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This early population—known as the ubaid people—was notable for strides in the development of civilization such as farming and raising cattle, weaving textiles, working with carpentry and pottery and even enjoying beer. Villages and towns were built around ubaid farming communities.
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The people known as Sumerians were in control of the area by 3000 B.C. Their culture was comprised of a group of city-states, including Eridu, Nippur, Lagash, Kish, ur and the very first true city, uruk. At its peak around 2800 BC, the city had a population between 40,000 and 80,000 people living between its six miles of defensive walls, making it a contender for the largest city in the world. Each city-state of Sumer was surrounded by a wall, with villages settled just outside and distinguished by the worship of local deities.
Sumerian Language and Literature
It first appeared in archaeological records around 3100 B.C. and dominated mesopotamia for the next thousand years. Writing remains one of the most important cultural achievements of the Sumerians, allowing for meticulous record keeping from rulers down to farmers and ranchers. The oldest written laws date back to 2400 B.C.
Sumerian Art and Architecture
Architecture on a grand scale is generally credited to have begun under the Sumerians,
with religious structures dating back to 3400 B.C.,
Technical Sophisticatio
Sculpture was used mainly to adorn temples and offer some of the earliest examples of human artists seeking to achieve some form of naturalism in their figures. Facing a scarcity of stone, Sumerians made leaps in metalcasting for their sculpture work, though relief carving in stone was a popular art form.
Sumerian Culture
Schools were common in Sumerian culture, marking the world’s first mass effort to pass along knowledge in order to keep a society running and building on itself. Sumerians left behind scores of written records, but they are more renowned for their epic poetry, which influenced later works in Greece and Rome and most notably the story of the Great Flood, the Garden of Eden, and the Tower of Babel.
Gilgamesh
The very first ruling body of Sumer that has historical
verification is the First Dynasty of Kish. The most famous of
the early Sumerian rulers is Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, who
took control around 2700 B.C. and is still remembered for
his fictional adventures in the Epic of Gilgamesh.