Includes most of modern Iraq and western Syria. Home to
some of man’s first experiments with agriculture and irrigation. Sumeria, an
area in lower Mesopotamia the size of Massachusetts probably gave rise to the 1st
high civilization. The Sumerians became know as Sumerians by the 3rd
millenium. They developed the 1st system of writing in clay, 1st
law codes, individualism, and irrigation hence cooperation. The is no stone or
timber in the area thus the need to trade grain for those raw materials. By 3rd
millenium they had surpluses. Thru trade or military force Sumerians penetrated
east to India west to Mediteranean south to Ethiopia and north to the Caspian
Sea.
Archeologists looking for Assyrans from Greek and Hebrew
sources found the Sumerian civ around 1850. Realized Persian and Akkadian
cuneiforms from Iran, but Iraq (Mesopotamia) original source of cuneiform, must
have been an earlier civ. In 1850 Hincks suggests this Babylonian cuneiform
orign but misnamed them Babyonian Scyths and later as Akkadians. Jules Oppert
1869 called them Sumerians based on King Sumer and Akkad whom he found in
inscriptions of early rulers. Akkad was Semetic people of Assyria and Babylonia
while Sumerians
were non-Semetic.
1st dig 1877 at Telloh, ruins of Lagash by
Frenchman de Sarzec. Ur excavated 1922-34 by Woolley.
Prehistoric settlements slowly become more reliant on
domestic rather than wild food sources. The was storage happening in what is now
North Iraq. Adaptation leads to increased population density. Plastered
semi-subterranean houses anticipate the mud brick, sun dried clay buildings
throughout later Mesopotamian history.
The grinding and working of fine stone vessels and
statuettes was well established by 6000 BC.
Samarra Culture (6000-5500)
In central and north Mesopotamia.
Halaf Culture (5500-5000)
In north Mesopotamia, agricultural settlements. Resemblances between them indicate a shared cultural and social organization.
Painted pottery of outstanding quality produced at a number of centers.
Distinctive seals indicate owernership or responsibility for property
Evidence for the exchange of goods over thousands of miles.
FINDS FROM ARPACHIYAH
5500-5000 Halaf period Stone Figurines
5000
Halaf period Necklace,
Amulet Stone Seals, and Sealed Clay Labels
Ubaid Culture (5500-4000)
In south Mesopotamia, with expansion to north and west.
There is little known of south Mesopotamia before 5500 BC,
but some centuries later the influence of the Ubaid culture seen throughout the
north. 3
5500-5000 Ubaid Period Figurines
4000
Ubaid Period Amuletic
Stone and Bone Seals, Sealed Clay Labels
Sumeria first settled (probably not by sumerians) btw
4500-4000. Before that most of Sumer covered by the Persian Gulf. But maybe not
and older remains still underground.
Kings and rulers of city states: ensi’s built temples as
dwellings places for the gods for long prosperous life of self and subjects.
Pictographs evolve info cuniform, record vuilding activities for all to see and
remember
2nd quarter 3rd millenium – written
history begins
5000 tablets of Sumerian literature spread over the world,
excavated around 1910’s? cuneforem script. By 24th century written
treaty btw Lagash and Umma inscribed in stele of Vulturres (p34-5 Kramer).
Economic and admin documents.
Gawra Culture (4000-3500)
In north Mesopotamia
Uruk Culture (4000-3000)
In south Mesopotamia, with expansion to north and west.
From 3500-3000: Culmination of previous developments: enter
a period of dense population. Large towns existed before, but now a major
increase in scale.
The city of Uruk covered over five square kilometers. Power
concentrated in the temples or religious organizations which controled large
estates. However the building of a city wall is ascribed to a king, Gilgamesh.
Massive temple buildings constructed and reconstructed over the centuries.
Elaborate administrative organization existed, with specialist craftsmen
classified by rank. Workers may have been paid in rations of food. International
trade and other links florished. While pottery for common use was mass produced,
magnificent stone carvings were created for dedication in the temples. The
working of metal was more widespread.
By 3000: development of writings and mass production of goods
reflected the complexities of social organization.
Late Prehistoric Period (3300-2750):
Includes Late Uruk/Jamdat Naar phase and Early Dynastic I.
First Dynasty of Ur
Metalwork and a Mosaic Column from the Temple of Ninhursag at Tell al-'Ubaid, near
LOOK AT CHRONOLOGY
OTHER NOTES:
At Eridu an early shrine can be traced through many
rebuildings in its transformation in historical times into a major Sumerian
temple, continuity in the region.
From 3000-1500 BC political control has held alternatively by small states ususally based on towns and short lived empires. The Sumerian language used in the south gradually
replaced by Akkadian, used by Babylonians and Assyrians in central and north
Mesopotamia. The economy largely depended on efficient management of water. Some cooperation and some competition btw settled farmers and mobile pastoral groups, some of whom invaded from without. In 1750 BC the Su
