Sumeria
First writing's birthplace
Sumeria is an ancient civilization in southern Mesopotamia, in what is now Iraq, often called the cradle of civilization.
The Sumerians developed the earliest known writing system (cuneiform), built city-states like Ur and Uruk, and flourished from roughly 4500 to 1900 BCE.
The region is also called Sumer; Sumerian refers to its people, language, and culture.
Tigris-Euphrates river region
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- zigguratStepped ancient temple mound
- city-stateSelf-governing urban territory
- UrEarly Mesopotamian metropolis
temple · irrigation · civilization · bronze age · dynasty · priest-king · mudbrick · canal
Mesopotamian heaven deity
- pantheonAll gods of a religion
- templeSacred worship structure
- zigguratStepped ancient temple mound
- offeringSomething presented or given
priest · divination · mythology · underworld · creation myth · libation · ritual · shrine
Rotating circular frame
- writingRecorded language on surface
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- bronzeCopper-tin alloy
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
plow · sailboat · pottery wheel · mathematics · calendar · astronomy · beer brewing · metallurgy
Ancient Sumerian heroic verse
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- tabletFlat portable computing device
- scribeManual document copier
- flood mythTraditional story of divine inundation
lamentation · hymn · proverb · clay tablet · creation story · dialogue
Act of unearthing
- artifactHuman-made historical object
- TellMideast excavation site
- tabletFlat portable computing device
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
royal tombs · Ur · shard · reconstruction · museum · antiquity · Near East · expedition
Mesopotamia
Tigris-Euphrates river region
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- zigguratStepped ancient temple mound
- city-stateSelf-governing urban territory
Ur · temple · irrigation · civilization · bronze age · dynasty · priest-king · mudbrick · canal · agriculture
Anu
Mesopotamian heaven deity
offering · priest · divination · mythology · underworld · creation myth · libation · ritual · shrine · sacred marriage
wheel
Rotating circular frame
irrigation · plow · sailboat · pottery wheel · mathematics · calendar · astronomy · beer brewing · metallurgy · kiln
Epic of Gilgamesh
Ancient Sumerian heroic verse
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- tabletFlat portable computing device
- scribeManual document copier
flood myth · lamentation · hymn · proverb · clay tablet · creation story · dialogue
excavation
Act of unearthing
stratigraphy · royal tombs · Ur · shard · reconstruction · museum · antiquity · Near East · expedition · chronology
- ancient civilizationsAncient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Aztecs, Egypt, Persia
- IraqBaghdad, Basra, Mosul, Fallujah, Kurdistan
- Ancient PlacesBritannia, Gaul, Dacia, Hispania, Syria
- archaeologyexcavation, dig site, archaeologist, dig, archaeological digs
SumeriaEgypt
Northeastern African nation
Babylon · Assyria · Persia · Ancient Greece · Phoenicia