Art, obsession, and identity
Mesopotamia was a region of West Asia where present-day Iraq is located. The Sumerians were among the earliest civilizations to inhabit the region and they’re credited with some of the most life-changing inventions in history. From agricultural tools to mathematics and astronomy, among others, the Sumerians left a legacy that lives on to this day.
Curious? Click on to learn all about the Sumerian inventions that changed the world.
The Sumerians didn’t invent pottery as such, but they did come up with the turning wheel that allowed for pottery to be mass-produced.
The invention allowed them to produce large numbers of pottery items, including containers for workers’ food.
The Sumerians are credited with inventing the first writing system, known as cuneiform. By 2800 BCE, they were using a system of pictographs to keep track of items.
These drawings eventually evolved to express ideas and actions. They later became symbols that correspond to words and sounds. Cuneiform writing is believed to have influenced later Egyptian hieroglyphics.
The Sumerians came up with a way to water and fertilize their land using the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. They did so by building a network of canals and dams.
In Mesopotamia, palm trunks, reeds, and mud were used to make dams to control the water flow.
The Sumerians didn’t invent the wheel, or wheeled vehicles, but they did come up with the first two-wheeled chariot.
Back in the 3000s BCE, Mesopotamians were using them mostly in ceremonies and in the military.
The invention of the plow had a huge impact on agriculture. Different types of plows were developed at the time, all of which contributed to the farming prowess of Mesopotamia.
Weaving fabric for clothing was nothing new, but the Sumerians were the first to do it on a large scale. All thanks to the invention of textile mills.
They were the first to expand textile production from a family affair to a large working organization. The Sumerians were the predecessors of industrial textile manufacturing as we know it.
The Sumerians invented molds for making bricks using clay. They were not the first ones to use clay in construction, but producing bricks on a large scale allowed them to build more and faster.
During the middle of the first millennium BCE, ovens known as kilns allowed for mass-produced bricks to become more uniform and a lot stronger.
These bricks were then used to build on a grander scale. Cities developed more rapidly and the region flourished.
The Mesopotamians were the first civilization to use copper to build objects such as vases, spearheads, and razors.
Sumerian metallurgists also used copper to make chisels, harpoons, swords, and art.
Basic mathematics has been around for a very long time, but the Sumerians developed an innovative numbering system.
The system was based on units of 60 known as a sexagesimal system (in the same way we now use the decimal system).
The first monarchy dates back to 2330 BCE in Mesopotamia.
King Sargon of Akkad is said to have been the first monarch in history. King Sargon was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire.
The Sumerians were among the first to map out the stars. They were the first ones to document the solar system on clay tablets using cuneiform writing.
The Sumerians are credited with the invention of one of the world's most popular drinks: beer. Pictured is a cuneiform tablet depicting beer allocation.
Mesopotamian beer was made using fermented barley and a number of additives, including emmer wheat, date syrup, and others. Unlike today’s version of the drink, hops were not used.
The first known example of a board game dates back to Mesopotamia in the third millennium BCE.
The Royal Game of Ur is regarded as the world’s first strategic board game. It spread beyond Mesopotamia and evolved into an early form of backgammon.
The Sumerians created the 7-day week and figured out that the day was 24 hours and that each hour was 60 minutes long. They did so using a lunisolar calendar (tracking the lunar cycles and solar years).
A Mesopotamian tablet displaying a map of the world dating back to the 6th century BCE tells us that its people had a concept of the world.
Although of Neo-Babylonian origin, the clay tablet uses a cuneiform script, originally developed by the Sumerians.
Sources: (History) (History Hit) (The Collector)
See also: What was the Assyrian Empire?
Writing, beer, and other Sumerian inventions that changed the world
The Sumerians invented many things we take for granted today
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Mesopotamia was a region of West Asia where present-day Iraq is located. The Sumerians were among the earliest civilizations to inhabit the region and they’re credited with some of the most life-changing inventions in history. From agricultural tools to mathematics and astronomy, among others, the Sumerians left a legacy that lives on to this day.
Curious? Click on to learn all about the Sumerian inventions that changed the world.