequent violent floods of the Tigris, and less so, of the Euphrates,
meant that canals required frequent repair and continual removal
of silt, and survey markers and boundary stones needed to be continually
replaced. The government required individuals to work on the canals
in a corvee, although the rich were able to exempt themselves.
As
is known from the "Sumerian Farmer's Almanac", after the
flood season and after the Spring equinox and the Akitu or New Year
Festival, using the canals, farmers would flood their fields and
then drain the water. Next they made oxen stomp the ground and kill
weeds. They then dragged the fields with pickaxes. After drying,
they plowed, harrowed, and raked the ground three times, and pulverized
it with a mattock, before planting seed. Unfortunately, the high
evaporation rate resulted in a gradual increase in the salinity
of the fields. By the Ur III period, farmers had switched from wheat
to the more salt-tolerant barley as their principal crop.
Sumerians
harvested during the spring in three-person teams consisting of
a reaper, a binder, and a sheaf handler. The farmers would use threshing
wagons, driven by oxen, to separate the cereal heads from the stalks
and then use threshing sleds to disengage the grain. They then winnowed
the grain/chaff mixture.
Art
:
![](640px-Royal_Tombs_of_Ur_Objects_from_tomb_PG_580.jpg)
Gold dagger from Sumerian tomb PG 580, Royal Cemetery at
Ur
The Sumerians were great creators, nothing proving this more than
their art. Sumerian artifacts show great detail and ornamentation,
with fine semi-precious stones imported from other lands, such as
lapis lazuli, marble, and diorite, and precious metals like hammered
gold, incorporated into the design. Since stone was rare it was
reserved for sculpture. The most widespread material in Sumer was
clay, as a result many Sumerian objects are made of clay. Metals
such as gold, silver, copper, and bronze, along with shells and
gemstones, were used for the finest sculpture and inlays. Small
stones of all kinds, including more precious stones such as lapis
lazuli, alabaster, and serpentine, were used for cylinder seals.
Some
of the most famous masterpieces are the Lyres
of Ur, which are considered to be the world's oldest surviving
stringed instruments. They have been discovered by Leonard Woolley
when the Royal Cemetery of Ur has been excavated between from 1922
and 1934.
![](640px-Cylinder_seal_and_modern_impression-_ritual_scene_before_a_temple_facade_MET_DP270679.jpg)
Cylinder
seal and impression in which appears a ritual scene before a temple
façade; 3500 – 3100 BC; bituminous limestone; height:
4.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
![](447px-Raminathicket2.jpg)
Ram
in a Thicket; 2600 – 2400 BC; gold, copper, shell, lapis lazuli
and limestone; height: 45.7 cm; from the Royal Cemetery at Ur (Dhi
Qar Governorate, Iraq); British Museum (London)
![](640px-Denis_Bourez_-_British_Museum,_London_(8747049029)_(2).jpg)
Standard
of Ur; 2600 – 2400 BC; shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli
on wood; length: 49.5 cm; from the Royal Cemetery at Ur; British
Museum
![](523px-Bull%27s_head_ornament_for_a_lyre_MET_DP260070.jpg)
Bull's
head ornament from a lyre; 2600 – 2350 BC; bronze inlaid with
shell and lapis lazuli; height: 13.3 cm, width: 10.5 cm; Metropolitan
Museum of Art
Architecture
:
![](640px-Ancient_ziggurat_at_Ali_Air_Base_Iraq_2005.jpg)
The Great Ziggurat of Ur (Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq), built during
the Third Dynasty of Ur (Neo-Sumerian Renaissance, c. 2100 BC),
dedicated to the moon god Nanna
The Tigris-Euphrates plain lacked minerals and trees. Sumerian structures
were made of plano-convex mudbrick, not fixed with mortar or cement.
Mud-brick buildings eventually deteriorate, so they were periodically
destroyed, leveled, and rebuilt on the same spot. This constant
rebuilding gradually raised the level of cities, which thus came
to be elevated above the surrounding plain. The resultant hills,
known as tells, are found throughout the ancient Near East.
According
to Archibald Sayce, the primitive pictograms of the early Sumerian
(i.e. Uruk) era suggest that "Stone was scarce, but was already
cut into blocks and seals. Brick was the ordinary building material,
and with it cities, forts, temples and houses were constructed.
The city was provided with towers and stood on an artificial platform;
the house also had a tower-like appearance. It was provided with
a door which turned on a hinge, and could be opened with a sort
of key; the city gate was on a larger scale, and seems to have been
double. The foundation stones—or rather bricks—of a
house were consecrated by certain objects that were deposited under
them."
The
most impressive and famous of Sumerian buildings are the ziggurats,
large layered platforms that supported temples. Sumerian cylinder
seals also depict houses built from reeds not unlike those built
by the Marsh Arabs of Southern Iraq until as recently as 400 CE.
The Sumerians also developed the arch, which enabled them to develop
a strong type of dome. They built this by constructing and linking
several arches. Sumerian temples and palaces made use of more advanced
materials and techniques, such as buttresses, recesses, half columns,
and clay nails.
Mathematics
:
The Sumerians developed a complex system of metrology c. 4000 BC.
This advanced metrology resulted in the creation of arithmetic,
geometry, and algebra. From c. 2600 BC onwards, the Sumerians wrote
multiplication tables on clay tablets and dealt with geometrical
exercises and division problems. The earliest traces of the Babylonian
numerals also date back to this period. The period c. 2700–2300
BC saw the first appearance of the abacus, and a table of successive
columns which delimited the successive orders of magnitude of their
sexagesimal number system. The Sumerians were the first to use a
place value numeral system. There is also anecdotal evidence the
Sumerians may have used a type of slide rule in astronomical calculations.
They were the first to find the area of a triangle and the volume
of a cube.
Economy
and trade :
![](619px-Bill_of_sale_Louvre_AO3765.jpg)
Bill
of sale of a male slave and a building in Shuruppak, Sumerian tablet,
c. 2600 BC
Discoveries of obsidian from far-away locations in Anatolia and
lapis lazuli from Badakhshan in northeastern Afghanistan, beads
from Dilmun (modern Bahrain), and several seals inscribed with the
Indus Valley script suggest a remarkably wide-ranging network of
ancient trade centered on the Persian Gulf. For example, Imports
to Ur came from many parts of the world. In particular, the metals
of all types had to be imported.
The
Epic of Gilgamesh refers to trade with far lands for goods, such
as wood, that were scarce in Mesopotamia. In particular, cedar from
Lebanon was prized. The finding of resin in the tomb of Queen Puabi
at Ur, indicates it was traded from as far away as Mozambique.
The
Sumerians used slaves, although they were not a major part of the
economy. Slave women worked as weavers, pressers, millers, and porters.[citation
needed]
Sumerian
potters decorated pots with cedar oil paints. The potters used a
bow drill to produce the fire needed for baking the pottery. Sumerian
masons and jewelers knew and made use of alabaster (calcite), ivory,
iron, gold, silver, carnelian, and lapis lazuli.
Trade
with the Indus valley :
![](640px-British_Museum_Middle_East_14022019_Gold_and_carnelian_beads_2600-2300_BC_Royal_cemetery_of_Ur_(composite).jpg)
The etched carnelian beads with white designs in this necklace
from the Royal Cemetery of Ur, dating to the First Dynasty of Ur,
are thought to have come from the Indus Valley. British Museum
![](640px-Mesopotamia-Indus.jpg)
The
trade routes between Mesopotamia and the Indus would have been significantly
shorter due to lower sea levels in the 3rd millennium BC
Evidence for imports from the Indus to Ur can be found from around
2350 BC. Various objects made with shell species that are characteristic
of the Indus coast, particularly Trubinella Pyrum and Fasciolaria
Trapezium, have been found in the archaeological sites of Mesopotamia
dating from around 2500–2000 BC. Carnelian beads from the
Indus were found in the Sumerian tombs of Ur, the Royal Cemetery
at Ur, dating to 2600–2450. In particular, carnelian beads
with an etched design in white were probably imported from the Indus
Valley, and made according to a technique of acid-etching developed
by the Harappans. Lapis lazuli was imported in great quantity by
Egypt, and already used in many tombs of the Naqada II period (c.
3200 BC). Lapis Lazuli probably originated in northern Afghanistan,
as no other sources are known, and had to be transported across
the Iranian plateau to Mesopotamia, and then Egypt.
Several
Indus seals with Harappan script have also been found in Mesopotamia,
particularly in Ur, Babylon and Kish.
Gudea,
the ruler of the Neo-Summerian Empire at Lagash, is recorded as
having imported "translucent carnelian" from Meluhha,
generally thought to be the Indus Valley area. Various inscriptions
also mention the presence of Meluhha traders and interpreters in
Mesopotamia. About twenty seals have been found from the Akkadian
and Ur III sites, that have connections with Harappa and often use
Harappan symbols or writing.
The
Indus Valley Civilization only flourished in its most developed
form between 2400 and 1800 BC, but at the time of these exchanges,
it was a much larger entity than the Mesopotamian civilization,
covering an area of 1.2 million square meters with thousands of
settlements, compared to an area of only about 65.000 square meters
for the occupied area of Mesopotamia, while the largest cities were
comparable in size at about 30–40,000 inhabitants.
Money
and credit :
Large institutions kept their accounts in barley and silver, often
with a fixed rate between them. The obligations, loans and prices
in general were usually denominated in one of them. Many transactions
involved debt, for example goods consigned to merchants by temple
and beer advanced by "ale women".
Commercial
credit and agricultural consumer loans were the main types of loans.
The trade credit was usually extended by temples in order to finance
trade expeditions and was nominated in silver. The interest rate
was set at 1/60 a month (one shekel per mina) some time before 2000
BC and it remained at that level for about two thousand years. Rural
loans commonly arose as a result of unpaid obligations due to an
institution (such as a temple), in this case the arrears were considered
to be lent to the debtor. They were denominated in barley or other
crops and the interest rate was typically much higher than for commercial
loans and could amount to 1/3 to 1/2 of the loan principal.
Periodically,
rulers signed "clean slate" decrees that cancelled all
the rural (but not commercial) debt and allowed bondservants to
return to their homes. Customarily, rulers did it at the beginning
of the first full year of their reign, but they could also be proclaimed
at times of military conflict or crop failure. The first known ones
were made by Enmetena and Urukagina of Lagash in 2400–2350
BC. According to Hudson, the purpose of these decrees was to prevent
debts mounting to a degree that they threatened the fighting force,
which could happen if peasants lost their subsistence land or became
bondservants due to inability to repay their debt.
Military
:
![](Standard_of_Ur_chariots.jpg)
Early
chariots on the Standard of Ur, c. 2600 BC
![](640px-Stele_of_the_vultures_(phalanx).jpg)
Phalanx
battle formations led by Sumerian king Eannatum, on a fragment of
the Stele of the Vultures
![](640px-Silver_model_of_a_boat,_tomb_PG_789,_Royal_Cemetery_of_UR,_2600-2500_BCE.jpg)
Silver
model of a boat, tomb PG 789, Royal Cemetery of Ur, 2600 –
2500 BC
The almost constant wars among the Sumerian city-states for 2000
years helped to develop the military technology and techniques of
Sumer to a high level. The first war recorded in any detail was
between Lagash and Umma in c. 2450 BC on a stele called the Stele
of the Vultures. It shows the king of Lagash leading a Sumerian
army consisting mostly of infantry. The infantry carried spears,
wore copper helmets, and carried rectangular shields. The spearmen
are shown arranged in what resembles the phalanx formation, which
requires training and discipline; this implies that the Sumerians
may have made use of professional soldiers.
The
Sumerian military used carts harnessed to onagers. These early chariots
functioned less effectively in combat than did later designs, and
some have suggested that these chariots served primarily as transports,
though the crew carried battle-axes and lances. The Sumerian chariot
comprised a four or two-wheeled device manned by a crew of two and
harnessed to four onagers. The cart was composed of a woven basket
and the wheels had a solid three-piece design.
Sumerian
cities were surrounded by defensive walls. The Sumerians engaged
in siege warfare between their cities, but the mudbrick walls were
able to deter some foes.
Technology
:
Examples of Sumerian technology include: the wheel, cuneiform script,
arithmetic and geometry, irrigation systems, Sumerian boats, lunisolar
calendar, bronze, leather, saws, chisels, hammers, braces, bits,
nails, pins, rings, hoes, axes, knives, lancepoints, arrowheads,
swords, glue, daggers, waterskins, bags, harnesses, armor, quivers,
war chariots, scabbards, boots, sandals, harpoons and beer. The
Sumerians had three main types of boats :
• |
Clinker-built
sailboats stitched together with hair, featuring bitumen
waterproofing |
• |
Skin
boats constructed from animal skins and reeds |
• |
Wooden-oared
ships, sometimes pulled upstream by people and animals walking
along the nearby banks |
Legacy :
![](598px-Sumer_map.jpg)
Map
of Sumer
Evidence of wheeled vehicles appeared in the mid 4th millennium
BC, near-simultaneously in Mesopotamia, the Northern Caucasus (Maykop
culture) and Central Europe. The wheel initially took the form of
the potter's wheel. The new concept led to wheeled vehicles and
mill wheels. The Sumerians' cuneiform script is the oldest (or second
oldest after the Egyptian hieroglyphs) which has been deciphered
(the status of even older inscriptions such as the Jiahu symbols
and Tartaria tablets is controversial). The Sumerians were among
the first astronomers, mapping the stars into sets of constellations,
many of which survived in the zodiac and were also recognized by
the ancient Greeks. They were also aware of the five planets that
are easily visible to the naked eye.
They
invented and developed arithmetic by using several different number
systems including a mixed radix system with an alternating base
10 and base 6. This sexagesimal system became the standard number
system in Sumer and Babylonia. They may have invented military formations
and introduced the basic divisions between infantry, cavalry, and
archers. They developed the first known codified legal and administrative
systems, complete with courts, jails, and government records. The
first true city-states arose in Sumer, roughly contemporaneously
with similar entities in what are now Syria and Lebanon. Several
centuries after the invention of cuneiform, the use of writing expanded
beyond debt/payment certificates and inventory lists to be applied
for the first time, about 2600 BC, to messages and mail delivery,
history, legend, mathematics, astronomical records, and other pursuits.
Conjointly with the spread of writing, the first formal schools
were established, usually under the auspices of a city-state's primary
temple.
Hungarian-Sumerian
hypothesis :
A hypothesis exists in Hungarian and international historiography
that relates the Sumerians to the Hungarians. According to it, the
Sumerian and Hungarian languages would be related and the ancestors
of both peoples would have had contact in the past and share a common
origin. This leaves a huge temporal gap and suggests a very extensive
origin for the Uralic peoples (as their Urheimat is generally believed
to be at the west of the Ural Mountains). Most of its supporters
deny a direct linguistic relationship between Hungarian and the
other Finno-Ugric languages.
The
hypothesis had more popularity among Sumerologists in the 19th and
early 20th centuries. Nowadays, it is mostly dismissed, although
it is acknowledged that Sumerian is an agglutinative language, just
like the Hungarian, Turkish and Finnish languages and regarding
linguistic structure resembles these and some Caucasian languages;
however in vocabulary, grammar, and syntax Sumerian still stands
alone and seems to be unrelated to any other language, living or
dead.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Sumer