Mesopotamians' Science & Technology and Beliefs

Science and Technology

      Writing was only of the many advances credited to the ancient Mesopotamians. By developing a variety of tools and techniques, the Mesopotamians were the first to make a prosperous living based on large-scale agriculture. The earliest and, perhaps, most significant development came in the fourth millennium BCE, when a Sumerian crafter built the first known wheeled vehicle. The design, using solid wooden wheels, allowed oxen to pull three times as much weight as before. Aside from the use of wheeled vehicles, Mesopotamian farmers developed seeder-plows and pickaxes to make their work easier and more efficient. The Mesopotamians became talented bakers,brewers, weavers, and tanners. Some of their buildings, constructed of mud-brick and tile, were so well built that they survive today. 

Beliefs

      Mesopotamian religion is the oldest in the world for which written records exist. It was a polytheistic religion comprising some 3600 various gods and demigods. This vast number of deities reflects the diversity from region to region. Despite the differences in the representation of the gods and the varieties found in the local towns, all of Mesopotamia shared essentially the same religion. The five most prominent deities were Enlil, the supreme  god and god of the air, Ishtar, the mother goddess of fertility and life; An, the god of heaven; Enki, the god of the underworld and the water; and Shamash, the sun god and the giver of law. The names used here are Sumerian. Throughout Mesopotamian history, the names would change but the basic functions remained the same.

Ziggurats: Temples to the Gods

      According to the beliefs of the ancient Mesopotamians, it was vitally important that the gods be honored by religious ceremonies. These ceremonies were performed by the priests in sacred temples. Like most Mesopotamian architecture, temples were constructed of mud brick. Constant threat of flooding meant that the temples had to be placed on platforms. Over time, the temples evolved into the imposing structures known as ziggurats. This was a stack of platforms decreasing in size from bottom to top. The structure resembled the step pyramids of the Egyptians except that a small chapel sat on t top of the ziggurat. Ziggurats ranged from one to seven platforms and were decorated with painted stucco and colored, glazed bricks. To further enhance their appearance, the structures were often planted with flowers, shrubs. and trees. 

      One of the most famous ziggurats was the Tower of Babel. The original structure was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The final restoration was undertaken by Nebuchadnezzar, who hoped to raise the tower up to heaven. Once completed, the Tower of Babel was called one of the great wonders of the ancient world. This ziggurat's temple was perched almost 100 m above around. The base measured 91 m on each side and covered half a square kilometre. Surrounding the massive structure were storehouses and apartments for the priests who served the temple.  

The Ziggurat of Ur was built ca. 2000 BCE

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The People

      Mesopotamian  civilization was the product of a cross-fertilization of four distinct ethnocultural groups. The Sumerians, who arrived about 3000 BCE from central Asia, were the first to develop writing, and large social organizations. These would become the first cities of the world. Throughout the history of Mesopotamia, Semitic-speaking peoples arrived ca. 2600 BCE and the Amorites, ca. 2200 BCE. the third major cultural group to settle  in Mesopotamia were the Indo-Europeans, represented by the Luvians and the Hittites. These migrations took place around 2000 BCE. Finally, the Hurrians, who were a people from the Caucasus, in Asia, began migrating to Mesopotamia around 1800 BCE. The study of ancient Mesopotamia is the study of several distinct peoples who settled the area.

The Growth of The Empire

      For much of its history, Mesopotamia was a collection of independent states. Although Mesopotamia would eventually become unified, it occurred much alter than in neighboring Egypt. The early government of the towns and villages was democratic. An administrative bureaucracy was established to look after an increasingly complex society. The government built and maintained roads and canals, enforced laws, and settled disputes. As the towns grew and prospered, rivalries developed that led to intermittent wars. During times of war, many Mesopotamian villages found it necessary to appoint one of their strongest and ablest warriors to lead them to victory. The Sumerian title for king was lugal, meaning "big man." Although the appointment was initially temporary, the frequency of wars led to the decline of democratic government and the rise of a monarchical system in which kingship was hereditary and despotic.

Sumerian Society

      The Sumerians were the dominant culture in Mesopotamia between 2900 and 2400 BCE. Their society was divided into four main classes. The top class was the nobility, comprised of the king and his family, the chief priests, and the high palace officials. The king's prominent role in society was further enhanced when it was given a religious dimension. Although the king was never deified, kingship itself was believed to be one of the basic institutions of human life created by the gods. The power of the king was not derived from brute strength. It was divinely ordained. The king and other members of the nobility owned the most and best land.
      Those men and women who worked for the nobility in exchange for the use of the land were known as "free clients." These people were dependent on the nobility for their livelihood and were a major portion of Sumerian society. commoners were free citizens who owned their own land and were not dependent on the nobility. Among the group were those who produced and traded a wide range of goods. Talented artisans created beautiful goldwork, ceramic bowls, and even board games. Others were involved in the day-to-day administration of the empire, making sure that the land was properly irrigated, laws were followed and enforced, and taxed were collected. The fourth group in Sumerian society was the slave population.

The Akkadians

      The basic social, economic, and intellectual framework of Mesopotamia was established during the period of Sumerian domination. Despite repeated attempts to attain mastery over lower Mesopotamia, however, the Sumerians were never successful. Instead, the unification of lower Mesopotamia was accomplished by a Semitic chieftain named Sargon. After conquering the Sumerians in 2331 BCE, Sargon established his capital at Akkad, from which the Akkadians took their name. Sargon's greatest achievement was finally to unify Mesopotamia and spread Mesopotamian culture throughout the area known as the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent is a belt of rich farmland that stretches from Mesopotamia northeast to Syria and southwest to Egypt. The dynasty established by Sargon was short-lived; by 2200 BCE, the Akkadians fell to invading barbarians.

The Babylonians

      Mesopotamia was eventually reunited by another Semitic people known as the Babylonians. The Babylonians used their central location to dominate trade and, eventually, establish control over all of Mesopotamia. Guiding Babylon's rise was the talented King Hammurabi, who came to the throne ca. 1750 BCE. He established Babylon as the leading power in Mesopotamia by conquering Akkad and Assyria, gaining control of both the north and the south. The most lasting and famous element of Hammurabi's reign was his law code. This code was inscribed on a stone pillar set up in public for all to see. On the pillar, Hammurabi is depicted receiving his authority from the god Shamash. The laws of ancient Babylon were not only considered divinely inspired, but also were clearly written out to form a consistent body of laws.
      Hammurabi's laws tell us much about life in ancient Mesopotamia. The punishments were designed to fit the crimes. This code was the origin of the concept of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. For example, if a son struck his father, the son's hand was cut off; if someone were to break another's bone, they would have the same bone broken. The consequences of these laws, however, differed according to rank. Members of the nobility faced much more lenient penalties, often being required only to pay a fine.
      Despite the talents and efforts of Hammurabi, Mesopotamia was not to remain united for long. By 1550 BCE, the Babylonian kingdom was in decline and the unity of Mesopotamia was again crumbling.

The Assyrians 

      For the next seven hundred years, Mesopotamia experienced turmoil and uncertainty. The invasion of the warlike Hurrians was but one of the events that contributed to centuries of chaos. Finally, in the tenth century BCE, Assyria began to emerge as the dominant force. Led by Assurnasirpal II and drawing on the best army in the Near East, Assyria was able to reunite Mesopotamia and establish the first true empire the world had ever seen. Using boasts such as, "I built a pillar over against his city gate, and I flayed all the chief men... and I covered the pillar with their skins; some I walled up within the pillar, some I impaled upon the pillar on stakes... and I cut off the limbs of the officers," the Assyrians soon became the most feared army in the Near East. By the seventh century BCE, the Assyrians had established an empire stretching from the Persian Gulf north and west to Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. 

      The power of fear was insufficient to hold together the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians overextended themselves and terrorized all that they had conquered. It was only a matter of time before the subject states rose up in revolt. The revolts began to occur in the late seventh century BCE, and by the end of the century, the collapse of the Assyrian Empire was complete. Although Babylon would later enjoy a short-lived resurgence, it too had passed its prime and was in decline. By 539 BCE, Mesopotamia had become a part of the vast Persian Empire, which stretched from the Indus River to the Mediterranean Sea. 

      The Persian leader Cyrus the Great replaced Assyrian rule by fear with tolerance and fairness. Differences in religion were accepted, taxed imposed on subject peoples were fair, and local officials were retained in the administration of the Persian Empire -- reporting to Persian governors called satraps. This benevolent rule brought stability to the Persian Empire, which would survive some 800 years before the Greeks under Alexander the Great conquered it.

      Many would say that the greatest contribution of Mesopotamia to western civilization was the invention of writing. Writing allowed the transmission of wisdom and knowledge, the codification of laws, and the keeping of records to facilitate trade. The earliest writing we have found dates to 3500 BCE and was discovered at the ancient Mesopotamian city of Uruk. 

      The written language of the Mesopotamians was developed by the Sumerians and is called cuneiform, which means "wedge-shaped." A scribe would record information by pressing a wedge-shaped stylus into a slab of soft clay. Other writing materials included stone and chisel, metal and chisel, and paint on glazed terracotta (red clay). Before the development of cuneiform script, written communication was in the form of pictograms. At this point, writing was used only for record keeping, and thus only concrete words (nouns) such as "ox," "grains," and "sheep" were needed. As society became more complex, the language evolved, enabling signs to be used to depict homonyms (words that sound the same and are spelled the same but mean different things e.g., "bow," "light") and, eventually, abstract thoughts. In time, the system of cuneiform writing spread to Persia and Egypt, and for centuries was the only international script. It was a great vehicle for the growth and spread of civilization and the exchange of ideas among cultures.

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Mesopotamia: The Cradle of Civilization

      The earliest of all civilizations arose in a lad the Greeks would later call Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia means :land between the rivers." and refers to the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (in present-day Iraq). It was in this region that humans first abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and began to form permanent settlements. The changes that occurred in the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates were revolutionary. Codified laws, the concept of kingship, the building of places to worship the gods, writing, and even the wheel were all first developed by the Mesopotamians.
      In ancient times, the southern part of Mesopotamia was known as Sumer and the northern area was called Akkad. Eventually, the two regions were unified under Babylonian leadership and became known as Babylonia.
      The land of Mesopotamia is essentially a bleak alluvial plain that receives too little rainfall for crops to mature. The climate is hot and dry, and the soil is arid and sterile if not cared for properly. The land contains no minerals and almost no stone or timber for building. The soil is baked by the long, hot summers, causing vegetation to wither and die. During the winter, stormy south winds brought unpredictable downpours that turned the river valleys to slippery mud. Spring was the most dangerous time for those living in Mesopotamia. Spring rains combined with the melting snows from the neighboring Zagros Mountains and made the Tigris and Euphrates rivers swell, often causing catastrophic flooding.
      So, what attracted settlers to this seemingly inhospitable region? The answer lies in the natural levees along the course of the Euphrates River. Natural levees are embankments produced by the built-up of sediment over thousands of years of flooding. The levee surface sloped gently downward away from the river. The highest and safest ground on a flood plain is along the portion of the levee adjacent to the river. Aside from the protection it provided, the silty sediment of the levees was fertile and easily drained, planted, irrigated, and cultivated. Adding to the richness of the area around the levees were the swamps that teemed with fish and waterfowl and produced an abundance of reeds. in the spring, the reeds provided excellent food for sheep and goats, and when mature, were an important building material. It was around these natural levees that the first settlers in Mesopotamia was promise, and established permanent settlements.
      While the natural levees did hold promise, this could only be realized with irrigation and better drainage. The land between the rivers and streams was desert and swampland, and this proved to be a great hindrance to the unity of Mesopotamia.
      Communication was difficult and dangerous. Unlike the predictable Nile River in Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates were givers of both life and death. Sudden floods often ravaged Mesopotamia villages without warning.

Mesopotamia's Lasting Legacy

There are many reasons why Mesopotamia has been called the cradle of civilization. It was in the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates that people first abandoned their nomadic way of life and began to build permanent homes and villages. This settlement led to an increasingly complex society that developed the concept of kingship and the city-state. Mesopotamia was also the birthplace of writing, astronomy (including the seasonal equinoxes), and a written legal code. Even the wheel, one of the most revolutionary technological advancements in history, was a product of the ingenuity of the ancient Mesopotamians. We are the inheritors of all this and much more. Later civilizations would borrow heavily from the Mesopotamians, taking their ideas and building upon them. 

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Rivers and Civilizations

      The earliest civilizations -- Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China -- had at least one common characteristic: they developed along river valleys. Mesopotamia grew up along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Egypt drew its life from the Nile, India's earliest civilization sprung from the Indus River Valley, and Chinese civilization originated along the mighty Yellow River. All of these relied on rivers fro a steady source of water, fertile soil, and fish to supplement their diet. In most cases, the rivers also served as an easy means of communication, facilitating trade and the exchange of ideas.
      The decision of early farmers to settle in the river valleys and attempt to control and utilize rivers had profound implications for the rise of early civilizations. They great river valleys of the world provided the key ingredients for the worldis first civilizations to flourish.

Mesopotamia's Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Egypt's Nile River

India's Indus River

China's Yellow River

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Seven Characteristics of a Civilization

Centralized Government 

      One of the cornerstones of any civilization is a central body that passes laws and regulates society. In pre-civilized societies, individuals took it upon themselves to correct a wrong that they or a member of their family or clan had suffered. Warfare was on a small scale, consisting of informal raids carried out by small groups. Over several thousand years, power became concentrated in a small, powerful group of people that was recognized as having the right to insist that others obey the laws and regulations it created. Initially, political authority rested with a citizen assembly guided by a group of elders. In these early governments, decisions were made on a consensual basis, since the idea of a majority vote was unknown. In times of crisis, societies tended to place themselves under the authority of a dictator, or single ruler. Over time, different types of leadership emerged, including monarchies (rule by divine right), kingship (rule appointed or inherited), and democracies (leaders chosen by vote). In a civilization, the government takes on the role of adjudicator of disputes and rectifier of wrongs. Warfare becomes an organized response of the state to external threat. Internal conflicts between citizens are settled by the government.

Agricultural Intensification

      One of the most important areas of concern that early governments supervised was the planning and coordination of irrigation projects, building of dikes to reclaim land, and development of a calender system to plan the planting and harvesting of crops. Through these efforts, there was a dramatic increase in agricultural productivity, a more secure year-round food supply, and the creation of leisure time. 

Specialization in Occupations

      With a dramatic increase in food production, societies were able to use their surplus food and time to support those engaged in other pursuits. As civilizations developed, so too did the need for specialization. The increasingly complex society would need specialists: tax collectors to gather the resources the government needed to function; record keepers to maintain inventories of food and other goods; judges to ensure that people obeyed the law. New specialized trades could now develop; weavers, carpenters, copper-smiths, goldsmiths, tanners, bakers, brewers, and teachers. Increased food production also allowed time for people to create and enjoy works of art and architecture, to compose poetry and legends, and to explore music. 

Class Structure

      As centralized governments developed and specialized trades emerged, equality among the people of Neolithic and Paleolithic societies was lost. No longer did individuals have equal access to land. Over time, the concept of private ownership of land developed. This was accompanied by a desire to accumulate more land, hire others to work the land and, eventually, the enslavement of some to carry out much of the manual labor. Once the concept of unequal distribution of wealth followed, leading to sharp division between nobles and commoners developed, usually with no real middle class. As distinct classes emerged, the wealthy nobility began to monopolize governments. 

Merchants and Trade

      Trade itself was not new to early civilizations. What was new was the nature of trade. Prior to the development of early civilizations, trade was generally between bands and consisted of raw materials such as obsidian, amber, and shells. As new specialized trades developed, trade shifted to manufactured goods, including luxury items prized by the wealthy elite as important status symbols -- rare dyes, ivory carvings, and precious stones. There was a change not only in what was traded, but also how trade took place. Along with the specialized trades, was the development of a merchant class that produced nothing, but earned wealth by helping to facilitate the exchange of goods. With the rise of a merchant class, shops and markets arose; bartering became more complex, which led to the development of currency. Long-distance trade developed, and with it, the movement of more people from place to place, civilization to civilization. 

Development of Science and Writing

      For practical reasons, and at times out of pure curiosity, people in early civilizations began to invest time in exploring the natural world. Important advancements were made in metallurgy and the invention of the wheel, baked bricks, mortar, simple machines, and specialized tools.

      Most of the earliest examples of writing we have are concerned with the accounting for and ownership of goods. With surpluses of food and other commodities came the need to keep track of such things as: how much grairi was available in the government storehouses; who owned the cattle on a given area of land and how many head did they have; how many cattle would be traded for how many chickens or sheep? The need to measure the amounts of food and other goods being stored and traded led to the development of systems of weights and measure. Writing was now important for the recording of laws and religious texts. 

State Religion

      What was the relationship between the emergence of civilizations and the development of religions? Today, we may argue that religion is not essential for a society to be civilized. When the first civilizations were developing, however, there was a very strong link between religion and the authority of the central government. In most cases, religion legitimized the authority of the government The government, in turn, protected and promoted the religion. Without the gods to sanctify a social order that gave some members of society authority over others, it to surrender their place in a more equal society. This is not to suggest that the religions of early civilizations were concocted purely to support the power of the elite. The religions of these civilizations were legimate expressions of their beliefs and spiritual needs.  

      Several elements that some may consider essential for a civilization could more appropriately be labelled by-products of civilization. They are the marks of a highly organized and specialized society. A complex and highly organized religion, for example, is not essential to a civilization, nor is a rigid class structure. Similarly, refined art and music, advanced architecture, and even systems of education are not essential for a society to be considered civilized. They are, however, characteristic of some great civilizations.

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Characteristics of a Civilization

      Between 4500 and 1000 BCE, civilizations developed independently in may parts of the world, ranging from Mesopotamia and Egypt in the Near East, to china in the Far East, and the Maya in Meso-America. The emergence of civilization in all cases was the result of subsequent revolutions; an Urban Revolution followed the Neolithic Revolution. The Urban Revolution was characterized by the development of large, densely populated settlements that were socially and economically diverse. In Neolithic societies, there was little to differentiate members of society. Everyone farmed and common ownership of land was important to the survival of the group at large. The development or urban societies was much greater differentiation of the population. People began to specialized, taking on roles, such as ruler, trader, metal smith, scribe -- as well as farmer, fisher, and herder. These diverse urban communities developed into what are generally accepted as the earliest civilizations.
      the process and pace at which various civilizations developed differed in each case, but there are several characteristics commonly accepted as indications that a society is "civilized." These include: the emergence of a centralized government, agricultural intensification, specialization of occupations, a stratified class structure, merchants and trade, the development of science and a form of writing, and the development of a state religion.

Ancient China 

Mesopotamia and Egypt

Maya in Mesoamerica

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The Neolithic Revolution

      The Neolithic Revolution or New Stone Age (neo is Greek for "new"), refers to the period after 9000 BCE when ground and polished stone tools primarily were used. At this time, people started abandoning a semi-nomadic lifestyle to begin farming. The agricultural revolution was a further manifestation of the Great Leap Forward.Using the same innovative and creative spirit, people learned to harness nature by planing crops and domesticating animals. Several factors contributed to the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture.
      The first and most obvious factor is that, by the end of the last ice age, around 9000 BCE, people had learned a great deal about plants and animals. After observing animals at water holes or caring for injured animals, men may have decided to corral some of them. Meanwhile, women may have tried to grow some of the wild grains they gathered. Perhaps they noticed that where a basket of grain had spilled, new stalks began to grow, or noticed shoots sprouting from and women learned that, rather than simply rely on luck, they could control their food supply. Another factor contributing to the rise of agriculture was the end of the ice age, which resulted in a warmer, wetter climate. This led to a widespread abundance of wild grasses, including the ancestors of today's grains. A rise in population also accompanied the end of the ice age. The increase in population density led to increasing competition for land, which would eventually give the survival edge to agriculturists. On average, hunters and gatherers require 16 km^2 per person, whereas the same area can accommodate 100 agriculturists. The early farmers gained numerical superiority and eventually displaced the remaining hunter-gatherers.
      The animals first domesticated were cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. Of these, cattle were the most important as they supplied meat, leather, and milk -- from which cheese and butter were made. When animals were slaughtered, nothing was wasted. Dishes were prepared using the udder, tripe (stomach), brains, bone, head, feet, tails, blood, and even gristle. Similarly, the weeds that grew in the grain fields were harvested along with the grain and often incorporated into the pottage (thick soup). Tow of the drinks enjoyed by Neolithic farmers were beer made for barley, and mead, an alcoholic beverage made by allowing honey and water to ferment. Mead was often flavored with wild fruit and herbs.
      Improved tools allowed for better and more efficient agriculture. Using a sickle made of flint blades placed in a curved-segment of an antler, a family could harvest enough wheat in ten days to last them six months. Land could also be cleared more quickly with the improved tools. Axes made of flint could cut down a pine tree with a diameter of 17 cm in five minutes. The invention of the hoe allowed tilling of the soil. During the late Neolithic period, the development of metallurgy also produced a wider range of tools.Copper could now be used to make sharper knives, elegant drinking vessels, spits, buckets, and cauldrons.
      The Neolithic Revolution resulted in a profound shift in society. People abandoned their semi-nomadic lifestyle and, instead, built permanent towns and cities. Some left the fields altogether, choosing to specialize in various rafts. As people began to take up different occupations, society became more hierarchical; a class system developed The domestication of animals and the planting of crops freed people from the endless pursuit of food, allowing further development of art, music, sports,and other leisure activities. It also enabled the development of more complex religions; society could now afford to maintain a priestly class that made no material contribution. The establishment of permanent cities and complex religions brought about the building of elaborate religious sites and tombs. In the process of shifting from hunting and gathering to farming, people laid the foundations for civilization.

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