Transcript Mesopotamia

Land between two rivers
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Early establishment of cities Ubaid Phase 59004000 BC
Uruk period 4000-3000 BC
Early Dynastic 3000-2350 BC
Akkadian Period 2350-2150 BC
Neo Sumerian 2150-2000 BC
Old Babylonian period 2000-1600 BC
Old Assyrian period 2000-1600 BC
Middle Assyrian 16000-1000 BC
Neo Assyrian 1000-605 BC
Neo Babylonian 605-539 BC
Persian and Hellenistic period 539-126 BC
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Ancient Sumeria and Babylon known from Old
Testament, but periods before these Biblical
stories is largely unknown.
Mesopotamian cities and rulers had profound
impact on Egypt, Elamites in Iran and
development of urban life, art, and the
practice of war for conquest.
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Excavations at Tell al-Ubaid were initiated in
1919.
Pottery fragments on the dessert surface
hinted at city beneath the sand.
Early field seasons revealed copper statues,
remnants of sculptured lions, eagles, stags,
and bulls. Also found: handcrafted pottery,
utensils, fragments of wooden columns, and
jewelry with inlaid mother-of-pearl.
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Excavations at Eridu were begun in 1942.
Deposits suggested 2000 years of
occupation.
Earliest phases extended back to the Ubaid
period around 5900 BC.
Burials (many with grave offerings), pottery,
sculpture, pictographic images, temple
foundations: all revealed a well ordered
society with sophisticated artistic traditions.
Copper lion head
Ubaid style
pottery
3500BC
Ubaid painted pottery sherds.
Distribution of such shards helps
identify the range scope of cultural
influence throughout the region.
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Ancient environmental evidence suggest the
area was once better watered, with easy
access to the river delta (today a desert
region).
Based on comparative pottery studies and
temple style it is evident the Ubaid culture
eventually extended across all of southern
Mesopotamia.
Excavation extend to a depth of 60 feet to
reach “sterile” soils.
 Ubaid culture is noted for pottery of
distinctive style, and for a mixed lifestyle of
agriculture, animal husbandry, and fishing.
 Ubaid was true city.
 Social stratification
was well established.
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Clay boat model, Eridu
4000BC. Earliest known
boat representation.
Kitchen deposit, Ubaid.
Tell al-Ubaid
British soldiers deployed in
Iraq, at tell al-Ubaid. Courtesy
British Museum.
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Mentioned in Epic of Gilgamesh:
“…the outer walls shine with the brilliance of
copper…the inner wall has no equal…the wall is
great; is it not burnt brick and good?”
The site is marked by a 40 foot tall temple (an
early ziggurat).
Remains of mud-brick walls run for 5 miles.
Strong evidence for craft specialization and
revealed clear signs of division of labor along
with class distinctions.
Landscape of Uruk
Uruk, late phase.
Mosaic columns made
from thousands of cones.
Carved alabaster female figurine.
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Ongoing since 1922 by German
archaeologists.
Site is marked on landscape by tall ziggurat.
The “white temple” was devoted to Inanna:
goddess of love and war (same as Ishtar).
Tokens and administrative records indicate
writing 300 years before the Egyptians.
One mystery remains: where had the
inhabitants come from?
Temple of Inanna, Uruk.
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Cambridge archaeologist Joan Oates
discovered 8000-year old site at Choga
Mami.
Predates Ubaid. Pushes early Sumerian
culture back in time an additional 2500 years.
The earliest houses of Mesopotamia.
Several communal granaries uncovered.
Pottery styles similar to Ubaid types.
Evidence of irrigation canals.
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Cylinder seals
Personal tokens
Mosaics
Early pictographic writing—eventually evolve
into cuneiform
Temple construction.
Cultural trajectory leads to Sumerian
civilization.
Images to follow courtesy the Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
Decorated pottery
Proto
cuneiform
Cylinder seal, quartz.
Late Uruk, 3300 BC.
“Priest-King.”
Carved alabaster.
Uruk, Jamdat-Nasr phase,
3000 BC. Lapis lazuli and
shell.
Stele of Ushumgal, Early Dynastic I,
2900 BC
Late Uruk, 3000
BC.
Ubaid, Early Dynastic
III, 2400 BC. Copper
alloy bull.
Proto-Elamite, 3000BC. Lioness
demon, Crystalline limestone.
Demons
Bullman,
Alabaster.
Early
Dynastic I.
2900 BC
Proto-Elamite
(Iran).
Horned
demon. 3000
BC.
Arsenic
copper alloy.
Fragment of
libation vessel.
Early Dynastic
III, 2400 BC.
Inscription
identifies the
goddess.
Various supplicant priests
2900 BC
2550 BC
2900 BC
Female
supplicants.
2550 BC
2500 BC
Parade of bulls.
Mixed media:
limestone, shell
copper, shale.
Early Dynastic IIIB,
2400 BC
Kneeling bull,
Silver, 3000BC
Proto-Elamite
Various cylinder seals
and their impressions.
Seals are used to
identify property or
for official signatures.
Seals frequently
portray familiar
mythical scenes or
everyday life in
unique fashion.
These are clay,
Jamdat Nasr phase,
3000BC.
Wall plaque.
Banquet with
musicians.
Limestone.
From Khafajah, Sin
Temple, level IX,
early Dynastic
2550 BC
Three
registers.
Display scene.
This piece in
Oriental
Museum of
Chicago.
Missing piece
is in Baghdad,
Iraq National
Museum.
Fragment here is
part of a door
lock.
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Research in the 1920s was spurred by
interest in “Biblical Archaeology”
Sir Leonard Woolley began work at Ur in 1922
(joint effort by the British Museum and
University of Pennsylvania).
Ur is described in Genesis as birthplace of
Abraham, patriarch of the Jews.
Excavations from 1922-1934 eventually
included a Royal Sumerian tomb.
Woolley and T.E. Lawrence.
Woolley poses for
photographers.
University of
Pennsylvania archives.
Wooley excavation at
Ur.
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First writing.
First known use of the
wheel.
First cities with
monumental
architecture.
Well defined class
structure.
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Earliest “literature” and
epic stories.
First use of
administrative
accounting.
Strong concept of
private ownership.
First examples of
seafaring.
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The Royal tomb of Ur
Expansion and empire