Image Credit: Thought Co.

On the above map, the Fertile Crescent is colored green. For purposes of this post, I’ll be talking about the upper fertile crescent in the area around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

The earliest people were hunter-gatherers. They wandered from place to place–to wherever they could find food.

‘The Old Stone Age, or Paleolithic Age, began about 2 million years ago, with the first toolmaking hominids, and lasted until about 8000 B.C.E. It was during this time period that early modern humans developed. Like the hominids before them, early humans were hunter-gatherers. They wandered from place to place, hunting animals and gathering plants for food. Often, they took shelter in caves. Prehistoric cave painters left clues about their way of life.

“Humans discovered farming toward the end of the Stone Age. This period gets its name from the stone tools prehistoric people made and used. Historians divide the Stone Age into two periods. The first is the Paleolithic Age, or Old Stone Age. During this period, people got food by roaming from place to place to hunt wild animals and gather nuts, berries, and seeds from the plants they found.

Image Credit: History Alive Textbook

The Neolithic or New Stone Age

“By about 8000 B.C.E., some people had learned how to raise animals and crops for food. This knowledge enabled these people, for the first time, to live in one place. The Neolithic Age, or New Stone Age, had begun. This gradual shift from hunter-gatherers (food collectors) to farmers (food producers) is one of the most important advances in human development. People built permanent shelters. They settled in larger communities. Together, they produced what they needed. People developed new skills and made a variety of things that improved the quality of their lives. Over time, they also began to exchange goods with people in other communities for the things they lacked in their own villages. …

“The New Stone Age, or Neolithic Age, began when people started to farm and produce their own food. The discovery of farming did not happen all at once. Over thousands of years, people gradually learned to raise animals and plant crops. They eventually began to rely on these farms for their food. Now, rather than having to roam long distances in search of things to eat, people could settle down in one place. The Neolithic Age began around 8000 B.C.E. and lasted until about 3000 B.C.E., when people learned to make tools out of metal instead of stone. During this time, farming developed in many places throughout the world, including parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

‘Many Neolithic settlements were located in the Fertile Crescent, east of the Mediterranean Sea, where the land was fertile (good for growing crops). Here, people built towns such as Jericho (JER-ih-koh), Catal Hoyuk(CHAHT-ul hoo-YOOK), and Jarmo (see map). People in settlements like these lived very different lives from earlier hunter-gatherers. They could now concern themselves with other matters such as building permanent shelters and forming larger communities. They could make better tools and clothing. And they could swap items they had with other communities to get the things they lacked.

The Sumerian Civilization Develope after the Stone Age and the Neolithic Age 

1. Mesopotamia, 4000-3500 B.C.

“Mesopotamia is the earliest urban literate civilization on the globe—and the Sumerians, who established the civilization, established the ground rules,” says Kenneth Harl, author, consultant and professor emeritus of history at Tulane University

Between 3500 and 3000 B.C.E

“The earliest cities in Sumer date back to about 3500 B.C.E. These first cities were like small, independent countries. They each had their own ruler and their own farmland to provide food. For this reason, they are called city-states….

Image Credit: History Alive Textbook

“You see a walled settlement surrounded by farmland that supplies food for the city. The strong city walls are built of sunbaked bricks. Moats, or ditches filled with water, surround the walls. The moats help to keep out enemies. During an attack, people living outside the city walls fled inside for protection. …

 Mesopotamia: A Difficult Environment

“Mesopotamia was not an easy place to live. The northern part was hilly and received rain. The southern part was low plains, or flat land. [Sumer was in the southern part of Mesopotamia] The sun beat down fiercely on the plains between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. There was little rain. The Mesopotamians were farmers, and farms need water. The rivers brought water to the plains when they flooded, but for most of the year the soil was hard and dry. On the plains, building materials were difficult to find. There were plenty of reeds (weeds that grow near rivers). But there were few trees to provide wood. Even stones were scarce. And there were few natural barriers to keep out enemies.

“Mesopotamians faced four key problems as they tried to survive in this environment:

• food shortages in the hills

• an uncontrolled water supply on the plains

• difficulties in building and maintaining irrigation systems to serve the needs of several villages at once

• attacks by neighboring communities

“Over time, Mesopotamians found solutions to these problems. …

Image Credit: History Alive Textbook

[Sumer was in the area shaded yellow–down in the southern part of Mesopotamia.]

“Geographic features such as the climate, the Zagros Mountains, and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers affected where people settled in Mesopotamia. …

“Below the foothills and to the south, the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers ran through flat plains. The plains covered a large area of land, and no one lived there. During most of the year, the land was very hard and dry. And the plains lacked trees and stones for making shelters and tools. Yet the plains held promise, too. In the spring the rivers flooded, bringing precious water. Perhaps farms could be built there. Driven by the need for food, people moved out of the foothills and onto the plains. This region became known as Sumer, and its people would be called the Sumerians.

Uncontrolled Water Supply

“The farmers who moved to Sumer faced many challenges. One of the biggest problems was the uncontrolled water supply. During the spring, rain and melted snow from the mountains flowed into the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, causing them to flood across the plains. But no one could be sure exactly when the floods would come. If it happened after farmers planted their crops, their young plants would be washed away. For much of the rest of the year, the sunbaked soil was dry and hard as stone. Hot, strong winds blew thick layers of dust across the ground. Faced with such dramatic seasonal changes, farmers had to constantly struggle to raise crops. Either they had too little water or they had too much. To succeed in growing food, they needed a way to control the water so they would have a reliable water supply all year round. So, Sumerian farmers began to create irrigation systems to provide water for their fields.

“They built earth walls, called levees, along the sides of the river to prevent flooding. When the land was dry, they poked holes in the levees. The water flowed through the holes and into the thirsty fields. Over time, the Sumerians learned other ways to control the supply of water. They dug canals to shape the paths the water took. They also constructed dams along the river to block the water and force it to collect in pools they had built. The water was stored in these reservoirs for later use.

.        Image Credit: History Alive Textbook

.      Image Credit: History Alive Textbook

“Irrigation systems provided enough water for Sumerian farmers to grow plenty of food. But now a new problem arose: how to maintain the irrigation system across village boundaries.

“The irrigation system passed through many villages as it carried water from the river to the fields. The system had to be maintained constantly.

“The canals had to be cleaned regularly as they became clogged with silt (very fine mud). One clogged canal could spoil the entire system.

“Farmers could no longer live apart, or in small groups. They were connected for miles around by the canals. They had to work together for the common good.

“Gradually, villages came to depend on each other to build and maintain their complex irrigation system. Workers from different villages probably worked together. They cleared the silt from the canals to keep them from clogging. They scooped water from one reservoir into another to make sure the water levels were balanced.

“As the Sumerians worked together, they began to create larger communities. Between 3500 and 3000 B.C.E., villages grew into larger communities. Some towns in Sumer became cities with populations as great as several thousand people.”

.      A stele (STEE-lee) is an upright slab of stone inscribed with letters and pictures to depict important events.
Image Credit: History Alive Textbook

“This part of the Stele of the Vultures, which was found in Iraq, shows an attacking army.

“As Sumerian cities grew, they fought over the right to use more water. Sometimes cities located upriver (closer to where the river begins) built new canals or blocked other cities’ canals. In this way, they kept water from reaching the cities that were downriver (farther from where the river begins). Fights over water became so intense that they led to bloodshed and killing.

“Sumerians began to look for ways to protect their cities from their neighbors. The plains provided no natural barriers for protection. There were no mountain ranges or rushing rivers to keep out enemies. So, Sumerians began to build strong walls around their cities. The walls were made of mud bricks that were baked in the sun until they were hard. The Sumerians also dug moats outside the city walls to prevent enemies from entering the city. Most people lived in houses behind the walls, while the farms lay outside. In case of attack, farmers fled the fields and took safety inside the city walls.

Image Credit: History Alive Textbook

“Until about 150 years ago, archaeologists had no idea that the Sumerian people had lived at all. Then, in the mid-19th century, archaeologists began finding artifacts in the area of the Fertile Crescent that we call Mesopotamia. They uncovered tablets, pottery, and the ruins of cities. They were surprised to find writing in a language they had never seen before.

“By studying artifacts, archaeologists have been able to learn a lot about Sumer. One artifact is the Standard of Ur(uhr). It was found where the ancient city of Ur once stood. …

[Ur was the birthplace of The Biblical Abraham and his forefathers. It is believed that Abraham lived about 1,000 years later–in about 2,000 B.C.E.]

Characteristics of Civilization

“Sumer was a challenging place to live. It had hot summers, little rain, and rivers that flooded the plains in the spring. Yet the Sumerians were able to overcome these challenges. They built complex irrigation systems and large cities. By 3000 B.C.E., most Sumerians lived in powerful city-states like Ur, Lagash (LAY-gash), and Uruk (UH-ruhk). But what did the Sumerians do to create a civilization. …

Civiliizations need a stable food supply.

“A complex society can thrive only if its members have the food they need to survive. The Sumerians invented two key things to help them create a stable food supply.

“One of these inventions was their complex irrigation systems. The Sumerians built networks of canals, dams, and reservoirs to provide their crops with a regular supply of water.

“Their second invention was the plow. A plow is a tool used for tilling, or turning, the soil to prepare it for planting. Before the plow was invented, farmers used animal horns or pointed sticks to poke holes in the earth. Then they would plant seeds in the holes. This was a very slow way to farm. Farmers needed a faster way to prepare the land for planting. The Sumerians made the first plow out of wood. One end of the plow was bent for cutting into the ground to turn the soil. Farmers themselves pushed and pulled the plow along the ground, or they used animals such as oxen to pull it.

“Social Structure Civilizations have a complex organization, or social structure.

“A social structure includes different jobs and social levels. People at higher levels have greater status than others. Archaeologists have found evidence that several classes of people lived in Sumer. At the top level were priests, landowners, and government officials. These people had the largest and most luxurious homes, near the center of the city. Their houses were two stories high. Evidence suggests that these mud houses had whitewashed walls.

“At the middle level were merchants and artisans. Among the artisans were skilled metalworkers. They worked with such metals as gold, silver, tin, lead, copper, and bronze. Out of these materials, they made swords and arrowheads for the army. They made tools, like plows and hoes, for farmers. They also made luxury items, such as mirrors and jewelry, for the upper class. The middle class also included farmers and fishers. They lived in small, mud-brick houses at the edge of the city. Farmers often worked to build or repair the irrigation systems. In times of war, they were forced to serve in the army.

“At the bottom level of the social structure were slaves. They lived in their owners’ homes and had no property of their own.

Government

“All civilizations have a system of government to direct people’s behavior and make life orderly. Sumerian city-states were ruled by kings. The Sumerians believed that their gods chose these kings. This belief made kings very powerful. It also helped to reinforce the social order, because obeying the will of the gods was one of the Sumerians’ strongest beliefs.

“Sumerian kings enforced the laws and collected taxes. They built temples and made sure irrigation systems were maintained. A king also led his city-state’s army.

“All the city-states needed armies because of constant fighting over land boundaries and the use of water. Leading the army was one of the king’s most important jobs.

“A Sumerian army included both professional soldiers and temporary citizen-soldiers. Some were foot soldiers. Others drove chariots, which were wheeled vehicles pulled by horses.

“Kings appointed officials to help with certain duties.

“Governors ruled the outlying towns.

“Scribes helped record laws. The Sumerians were the first people to develop a system of written laws.

“One special group of officials patrolled the canals. They looked for damage and made sure that farmers did not take water illegally.

Religion

“All civilizations have some kind of religious system. A religious system includes both a set of beliefs, usually in a god or gods, and forms of worship.

“In Sumer, religious beliefs influenced every part of daily life. The Sumerians tried to please their gods in all things, from growing crops to settling disputes. Religion bound the people together in a common way of life.

“The ancient Sumerians expressed their religious beliefs by constructing temples and religious towers called ziggurats (ZIHG-guh-rats). It was the king’s duty to build and maintain these ziggurats. The towers were platforms made of mud bricks, with shrines on the highest tier. Ziggurats were so large that they could be seen from 20 miles away. Some were as high as 8 stories and as wide as 200 feet.

“The Sumerians believed that their gods lived in the ziggurats, most likely in the special shrines at the top. Attached to the outside walls of each ziggurat was a long staircase that the gods could use to climb down to Earth. Kings and priests stood inside the towers to ask for the gods’ blessings.

“Sumerian statues also expressed religious beliefs. Many of these statues were detailed and lifelike. They showed people worshipping the gods, often with eyes gazing upward. The Sumerians believed that the gods were pleased when people showed these signs of devotion, or love and obedience.

“The Sumerians had many kinds of religious ceremonies. Often, musicians played at these ceremonies. Some ceremonies may have involved human sacrifice, the ritual killing of a person as an offering to the gods.

The Arts

“All civilizations have a highly developed culture, including the arts. Arts include creative forms of expression such as painting, architecture, and music.

“There were many kinds of artists and artisans in ancient Sumer. Metalworkers made objects, like weapons and cups. They made decorative items, such as mirrors and jewelry, too. Architects designed temples and ziggurats.

“Music was another important art in Sumer. The Sumerians believed that music brought joy to gods and people alike. Musicians sang and played instruments during temple ceremonies. They wrote love songs and entertained guests at feasts.

“Sumerian musicians played a variety of instruments, including drums and pipes. One favorite was a small harp called a lyre. Lyres were wooden instruments made of a sound box and strings. A wooden bar held the strings in place at the top. Lyre makers often decorated their instruments with precious stones and with carvings made of horn. These decorations show how much the Sumerians valued music.

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Image Credit: History Alive Textbook

Technology

“All civilizations create new forms of technology. The Sumerians made several technological advances. The most important Sumerian invention was the wheel. The earliest examples of the wheel date back to 3500 B.C.E. Sumerian potters, or pottery makers, first used wheels as a surface for shaping clay into pots. Potters’ wheels spun, flat side up, on an axle. The Sumerians discovered that a wheel that was flipped onto its edge could be rolled forward. They used this discovery to create wheeled carts for farmers, and chariots for the army. They built the wheels by clamping pieces of wood together.

“It would be hard to discover a more powerful invention than the wheel. Before the wheel, people had to drag their goods on flatbottomed carts called sledges. The sledges often got stuck in mud, and they couldn’t support heavy loads. Wheeled carts made it much easier to move goods over long distances. Oxen could pull three times more weight on wheeled carts than on sledges.

“Another technological advance was the arch. Sumerian arches were inverted (upside-down) U- or V-shaped structures built above doorways. To build arches, the Sumerians stacked bricks, made of clay and straw, to rise from the walls in steps until they met in the center. Arches added strength and beauty to Sumerian buildings. They became a common feature of temple entrances and upper-class homes. Some historians say that the arch is the Sumerians’ greatest architectural achievement.

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Image Credit: History Alive Textbook

Writing

“A final characteristic of civilizations is a highly developed written language. The Sumerians created a written language called cuneiform. This name comes from the Latin word for “wedge.” The Sumerians used a wedge-shaped stylus (a sharp, pointed tool) to etch their writing in clay tablets.

“Sumerians developed cuneiform around 2400 B.C.E. The earliest examples of cuneiform show that it was used to record information about the goods people exchanged with one another. At first, cuneiform writing may have contained as many as 2,000 symbols to stand for ideas and sounds. Over time, this number was reduced to about 700.

“Cuneiform was based on an earlier, simpler form of writing that used pictographs. Pictographs are symbols that stand for real objects, such as a snake or water. Scribes used a sharpened reed to draw the symbols on wet clay. When the clay dried, the marks became a permanent record.” History Alive Textbook

 

 

 

 

 

“Sumer, the land which came to be known in classical times as Babylonia, consists of the lower half of Mesopotamia, roughly identical with modern Iraq from north of Baghdad to the Persian Gulf….Its climate is extremely hot and dry, and its soil, left to itself, is arid, wind-swept and unprodoductive. The land is flat and river-made, and therefore, has no minerals whatever and almost no stone. Except for the huge reeds in the marshes, it has no trees for timber. Here, then, was a region with ‘the hand of God against it,’ an unpromising land seemingly dommed to poverty and desolation. But the people that inhabited it, the Sumerians, as they came to be known by the third millennium B.C., were endowed with an unusually creative intellect and a venturesome, ro=esolute spirit. In spite of the land’s natural drawbacks, they turne Sumer into a veritable Garden of Eden and developed what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man.

“The people of Sumer had an unusual flair for technological invention. Even the earliest settlers had come upon the ideo of irrigation, which made it impossible for them to collect and channel the rich silt-laden overflow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and use it to water and fructify their fields and gardens. To make up for the dearth of minerals and stones, they learned to bake the river clay and mud, the supply of which was practically inexhaustible, into sickles, pots, plates, and jars. In lieu of the scarce building timber, they cut and drived the huge and plentiful marsh reeds, tied them into bundles or plaited them into mats, and with the [pg. 3] help of mud-plastering fashioned them into huts and byres. Later, the Sumerians invented the brick mold for shaping and baking the ubiquitous river clay and so had no more building-material problem. They devised such useful tools, skills, and techniques as the potter’s wheel, the wagon wheel, the plow, the sailboat, the arch, the vault, the dome, casting in copper and bronze, riveting, brazing and soldering, sculpture in stone, engraving, and inlay. They originated a system of writing on clay, which was borrowed and used all over the Near East for some two thousand years.”Kramer, Samuel Noah. The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character, pgs. 3-4.