The first article discussed how groups of hunters/gatherers, with the onset of farming, gave up their nomadic lifestyle to settle in one area, located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, an area called Mesopotamia. Over time, as the quality of crops and the amount of land being farmed increased, resulting in a population boom, villages grew into large city-states, which would later be called Sumer.
How did the people of Sumer live? What allowed them to become the first known civilization? This article will answer all of these questions, and discuss three inventions that revolutionized life for not only the ancient Sumerians, but for all the people that came afterward.
Life in Sumer
As mentioned in the last article, the most prominent features of any Sumerian city-state were its temples and its fortifications, the latter being to keep out potential invaders. Within the fortifications lay the city, outside the walls, farms and suburbs lined the outskirts. Generally, there was no strife between the city-folk and the people that dwelt outside the city.
In the city, residential areas were filled with unplanned streets that were cut by avenues. The poor and middle-class neighborhoods featured houses that had courtyards surrounded by tiny window-less rooms – in the summer, the people slept in the courtyard, going inside during the winter months. In addition, the courtyard was used for gatherings and for cooking. There was no organized waste or garbage collection, so the densely populated areas of the cities tended to have foul odors. Sickness and disease were common. Wealthier areas were similar, with the addition of another story to the houses being the main difference. Some had a wooden balcony that overlooked the courtyard. In general, furniture was scarce, but chests and stools made out of wood were common for those that could afford it.
Every city had three main focal points: the main temple walled in an enclosure, the palace complex which housed the ruler, and the port. Most of the commercial districts grew around the ports, which were usually built on the Euphrates River. As Sumer grew more prosperous, the variety of goods flowing into the city-states was almost unparalleled at that period of time.
Socially, the people were stratified very similar to other great civilizations that would later come about. On one end was a slave class, some prisoners of war, some paying off debts that were owed, and some in voluntary bondage, working in exchange for food and shelter; on the other end was the ruling class and the chief priests. Early on, these were the two main social classes, but as Sumer prospered, a thriving middle-class came about, consisting mostly of merchants and craftspeople.
Sumerian Inventions
As a civilization evolves, it naturally tends to come up with technological innovations that pave the way to an improved quality of life for themselves, and lead to even greater innovations in the future as others build upon what was created. The Sumerians gave many gifts to the modern world, some of which made our modern comforts possible.
As the Sumerians increased the scope and quality of their farming and cattle-raising, they developed the need to store grains and other items, thus pottery was born. The 1st appearance of pottery was around 5000 BC when Mesopotamians discovered that clay hardened when heated. This early pottery was mostly hand-fashioned, one color, and ordinary looking - but it got the job done. Over time, they began to craft other items out of ceramic like plates, cups, and bowls. Pottery, though breakable, was nearly indestructible, as evidenced by the pieces unearthed by archaeological digs.
The second great invention was the wheel, which came about in 4000 BC. The first immediate impact of the invention was the creation of symmetrically round pottery, which was more pleasant to look at than the previous versions. A better use was soon discovered in the form of the chariot, which facilitated long-distance communication and transport. However, the best use of the chariot was for war, allowing this invention to rapidly reach Egypt and the Indus River Valley in rapid time. The design of the chariots from these two cultures bears a strong resemblance to ones from Sumer.
The final, and probably the 2nd greatest invention to come from Sumer was metallurgy. It was made possible with the discovery of copper, and the ability of it to be heated and fashioned into a variety of things, including tools and weapons. Metal was first used in Mesopotamia between 4000 BC and 3500 BC. When tin is mixed with copper, you get bronze, so by 3000 BC, bronze was in full use, used for creating many tools, weapons, boats, armor, and a host of other things. The time period between 3000 BC and 1200 BC is known as the Bronze Age, and it was during this period of time that the Western World acquired metal from Greek trade with the Near East.
The next article will go into detail about the two greatest gifts the Sumerians gave to the world – writing and law.
Sources:
Woolf, Greg. Ancient Civilizations. London: Duncan Baird Publishers, 2005
Hitti, Philip K. The Near East In History. Canada: D. Van Nostrand Company (Canada), Ltd., 1961
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