Transcript:

You know it’s almost unbelievable but the very first steps towards something as wow fundamental as our alphabet might have been driven by need to count um mostly oxen and fish yeah sounds a bit mundane for such a massive leap doesn’t it it really does but that’s precisely where our deep dive begins today in ancient Mesopotamia what we now know as Iraq mhm we’re going to explore the fascinating kind of intertwined origins of city life and writing starting way back with the earliest settlements and temples around 5,000 B.CE right and tracing their development into these uh bustling urban centers with pretty sophisticated recordkeeping systems by roughly 3200 B.CE and we have some really rich historical material to work with here i mean these early societies left behind an incredible amount of evidence like what specifically well everything from the foundations of their homes and temples you know the physical remains but also their most practical and even artistic creations we’ve got tools statues ornaments and crucially those remarkable clay tablets ah the writing itself exactly bearing their written words it actually allows us to piece together a surprisingly detailed picture of their lives absolutely so our mission today as we delve into these sources together is to really try and understand that pivotal moment why did cities emerge here and you know what drove the invention of writing in this particular time and place yeah the why behind it all we want to uncover some surprising insights into the lives of well everyone from crafts people right up to kings and importantly for you listening connect these ancient innovations to concepts that are still very much alive and relevant today things like trade specialization of labor the complexities of keeping records definitely so let’s maybe journey back even before all this to a time when human life looked well completely different indeed for millennia upon millennia humans existed as nomadic hunter gatherers it’s almost a different mode of existence entirely isn’t it constantly on the move constantly moving yeah following the seasons the animals the availability of plants and resources okay so let’s try and unpack this massive shift around 10,000 years ago mostly in West Asia something pretty revolutionary began to happen settled agriculture right people started cultivating specific plants things like wheat barley peas pulses became staples and a similar kind of transformation was happening over in East and Southeast Asia with millet and rice and it wasn’t just plants alongside this we see the domestication of animals sheep goats cattle pigs even donkeys they became really integral to human life in a new way this whole period sometimes called the agricultural revolution it wasn’t just about farming was it it fundamentally changed how humans lived oh completely it led to permanent homes totally new technologies and really the very beginnings of settled societies what’s fascinating here is how this um seemingly fundamental change triggered such profound and like far-reaching consequences right once communities invested all that effort in cultivating land they became well tied to it exactly anchored and this necessitated building permanent dwellings which is a huge departure from the nomadic lifestyle and with that stability came a whole wave of other innovations right yeah definitely this is when pottery really takes off you need something reliable for storing surplus food for cooking makes sense if you’re not moving constantly exactly it offered a new level of food security and even stone tool technology evolved instead of just chipping away they started grinding and polishing stone leading to better tools much more efficient tools yeah like mortars and pestles for processing all those grains they were harvesting and more specialized farming tools too like axes and hose we also see the very early stages of working with metals copper tin and if we connect this to the bigger picture this era also reveals kind of an increasing awareness of goods coming from far away that’s a great point we find materials like timber certain stones metals even obsidian that volcanic glass prized for its sharpness turning up in places far from their origin so trade was already happening or at least exchange it suggests a growing movement of people definitely and the exchange of goods between these uh naent settled communities long before we see what we’d call formal cities so these small localized changes were kind of setting the stage for something much bigger much more complex down the line precisely so after this really long period of gradual change the pace of societal development really really accelerates with the emergence of the first true cities okay mesopotamia when we picture it it’s important to get the geography because that played such a crucial role in how all this unfolded absolutely modern day Iraq has incredibly diverse environments you’ve got fertile plains up in the northeast where they get enough rain for farming yeah rainfed agriculture works up there then further north you have these vast steps which are excellent grazing land really ideal for hurting animals okay and then down in the south which predominantly desert that’s actually where these groundbreaking early cities first arose that seems almost counterintuitive doesn’t it a desert landscape giving birth to cities it does but the absolute lifeblood of this southern region was the two major rivers the Tigris and the Euphrates right they weren’t just sources of water for drinking their annual floods deposited incredibly fertile silt washed down from the northern highlands ah so natural fertilizer exactly and by learning to manage these rivers building canals creating irrigation systems the people of southern Mesopotamia could create unbelievably productive farmland in what was otherwise a very aid environment so even with low rainfall their agricultural output could be remarkably high extremely high and it wasn’t only about the cultivated crops down south those surrounding regions we mentioned the steps and plains further north they supported substantial populations of sheep and goats providing essentials like meat milk and especially wool which became hugely important so the overall resource base across Mesopotamia while varied geographically was surprisingly robust okay so we have settled agriculture we have a productive albeit challenging environment thanks to the rivers but what makes a large settlement actually become a city it has to be more than just you know lots of people crammed together precisely that’s a key distinction a city truly comes into being when its economy diversifies beyond just basic food production you start to see the development of specialized crafts like artisans artisans manufacturers yeah organized trade networks start forming various services emerge city dwellers become interdependent in a new way meaning they don’t have to make everything themselves anymore right they no longer have to be self-sufficient in producing everything they need think about say a craftsman specializing in carving intricate stone seals a very Mesopotamian thing okay they rely on others to provide the raw stone maybe the bronze tools they need to carve it their expertise is focused purely on the carving itself this specialization creates this incredibly complex web of economic activity it’s all interconnected in a way that maybe village life wasn’t quite so intensely exactly and to manage this increasingly complex webade think about getting raw materials like fuel metals stones wood into the city for these manufacturers and then distributing the finished goods plus all the food right you absolutely need some form of sophisticated social organization to handle all that which raises a critical point how do you coordinate such a complex system organized trade storing goods distributing food these things don’t just happen spontaneously do they not at this scale no the evidence strongly suggests that this level of societal complexity requires not only a system for let’s say issuing and enforcing commands but crucially a reliable method for keeping track records written records keeping track of transactions agreements who owes what who received what and here we arrive at it one of humanity’s most transformative inventions writing so ingrained in our lives today it’s almost easy to forget what a monumental leap it actually was oh absolutely try to imagine managing a large complex interconnected community without writing how would you do it memory alone wouldn’t cut it surely not for long and not reliably what’s fascinating to consider is that initial transition going from a purely oral culture where everything information agreements history was transmitted through spoken words and memorization to one where these things could be recorded visually so what did those first records look like the earliest Mesopotamian tablets we have found in Uruk and dating back to around 3200 B.CE are overwhelmingly well lists lists like shopping lists kind of think of them more like ancient spreadsheets they detail quantities of oxen different kinds of fish loaves of bread ah the oxen and fish from the intro exactly all items very likely related to the economic activities of the temple which was a major economic hub so it wasn’t like epic poetry or grand royal pronouncements that kicked off writing not initially no it seems to have sprung from the very practical day-to-day need to keep tabs on resources and transactions within these growing complex urban centers so the initial spark was basically accounting as these cities grew the sheer volume of transactions involving more people more goods over longer periods just created this information management problem that writing solved brilliantly and the technology itself is pretty ingenious considering the materials they had it really is especially in its simplicity they use the most readily available material clay from the riverbanks they’d wet it smooth it out into these hands-ized tablets okay then they used a cut reed the end of the reed when pressed into the soft clay created this distinctive wedge shape ah the ununiform shape precisely cunius is Latin for wedge so they press these wedge-shaped signs into the clay and then the crucial part once these tablets were just left to dry in the sun they became incredibly durable almost like fired pottery which is why so many have survived exactly it explains why archaeologists have found thousands upon thousands of them when a record was maybe no longer actively needed the clay tablet was simply discarded but it didn’t easily decompose it just lay there preserving the information for millennia it’s truly remarkable that these essentially discarded administrative notes now give us such an intimate glimpse into their world it’s archaeological gold and over time of course this system evolved it started with more picturelike signs pictograms representing the actual object yeah a picture of an ox head for an ox that sort of thing but gradually by around 2600 B.CE the script became much more abstract and standardized into what we recognize as true ununiform and they started using it for more than just lists oh definitely its applications expanded significantly beyond basic accounting this is really important like what well writing began to be used for creating dictionaries which are really early attempts at organizing and standardizing language itself it was used for legal documents formalizing agreements right things like land ownership marriage contracts loans royal decrees could be announced new laws proclamations and perhaps most significantly for our understanding of the past writing allowed for the recording of historical events the deeds of rulers the beginning of history as we know it in a way in a very real sense yes and later after the Eadian language became prominent around 2400 B.CE the uniform script proved flexible enough to be adapted to represented sounds too so the same script worked for different languages yes primarily Samrian and Acadian it shows its flexibility and enduring utility it was used for over 2,000 years now for us today we’re used to alphabets where you know each letter roughly represents a single sound ununiform was different wasn’t it very different it wasn’t based on individual letters like B or C it was primarily salabic meaning each sign stood for a whole syllable that’s precisely right each uniform sign typically represented a syllable like ba or um or gal or g so to read and write you’d have to learn hundreds of these signs hundreds and hundreds yes which meant that acquiring literacy was an incredibly demanding skill it required years of dedicated study and practice usually in special scribal schools so not everyone could read and write oh definitely not the vast majority of the population remained illiterate it was a highly specialized skill so even kings even for a king to claim literacy in their royal inscriptions you know boasting I can read the inscriptions from before the flood that was a significant point of pride it really highlights how rare and prestigious literacy was so for most people written information would have been accessed how through scribes exactly through scribes reading things aloud the surviving texts even hint at this we find letters from officials that often begin with instructions like to my lord soandso speak thus says your servant soandso ah so the instruction is literally to speak the message it underscores that the written word often needed that spoken intermediary and then there’s that really captivating Sumerian epic poem about Enkar right one of the legendary early rulers of Uruk what’s so telling about that epic is how it deliberately intertwines these key concepts kingship long-distance trade and the actual invention of writing how so well the story goes that Enrikar needed precious materials lapis lazulian metals for building a temple in Urick he sends a messenger on this incredibly long and difficult journey to a distant land over mountains and everything exactly but the messenger finds himself unable to accurately remember the increasingly complex verbal messages and Mker keeps sending he’s overwhelmed so what happens so Enmer according to the poem devises a solution he takes some clay sleuths it out and somehow records his words onto the tablet the very first instance of writing on clay according to this literary tradition wow so writing is born out of the needs of kingship and trade that’s the connection the poem makes it even poetically says something like the spoken words were heavy or like nails referring to the wedge-shaped uniform signs it really conveys that sense of permanence of authority that this new technology must have represented absolutely it wasn’t just seen as a tool for storing information it was perceived as this powerful instrument for communication across vast distances maybe even time and definitely as a symbol of urics and by extension Mesopotamian urban sophistication and superiority this brings us back nicely to the physical development of the cities themselves down there in southern Mesopotamia we see the initial settlements forming around 5,000 B.CE those early villages and over the next couple of millennia some of these settlements experienced this significant growth they transform into true urban centers and our sources suggest different types of cities emerged that seems right we see evidence for cities that grew up primarily around prominent temples acting as these religious and economic focal points temple town temple towns essentially and others seem to have flourished more specifically as centers of trade maybe located on key routes and later of course you get imperial capitals okay let’s delve into those early temple complexes first they started small right very modest initially often just small shrines built from simple sunbaked bricks maybe a single room but they grew oh they grew dramatically over time they became increasingly grand uh elaborate evolving into these extensive complexes with many rooms often arranged around large open courtyards and dedicated to specific gods yes each major city typically had a patron deity and their temple was considered the god’s actual earthly residence think of the moon god Nana in or the famous goddess Inana in Uric associated with love and war and what was the temple’s role beyond just worship it sounds like it was more than just a church much more it wasn’t simply a place where people brought offerings grain Kurds fish that sort of thing the temple was also regarded at least theoretically as the primary owner of essential resources like the land the surrounding agricultural land yes the local fisheries even the community’s herds of animals wow so major economic power huge economic influence and as this influence grew temples became major centers for organizing production things like overseeing oil pressing from sesame seeds grain milling weaving textiles they employed merchants to facilitate trade and crucially they were the keepers of those early written records we talked about documenting everything coming in and going out exactly the collection and distribution of goods and resources in a way you could almost see them as the earliest forms of large-scale corporations or administrative organizations now you mentioned earlier that despite the fertile land from the rivers farming wasn’t always easy there no definitely not without its challenges the floods could be unpredictable and destructive the rivers themselves could change course over time leaving established fields high and dry that must have caused problems big problems plus there were disputes over water access if people upstream diverted too much water for their irrigation those downstream suffered and the constant deposition of silt while fertile could also choke irrigation canals so instability was part of the picture yes and the archaeological evidence reflects this we see instances where entire villages seem to have been periodically relocated most likely in response to these environmental pressures or perhaps conflicts arising from them and it’s maybe within this context of managing resources dealing with floods and potential conflict that we see leaders emerging that seems to be the case the rise of influential figures often initially war leaders someone successful in protecting the community or maybe acquiring resources through raids could reward their followers with captured goods employ captives gaining prestige and power exactly increasing their standing and over time these leaders perhaps began taking on broader responsibilities beyond just warfare contributing to the community’s well-being by investing in say the beautifification of the main temple or helping to organize those increasingly complex systems of water management and resource distribution so it becomes this kind of reinforcing cycle it looks that way leaders offer security and maybe better organization which encourages people to settle near them this benefits the settlers but also provides the leader with a larger pool of labor and crucially potential soldiers for defense or campaigns and Uruk is a prime example of this process uruk is a fantastic example it starts as a significant temple- centered settlement but around 3000 B.CEE it experiences this absolutely massive population growth it seems to have drawn people in from numerous smaller villages in the surrounding countryside which were then abandoned many were yes this concentration of population in Uk led to it becoming a truly enormous city for its time covering a vast area and significantly this growth coincides with the construction of major defensive walls around the city signifying a more formalized perhaps more threatened urban center quite possibly and how did these early states centered on temples and rulers support themselves it wasn’t quite like modern taxation no income tax forms not quite the primary obligation of the general populace seems to have been a form of compulsory labor often called corvet labor meaning people had to work for the temple or ruler yes for a certain amount of time they might be required to contribute their labor for all sorts of tasks fetching materials making bricks working on huge construction projects like temples or canals even undertaking journeys to procure goods from distant lands and how are they paid or supported in return for this labor they received rations food mostly grain but perhaps also oil wool basic necessities and we have proof of this oh yes the sheer number of rationalists found on those clay tablets literally hundreds of them have been discovered provides incredibly strong evidence for this system of organized labor and centralized distribution urg in this period around 3000 B.CE also seems like a hub of innovation it really does technologically and artistically bronze tools become more widespread which implies advancements in metallergy mixing copper and tin architecturally architecturally they developed impressive techniques like using large brick columns where timber was scarce and they employed these very distinctive colorful clay cone mosaics to decorate the walls and columns of monumental buildings you can still see reconstructions they’re quite stunning and any major inventions perhaps most significantly for the future of mass production this era witnesses the invention and widespread adoption of the potter’s wheel ah allowing for faster more standardized pottery exactly a huge leap in efficiency for producing ceramic vessels compared to handbuing each one so as these cities got bigger and more complex did society become more stratified more unequal the evidence certainly points that way you see the emergence of a distinct ruling elite who clearly controlled a significant portion of the society’s wealth and resources how do we know that the most dramatic evidence comes from burials particularly the so-called royal graves discovered at dating a bit later maybe mid3rd millennium B.C.E these tombs contained an absolute wealth of precious artifacts gold silver lapis lazuli intricate jewelry musical instruments even sacrificed attendants wow that definitely signals a powerful elite undeniably it shows a concentration of wealth and power far beyond what ordinary people possessed and what about those ordinary inhabitants what can we piece together about their lives in these early cities well legal texts that survive mostly from slightly later periods but likely reflecting earlier customs suggest that the nuclear family parents and children was the common social unit though maybe extended family lived nearby possibly yes and the father typically held authority as the head of the household according to these texts and the physical city itself what was it like walking through say back then archaeological excavations at give us some really tangible details the streets were generally narrow winding and not laid out on a grid definitely not like a modern city grid no and clearly not designed for wheeled carts or chariots goods were likely transported mainly by donkeys walking along these packed earth streets or just carried by people what about things like uh sanitation drains that’s another interesting point there seems to have been a distinct lack of formal town planning and apparently no public street drains like the Romans later built drainage seems to have been managed primarily within the individual courtyards of the houses maybe into sumps or pits so the streets themselves well the evidence suggests that people simply threw their household refues out into the streets it is just tossed it out it appears so which over time led to a gradual but steady rise in the street levels people literally lived on layers of accumulated rubbish from previous generations good grief so you’d have to keep raising your doorstep exactly excavations show house thresholds being repeatedly raised over time to keep pace with the rising street level outside otherwise mud and rubbish would wash in when it rained and inside the houses how are they lit did they have windows facing the street probably not many windows facing the narrow dirty streets light inside the typical courtyard house likely came mainly from the doorways opening onto the central open air courtyard this would provide light and ventilation while maintaining privacy from the street and they even had superstitions about their houses oh yes we have these fascinating omen tablets found at that record various beliefs and superstitions related to dwellings like what things like Eda if the main threshold of your house was raised it meant good fortune if the front door opened outwards towards the street instead of inwards your wife might torment you all sorts of quirky beliefs connecting the physical house to the family’s fate wow a different way of seeing the world and burial practices did they have separate cemeteries there was a town cemetery at where both royalty in those rich tombs and commoners were buried but intriguingly some individuals were actually found buried beneath the floors of ordinary houses buried inside their own homes it seems so yes perhaps keeping ancestors close literally underfoot okay let’s shift focus slightly maybe northwards and a bit later in time after 2000 B.C.E you mentioned Mari earlier yes the royal capital of Mari it flourished along the Euphrates River but interestingly it wasn’t down in those intensely agricultural southern plains it was further upstream in a different kind of environment right in a region where settled agriculture and nomadic animal hering really coexisted side by side more of a step environment nearby so that probably created a unique dynamic farmers and herders living close together absolutely it likely fostered a lot of economic interdependence you know herders exchanging animal products like wool milk hides for the farmer’s grain and tools but also potential for conflict definitely clashes over resources like access to water or grazing rights herders flocks potentially damaging crops sometimes outright raids by pastoral groups on settled communities it was a complex relationship and Mesopotamia generally saw influxes of nomadic people didn’t it yes throughout its history there was this continuous movement of nomadic groups mostly coming in from the western desert regions peoples we later know as Aadians Amorites Assyrians Arameans and they didn’t just stay separate no they frequently integrated into the existing Mesopotamian society sometimes they rose to positions of great influence even establishing their own ruling dynasties like the rulers of Mari exactly the kings who ruled Mari during its peak were of Amorite origin originally a nomadic people and what’s interesting is that they maintained respect for both the traditional Mesopotamian gods and their own ancestral deities it shows a degree of cultural blending and fluidity which may be added to the region’s dynamism very likely this constant intermingling probably contributed significantly to the vitality and resilience of Mesopotamian civilization over the long run it wasn’t a closed system and the palace at Mary itself belonging to King Zimmer around the 18th century B.C.E sounds absolutely massive it was extraordinary a sprawling complex estimated to have had around 260 rooms covering almost 2 and 1/2 hectares wow and it wasn’t just where the king lived no it was far more than just a royal residence it was the absolute center of administration for the kingdom a hub for diplomatic activity we have archives of letters found there and even a center for various kinds of production with workshops likely housed within its walls what kind of features did it have well it seems to have had only one main entrance for security inside there were multiple large courtyards grand audience halls probably decorated with vibrant wall paintings fragments of survived dedicated offices where scribes worked meticulously on records keeping track of everything exactly extensive store rooms you can only imagine the variety of goods stored there everything from grain and oil to precious metals and imported luxuries and yes even quite sophisticated private areas including kitchens and what appear to be bathrooms or lavatories and Mari’s location was key to its success absolutely crucial being right on the Euphrates River made it a critical choke point really in the regional trade network connecting connecting the resource poor south with the mineral-rich uplands to the north and west places where you could get timber copper tin stone wine olive oil things the south needed so they controlled the river traffic effectively yes officials based in Mari would inspect the cargo on boats traveling up and down the river and levy tolls or taxes the records show charges being made for various goods passing through including valuable metals yes the trade in highly sought-after copper possibly coming all the way from Mallesia which most scholars identify as ancient Cyprus and tin which was absolutely vital for making bronze seems to have passed through Mari so it became wealthy through trade not necessarily military might it seems Mary achieved exceptional prosperity primarily through its strategic command of these trade routes even though it wasn’t always the dominant military power in the region it really highlights the economic importance of controlling trade flows it’s just fascinating how modern archaeologists can piece together so much about daily life from what’s left behind isn’t it even seemingly tiny insignificant details can provide incredibly valuable clues when analyzed carefully like the example you mentioned from Abu Salabik right that excavation illustrates it beautifully it involves meticulous work carefully scraping away layers of earth surface by surface and then sething all that soil to find tiny fragments exactly things like charred fishbones or specific types of plant seeds can help archaeologists pinpoint where kitchens were located within a house because you wouldn’t find those in a living room presumably probably not in the same concentration no while maybe living areas might have fewer traces of food preparation even finding things like pig teeth scattered around suggests that pigs likely roamed freely within the settlement not exactly farm-totable neatness yeah probably not and the discovery of pig bones actually within some human burials offers surprising insights into their potential cultural or symbolic significance which we might otherwise never guess and you can even tell which areas were roofed sometimes yes through microscopic analysis of the different layers and compositions of floor surfaces archaeologists can often determine whether a particular area within a building was originally roofed or if it was an open courtyard exposed to the elements it’s like forensic science for the past it really seems from everything we’ve discussed that the Mesopotamians themselves placed a huge value on city life oh profoundly so their cities weren’t just places where lots of people lived they were imbued with deep cultural and symbolic significance this comes through strongly in their literature you mentioned the epic of Gilgamesh earlier that’s the prime example remember Gilgamesh goes on this epic agonizing quest for personal physical immortality after his friend dies but he fails right he fails to achieve immortality for himself but at the end of the epic he returns to his city Uruk and he walks along its massive walls he surveys his temples and structures but by human hands and finds comfort there he finds solace and it seems a different kind of enduring legacy not in his own lifespan but in the magnificent city itself this great collective achievement of his people it really underscores the immense value they placed on urban civilization and that civilization’s achievements were profoundly shaped by writing it wasn’t just for lists and epics not at all as we touched on Ryden went far beyond just managing accounts or telling stories it unlocked this incredible capacity for intellectual growth and crucially the accumulation of knowledge across generations oh so because ideas observations calculations could be recorded preserved studied and built upon by later scholars writing provided the essential tool for developing early forms of science like mathematics mesopotamia’s contributions in mathematics are truly astonishing for their time we have clay tablets filled with mathematical tables multiplication division squares square roots even tables for calculating compound interest compound interest back then yes and their calculation for the square root of two was remarkably accurate we even have tablets showing students working through practical problems like calculating the volume of water needed to fill a field of a certain area to a certain depth so practical applications and what about time their system for measuring time is arguably their most enduring legacy in daily life today it’s mind-boggling really the 60-minute hour that whole system the division of the year into 12 lunar months the month into roughly 4 weeks the day into 24 hours and yes the hour into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds that base 60 or sexy decimal system originated in Mesopotamia and we still use it every single day how did it spread it was transmitted down through the ages through the successors of Alexander the Great who conquered the region then into the Roman world subsequently absorbed and refined in the Islamic world and eventually passed into medieval Europe it’s an unbroken chain back to ancient Mesopotamia amazing and astronomy too yes they were meticulous observers of the night sky they undertook systematic observations and kept detailed records of celestial events things like solar and lunar eclipses they charted the observed positions of stars and constellations over long periods but why were they doing this astrology omens partly yes reading omens in the stars was important but it also laid the groundwork for predictive astronomy and none of these intellectual advancements in math timekeeping astronomy would have been possible without two key things writing being one writing absolutely and the urban institution of schools places where scribes and intellectuals could be trained where they could access the accumulated knowledge recorded on tablets from the past and where they could build upon it cities provided the context for this learning it’s also fascinating that we see evidence of early efforts to consciously preserve all this historical and intellectual heritage yes that’s another significant step the library of Ashrabanopol in Nineveh is a prime example he was an Assyrian king yes ruler of the powerful Assyrian Empire around the 7th century B.C.E roughly 720 to 610 B.CE his library represents a very deliberate large-scale attempt to collect and safeguard a vast array of texts from across Mesopotamia what kind of texts all sorts historical chronicles epic poems like Gilgamesh texts on omens and divination astrological forecasts hymns religious rituals a real cross-section of Mesopotamian knowledge and literature did he just collect what was already in Nineveh no what’s particularly interesting is his proactive approach he sent scribes out specifically to seek out and acquire copies of old and important tablets particularly from Babylonia down south which was recognized even then as a center of ancient stribal tradition and learning like an acquisition’s department for a library pretty much and they even implemented a system for cataloging these texts organizing them by subject or series sometimes adding caulifons notes at the end of tablets identifying the original work of the scribe it shows an early understanding of library science of information management and then even later we have Neonitis ah yes Neonitis the last ruler of independent Babylon just before the Persian conquest the 6th century BCE he seems to have had this genuine fascination with the distant past almost like an early archaeologist what makes you say that well Nebonitis left inscriptions detailing his efforts to understand and even revive ancient religious traditions and buildings he talks about having a dream concerning the appointment of the high priestess of moon god Nana in a very ancient position extremely ancient and he describes how he actually consulted an inscribed foundation stone a steel from an early king dating way back to around 1150 B.CE to figure out the correct ancient attire for his own daughter whom he appointed to that role wow he’s doing historical research he really is and in another case he apparently unearthed and restored a statue of the legendary Sargon of Akad a powerful ruler who had lived centuries and centuries before him around 2370 B.CE these actions suggest more than just political posturing they hint at a conscious awareness of and a deep reverence for their own ancient history it really makes you wonder doesn’t it why did these later rulers like Asher Bonanopal with his library and Nabonitis digging up statues place such value on these much earlier Mesopotamian traditions a great question to ponder was it purely about political legitimacy you know wrapping themselves in the glory of a distant revered past or was there also a genuine intellectual curiosity an appreciation for the wisdom and achievements of those who came before maybe a bit of both yeah perhaps a mix so as we wrap up this deep dive then we’ve really traced this incredible journey from nomadic life through that gradual shift to settled agriculture that laid the groundwork right creating the foundation for villages then towns and seeing how the unique geography of Mesopotamia especially those rivers allowed for that highly productive early agriculture in the south which in turn required increasing social organization and specialization of labor as settlements grew into cities and that complexity that need to manage resources trade paid people directly fueled the pivotal invention of writing driven initially by very practical needs like accounting but ultimately enabling these profound intellectual and cultural advancements in math science literature and maybe a key aha moment for everyone listening could be realizing how something we use every single day something as seemingly simple as our modern way of tracking time you know hours minutes seconds Yeah completely taken for granted but it has its direct roots right back there in the meticulous recordkeeping and the mathematical systems developed by those ancient Mesopotamian city dwellers thousands of years ago such a tangible link it really is the legacy of Mesopotamia is truly foundational for so much that came later their innovations in writing mathematics law urban planning governance they laid essential groundwork upon which countless subsequent civilizations built consciously or unconsciously so understanding these origins gives invaluable context for well the long arc of human history and how complex societies developed absolutely it helps us grasp where many fundamental aspects of our own world ultimately came from so reflecting on all this how the very practical demands of just managing stuff resources information spurred this revolutionary invention writing back in Mesopotamia it kind of makes you wonder doesn’t it how might our current era with its own unprecedented explosion of information this constant overload how might that be shaping the next great intellectual leap hm that’s certainly a thought provoking question to carry away what comes.

Key Themes and Concepts

1. Origins of Writing and Counting
   • The development of writing may have originated from the need to count resources, particularly livestock (oxen) and fish.
   • Writing began as a practical tool for record-keeping in economic activities.
2. Historical Context
   • Focus on ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) as a cradle of civilization.
   • Early settlements and temples date back to around 5,000 BCE, evolving into urban centers with sophisticated record-keeping by 3200 BCE.
3. Archaeological Evidence
   • Physical remains: homes, temples, tools, statues, ornaments, and clay tablets.
   • Clay tablets provide insights into daily life, economic transactions, and social organization.
4. Transition from Nomadic to Settled Life
   • The Agricultural Revolution (~10,000 years ago) marked a shift from nomadic hunter-gatherer societies to settled agriculture.
   • Domestication of plants (wheat, barley) and animals (sheep, goats) led to permanent settlements.
5. Emergence of Cities
   • Cities emerged when economies diversified beyond basic food production, leading to specialized crafts and organized trade.
   • Interdependence among city dwellers increased, requiring sophisticated social organization.
6. Role of Geography
   • The Tigris and Euphrates rivers provided fertile land through annual flooding, enabling high agricultural output despite a challenging environment.
7. Writing as a Transformative Invention
   • Writing evolved from practical lists (like shopping lists) to more complex uses, including legal documents, historical records, and literature.
   • The earliest form of writing in Mesopotamia was cuneiform, which used wedge-shaped signs pressed into clay tablets.
8. Social Stratification and Governance
   • The rise of a ruling elite and organized labor systems (corvée labor) emerged alongside the growth of cities.
   • Temples acted as economic centers, overseeing production and trade.
9. Cultural Significance of Cities
   • Cities were not just population centers; they held deep cultural and symbolic significance, as reflected in literature (e.g., the Epic of Gilgamesh).
10. Intellectual Advancements
    • Mesopotamians made significant contributions to mathematics, timekeeping, and astronomy, facilitated by writing and urban institutions.
    • The base-60 system for measuring time and advanced mathematical calculations are legacies that persist today.
11. Preservation of Knowledge
    • Libraries, such as the Library of Ashurbanipal, were established to collect and preserve texts, showcasing an early understanding of information management.
12. Cultural Blending and Influence
    • The integration of nomadic groups into Mesopotamian society contributed to its dynamism and resilience.

Important Figures and Locations

• Uruk: A significant early city known for its population growth and temple-centered economy.
• Mari: A royal capital that thrived on trade and cultural blending, showcasing the importance of strategic location.
• Ashurbanipal: An Assyrian king known for his library, which collected a vast array of texts.

Key Terms

• Cuneiform: The writing system developed in Mesopotamia, characterized by wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets.
• Corvée Labor: A system where citizens were required to provide labor for public works in exchange for rations.
• Agricultural Revolution: The transition to settled agriculture that fundamentally changed human societies.

Discussion Questions

1. How did the geographical features of Mesopotamia contribute to the rise of urban centers?
2. In what ways did the invention of writing transform Mesopotamian society?
3. What role did temples play in the economic and social organization of early cities?
4. How do the mathematical and timekeeping systems developed in Mesopotamia influence our lives today?
5. What can the blending of nomadic and settled cultures in Mesopotamia teach us about cultural exchange and adaptation?

Conclusion

Understanding the origins of writing and city life in ancient Mesopotamia provides valuable insights into the development of complex societies and the foundations of modern civilization. The interplay between geography, agriculture, social organization, and intellectual advancements shaped a legacy that continues to influence our world today.