The underlying substance is Sumerian bitumen: a naturally occurring petroleum material (often called an asphalt-like “black goo”) long associated with waterproofing and adhesion, and even with ...

Sumerians used advanced ancient technology to engineer bitumen with fibers and minerals, revealing sophisticated material science.

In southern Iraq, archaeologists have excavated a remarkable collection of carved clay tablets—ancient records of Akkadia, the world’s oldest empire. Marked with the administrative details of ...

In the third millennium BC, one Sumerian ruler rose from Umma and briefly united the ancient city-states of southern Mesopotamia, even claiming to reach the Mediterranean. This chapter follows ...

The Great Ziggurat of Ur dedicated to the Moon god. Ziggurats were massive structure typical for Mesopotamia. Sumerians believed that the gods lived in the temple at the top of the ziggurats. Woods ...

The story of how the first cities rose from southern Mesopotamia has long fascinated scientists and historians. Many explanations point to fertile soil, farming, and trade networks as the engines of ...

Writing, laws, cities, and science—these and other innovations were devised by the enterprising peoples living in Sumer, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, some 5,000 years ago. High ...

Sumer. Babylon. The epic Gilgamesh and the Tower of Babel. Today, these names still resonate. They embody Mesopotamia - the land between the two rivers of Tigris and Euphrates. Regarded as a cradle of ...

Introduction : becoming art -- The search for Origins : Mesopotamia and the cradle of civilization -- Uruk : the arts of civilization -- Early Dynastic Sumer : images for people, temples for gods -- ...