ARKY 325 MIDTERM (Ancient Mesopotamia)

Mesopotamia (from Greek) meaning

: the land between the two rivers.

Between the Tigris and the Euphrates river ( modern states of Iraqi, Syria, and southern Turkey)

Fertile Crescent

the area where Mesopotamia was built on

When and where did the first agriculture begin?

Happened in the Fertile Crescent about 12000 years ago (during the Neolithic, well before the rise of states

Domesticates from the fertile crescent include:

wheat, barley, dates, lentils, olives, oranges, onions, cattle, goats, sheep and pigs

Mesopotamia is a CULTURE AREA: (finish the sentence)

Shared cultural elements such as social practices, architectural and art styles, and ways of life

Mesopotamia civilisations include:

Assyria, Akkad, Sumer, Babylonia

Describe the Northern plain of Mesopotamia

Foothills of the Taurus and Zagreb mountains - enough rain in winter to grow crops without irrigation

Describe the Southern Plain in Mesopotamia:

(Akkad, and Sumer): Flat alluvial plain requires irrigation to grow crops (very little rainfall)

New Alluvium deposited by rivers each year =

Rich soils can produce enough food to feed dense populations with irrigation

Floodplain is a rich source of.....

Clay, palm trees, reeds, natural bitumen

What was Karl Wittfogels HYDRAULIC HYPOTHESIS?

Posits that irrigation led to the development of central authority

(1) of 5 points to Wittfogels HYDRAULIC HYPOTHESIS

1. Living in dry river valleys necessitates the formation of organized groups to manage irrigation and redistribute surplus production.

(2 and 3) of 5 points to Wittfogels HYDRAULIC HYPOTHESIS

2. People submit to this authority voluntarily, recognizing its role in managing resources.

3. Over time, this authority expands to control other areas, such as trade.

(4) of 5 points to Wittfogels HYDRAULIC HYPOTHESIS

4. The central authority controls water distribution, allowing it to divert water to its own fields, generating surplus for prestige goods, created by specialist craftspeople

(5) of 5 points to Wittfogels HYDRAULIC HYPOTHESIS

5. As a result, the authority becomes despotic, consolidating total power.

The ancient Sumerians are thought to be.....

ancestors of the Marsh Arabs, and indigenous peoples of Iraq

Scrub areas and marshlands in southern floodplain supported what?

Hunter-gatherer populations

What did farmers arrive with when they began to settle along the rivers on the floodplain?

1. Arrived with pottery and cooper technology

( they got their copper from Anatolia)

what are the different phases of development on the floodplains: 6500-4200 BC

Half, Hassuna, Samarra, and Ubaid

What does a phase mean?

distinct period of time characterized by distinct cultural traits, often represented by material culture (pottery, architectural and art styles) and subsistence practices, typically within a specific region

Phases generally develop in a time series but there is some overlap in time and space

Phases of development on the floodplains and the shift within houses

Shift from simple mudplain to farmers gradually moving into southern plain and initiating irrigation with increasing participation in trade

Halafian Phase (6000-5400 BCE)

- foothills/uplands of northern Iraq and Syria

- in the late 1980 it shows that the Halaf culture came from Indigenous groups in the area

What was the Halafian Phase recognized by?

1. Mudbrick THOLOI architecture

2. Finely painted pottery and art (amulets, figurines, stamp seals )

3. Rain-fed Agriculture (no irrigation)

Tholoi (key-shaped) mud-brick architecture are a defining characteristic of Halaf culture

Halaf culture also recognized by finely painted pottery, distinctive figurines, among other material culture

Hassuna Phase 6500-6000 BCE

- first farmers in the northern plane

- Moved from mountains into foothills of northern Mesopotamia and then gradually began to settle river valleys on southern plains

-Used some irrigation

Hassuna phase material Culture

- Mud-walled buildings with an open courtyard

- Hassuna style pottery (simpler than Halaf)

- Agriculture implements

- Domesticated animal bones

- Female figurines

Hassuna Phase house

Hassuna Phase Pottery

Samarra Phase 6500-5900 BCE (Time/ building)

- Overlaps with Hassuna in time and space

- Multi-roomed mud brick buildings surrounded by fortified wall, Shaped buildings possibly for grain and storage and rich burials 0 site of Tell es Sawn

Samarra Phase 6500-5900 (irrigation)

- First evidence for large scale canal irrigation at choga Mami site (6000 BC)

- Scale of irrigation implies organized labour and indicates presence of a prosperous, settled culture with a highly organized social structure.

Samarra Phase 6500-5900 (pottery)

- Samarra pottery style is first uniform style traded widely

- Imported goods include Cooper, carnelian, obsidian, turquoise

Samarra Phase 6500-5900

Ubaid Phase: 6000-4200 BCE

The Ubaid Phase or Period lays the foundation for Mesopotamian civilizations

- 6 sub-phases (0-5)

- First farmers settle the southern plain and establish villages with multi-room rectangular mud-brick houses

- Two-tiered settlement hierarchy ( Large sites of >10 ha and small villages of <1 ha)

- Villages had specialized craftspeople but most people were farmers.

-Beginning of temple institution and expansion of irrigation agriculture

Ubaid 0

- This is the initial phase, overlapping with Samarra culture

- The earliest known site in southern Mesopotamia, Tell el Oueili, dates to Ubaid 0, around 6000 BC

- The environment at this time was marshy and people exploited fish, birds, and other marsh resources (reeds)

Ubaid 0 pottery

Ubaid 0 pottery is the simplest of later Ubaid pottery, which is represented by black paint on buff wares

Ubaid 1

- around 4500 BC rapid urbanization developed, driven by irrigation and plough farming techniques

-Ubaid culture spreads rapidly from Eridu to the northern plain and around Persian Gulf coast to Oman (copper source)

- Two-tiered settlement hierarchy consisiting of Erode and smaller towns/villages

Ubaid 1 key technologies

Key technologies included the plough and irrigation systems, agricultural tools made of copper and pottery, and the use of sailing for trade and transport

Eridu (Ubaid 1)

considered one of the first urban settlements in human history, is representative of this transformation

- According to the Sumerian creation story, Eridu was first city, rising from the primordial sea

- Eridu, southwest of Nasiriyah, Iraq, is considered the world's first city and the mound depicted here may be the oldest temple on earth.

during Ubaid 1, when did temples become the center of Ubaid settlements?

5000-3000 BC

Who was Eridus patron God?

Ea (or Enki), the "lord of sweet waters that flow under the earth"

-Enki credited with founding Eridu (and civilization in general)

True or False? Eridu said to be the first of five cities where kings ruled for tens of thousands of years before they were wiped out by a "Great Flood"

True

What is the Eridus Temple dedicated to?

Enki

What type of platform was the Eridus Temple constructed on?

A large raised platform

How was the Eridus Temple built over time?

In many phases, each larger, higher, and with more buildings

What archaeological feature results from the construction of the Eridus Temple?

A sort of 'layer cake' as each construction event buried the earlier temple

What was located in the interior of the Eridus Temple?

An altar that faced the entryway and a pedestal used for offerings or sacrifices

What was constructed around the Eridus Temple?

Residences for priests/priestesses

Temples and what were a focus of Ubaid society

Temples and religion

Temple housed who?

city patron gods and the homes of religious authorities

Temples were not just religious institutions; they were also?

large land-holders and employers!

What was the influence of temple officials early in their development?

Temple officials held limited influence.

How did the power of temple authorities change as settlements expanded?

Temple authorities gained significant power.

What dual role did temples serve in communities?

Temples functioned as both religious and economic institutions.

What vital resource did temples control that contributed to their power?

Temples controlled water rights.

How did temples manage surplus production?

They used it to acquire traded prestige goods.

What effect did the acquisition of prestige goods have on temples?

It reinforced their status and influence.

What did Ubaid settlements produce?

Agricultural surplus and pottery

What materials did Ubaid settlements trade for in the uplands to the east?

Timber, copper, and precious stones

What did Ubaid settlements trade for from Anatolia?

Obsidian

How did Ubaid pottery spread?

It spread rapidly north and south

What was Ubaid society like?

Most settlements were self-sufficient in the needs of daily life (pottery, food production, cloth production, storage)

Traded for resources and goods they could not acquire locally or produce themselves

Some groups were wealthier than

others, but intra-settlement inequality is generally low

However, major differences in status and wealth between most of the population and priests/priestesses and temple authorities

Uruk revolution 4200-3100 BCE

- First cities and city states emerge

- Writing

- Wheeled vehicles

- Craft specialization

- Centralized religious and secular control

- Expansion of trading networks

- Clear evidence of social hierarchy

What are Tells?

What remains of Mesopotamian cities

- Tells are artificial mounds on the plain

What creates Tells

Created by the build-up and collapse of mud brick buildings and rubbish of city dwellers over time

- Many became stranded in desert as rivers changed their course

Uruk is

world's first true city and largest

in Uruk Period, 40,000- 80,000 people at

peak

Uruk Has

Top-level of a 4 tiered settlement hierarchy (cities, towns, villages, hamlets)

In Uruk what was each city considerd

Each city and its satellites are considered to be home of a major god in the Sumerian pantheon

-Uruk was home of Ishtar/Inanna, the goddess of love and war and ripening crops and the sky god Anu

Cities appear to have developed....

unplanned with temple/palaces at core that are surrounded by crowded narrow streets packed with rectangular houses of whitewashed mud bricks

Uruk is home to two temple complexes?

Anu Ziggurat with the White Temple and the Eanna Precinct

-I

initially two settlements, each with their own patron deities, but eventually merged into one large city

Eanna District

-comprised of courtyards, structures, terraces, and a temple platform, all dedicated to Goddess Inanna/Ishtar

-Earliest evidence of cuneiform writing comes from the Eanna District

What was required in large amounts to construct the Anu Ziggurat?

Labour (80,000 person days) and materials

What type of authority was necessary for the construction of the Anu Ziggurat?

Centralized authority

What does the size of the Anu Ziggurat reflect?

The power of authority

What was a consequence of the construction of the Anu Ziggurat regarding the populace?

Increasing separation of general populace and temple administration

What physical structures indicated the separation of the populace from temple administration around the Anu Ziggurat?

Walls around their residences and higher platforms

who was Uruks white temple dedicated to?

Dedicated to the primary god Anu (sky god)

what was the white temple built of

Built of limestone

- White Temple was decorated with cone mosaics (cones of different colours of clay)

what did the temples and ziggurats represent

-Possibly represent mountains or stairways for gods to descend to earth or to ascend to heaven

- Temple was place where deities lived

was there evidence of government during the Uruk period?

Yes

what does Ensi mean?

King is called "Ensi," translating to Lord of the Plowland

what did Ensi look like

male with long hair, beard and wearing a net skirt and headband

These individuals are also often depicted subduing enemies, taking prisoners

Role of Secular leaders

1. ruled by charismatic power or military

Secular leaders ruled by

prowess

2. Responsible for providing offerings to city's gods/goddesses

3. Rulers made offerings to the patron god to keep them happy

What did Mesopotamians believe?

believed god world was a mirror of living world

What role do priests play in relation to secular rulers?

Priests can usurp the power of secular rulers and hold them in check.

How did priests seek to predict the future?

They used dreams and readings of entrails from sacrificed animals.

What types of records did priests keep?

Records of sacrifices, divinations, and the events that followed.

What does the spatial seperation of palace from temple infer

infers separation of secular and religious power

What is the difference between Ubaid towns and Uruk period cities

Unlike large Ubaid towns, Uruk period cities are surrounded by walls up to 15m thick and built of kin fired mus brick (a symbol of power and wealth)

what did the excavation of Uruk Non-elite structures infer?

Rare excavation of Uruk non-elite structures at Abu Salabikh shows that people were living in extended family units (about 20 people) in large houses

In the late Uruk times what was happening with clan leaders

they were selling and purchasing land

4 key points of Uruk Economy

1. City and satellites linked together in a network of interdependece

2. every city is specialized in goods in order to trade with other cities

3. Craft production was under administrative control

4. Goods were moved by Donkey caravans and by boat on the rivers

The Warka mask, depicting goddess Ianna was made of marble and had lapis lazuli and shell eyes.

What was a significant outcome of long-distance exchange?

Huge expansion of long-distance trade to obtain materials for luxury items.

What luxury materials were obtained through long-distance trade?

Lapis lazuli, onyx, gold, carnelian, silver, alabaster, copper, etc.

What did Uruk trade for luxury goods?

Grain and some pottery.

What material was used by the earliest settlers in Mesopotamia?

Cooper

By what year was copper widespread in Mesopotamia?

3000 BC

Why did settlers have to trade for copper in Mesopotamia?

It does not occur naturally in the region.

What were some tools crafted from copper in Mesopotamia?

Agricultural tools, weapons, adornments, and figurines.