The history of Mesopotamia is all about the fascinating region in southwestern Asia where the world's earliest civilization bloomed. The name, Mesopotamia, originates from a Greek term meaning "between rivers," which refers to the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. However, this region can be broadly defined as present-day eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and most of Iraq. It served as the epicentre of a culture whose influence extended throughout the Middle East, reaching the Indus Valley, Egypt, and the Mediterranean.
Let's dive into the origins of Mesopotamian history. In a narrow sense, Mesopotamia refers to the area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, located north or northwest of the bottleneck at Baghdad, which is in modern-day Iraq. This particular area is called Al-Jazrah ("The Island") by the Arabs. To the south lies Babylonia, named after the city of Babylon. However, in a broader sense, the term Mesopotamia has come to encompass the area bounded by the Zagros Mountains in the northeast and the edge of the Arabian Plateau in the southwest. It stretches from the Persian Gulf in the southeast to the spurs of the Anti-Taurus Mountains in the northwest.
It's important to note that the courses of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers have constantly changed over time. Only from the latitude of Baghdad do they truly become twin rivers, referred to as the "rfidn" by the Arabs. The plain of the Krn River in Persia, located south of Mesopotamia, has always been closely associated with it. However, it is not considered part of Mesopotamia as it forms a different river system.
The flat alluvial land of Mesopotamia, located south of Al-Ramd on the Euphrates and the bend of the Tigris below Smarr, is primarily characterized by its fertile soil. Between Baghdad and the mouth of the Sha al-Arab, where the Tigris and Euphrates meet and flow into the Persian Gulf, there is a minimal difference in elevation, only about 100 feet (30 metres). Due to the slow flow of water and heavy silt deposits, the riverbeds have been raised. This often leads to river overflow and occasional changes in their courses unless protected by high dikes. Overflow reservoirs and escape channels have recently been employed to regulate the rivers above Baghdad.
Moving towards the southern part of Mesopotamia, we encounter vast marshes and reed swamps, historically serving as sanctuaries for oppressed and displaced peoples. The water supply in this region is irregular, with high average temperatures and very low annual rainfall. The plain, situated at 35° N, experiences a harsh and dry climate unsuitable for plant cultivation for at least eight months of the year. Consequently, agriculture without the risk of crop failure, which likely began in the regions with higher rainfall and hilly borders of Mesopotamia during the 10th millennium BCE, only emerged in the heart of Mesopotamia itself after the invention of artificial irrigation. This involved bringing water to vast areas through an extensive network of canals. The ground in southern Mesopotamia is exceptionally fertile and capable of producing abundant crops with irrigation and proper drainage. As a result, southern Mesopotamia became a land of plenty, capable of supporting a substantial population.
Initially, the cultural development in northern Mesopotamia may have surpassed that of the south and lasted until around 4000 BCE. However, the people of southern Mesopotamia responded to the challenges of their environment, eventually overtaking the north and establishing their civilization as the dominant force in the region.
The current climate in Mesopotamia closely resembles the conditions of 8,000 years ago. An English survey conducted on ruined settlements within a 30-mile radius of ancient Hatra, located 180 miles northwest of Baghdad, has revealed that the southern limits of the agriculturally viable zone without artificial irrigation have remained unchanged since the initial settlement of Al-Jazrah.
The availability of raw materials has played a significant role throughout Mesopotamian history, as the civilization relied on local resources and imported goods. The region had great agricultural products from farming, livestock, fishing, date palm cultivation, and feed industries. This included grains, vegetables, meat, leather, wool, horn, fish, dates, and products made from reeds and plant fibres. These resources were plentiful and could be produced in surplus for export. On the other hand, Mesopotamia lacked sufficient supplies of wood, stone, and metal.
The date palm, considered the national tree of Iraq, provided wood suitable only for primary beams rather than for intricate craftsmanship. Stone was mostly absent in southern Mesopotamia, although limestone could be quarried in the desert approximately 35 miles to the West, and "Mosul marble" was found near the Tigris in its middle reaches. Metal could only be obtained from the mountains, and the same applied to precious and semiprecious stones. Consequently, southern Mesopotamia, in particular, was destined to be a land of trade from the very beginning. Rarely could "empires" that extended over larger areas certain imports through plundering or subjecting neighbouring regions.
However, the most important raw material that shaped Mesopotamian civilization was clay. It was predominantly used in mud-brick architecture and in creating clay figurines and pottery artefacts. Mesopotamia's reliance on clay is unparalleled in any other civilization. Moreover, it was in Mesopotamia and the regions influenced by it that clay was utilized as a medium for writing. Terms such as "cuneiform civilization," "cuneiform literature," and "cuneiform law" are applicable only where people conceived the idea of using soft clay not only for bricks and jars or for jar stoppers on which seals could be impressed as marks of ownership, but also as a means to inscribe signs with assigned meanings. This intellectual achievement amounted to nothing less than the invention of writing.
The character and influence of ancient Mesopotamia are often examined from the perspective of modern civilization, raising questions about its accomplishments, its impact on neighbouring regions and future civilizations, and its lasting legacy. However, these assessments are subjective and relative, influenced by ethical considerations. Scholars now emphasize the importance of viewing ancient Mesopotamia as an independent entity, following the insights provided by Assyriologist Benno Landsberger in his article "The Distinctive Conceptuality of the Babylonian World," published in 1926.
Ancient Mesopotamia was characterized by its linguistic and cultural diversity, divided into various periods and eras. Unlike other civilizations, it lacked geographic unity and a permanent capital city, which contributed to its remarkable diversity compared to the more uniform civilization of Egypt. The script and the pantheon of deities served as unifying elements, but Mesopotamia preferred multiplicity and variety. Countless written documents were produced, often with multiple copies of the same text. The pantheon included over 1,000 deities, with many divine names representing different manifestations of a single god. Each century of Mesopotamian civilization gave rise to the next, with classical Sumerian civilization influencing the Akkadians and the Ur III empire representing a synthesis of Sumerian and Akkadian influences. Mesopotamia's cultural impact extended to large Anatolia areas through the Hittites from 1700 BCE onward. Connections between Mesopotamia and regions like Ebla in Syria date back to the 24th century BCE, suggesting the existence of older links between Babylonian civilization and scribal schools in Syria and Palestine during the Amarna period (14th century BCE). Thus, the similarity between certain themes found in cuneiform literature and the Hebrew Bible, such as the story of the Flood or the motif of the righteous sufferer, can be attributed to these early contacts rather than direct borrowing.
Ancient Mesopotamia made significant contributions to mathematics and astronomy. The Babylonians developed the sexagesimal system, which uses the number 60 as a basis for calculating time and angles, a system still in use today. They also introduced the concept of a day consisting of 12 "double hours" and made important contributions to the field of astrology, including the zodiac and its signs. However, the origins and paths of these borrowings often need to be clarified. Similarly, the survival of ancient Mesopotamian legal theory poses a problem in tracing its development.
The achievements of Mesopotamian civilization can be seen in various aspects, such as morality, aesthetics, science, and literature. Collections of legal rulings, with the Code of Hammurabi being the most well-known, show that the civilization developed sophisticated legal theories. These legal codes often emphasized the ruler's concern for the weak, widows, and orphans, even if, at times, the phrases were merely literary clichés. In terms of art, subjective values govern aesthetic assessments, but certain peaks stand out, including the art of Uruk IV, seal engravings from the Akkadian period, and the relief sculptures of Ashurbanipal. However, Mesopotamian art falls short of the sophistication found in Egyptian art. The Mesopotamians also had a kind of science, although it differed from Greek science in its approach and methodology.
Mesopotamian science, starting in Sumer before the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, was characterized by meticulous enumeration and ordering of information into columns and series. The aim was to include all aspects of the world without necessarily synthesizing or reducing the material into a comprehensive system. Few general scientific laws have been discovered, and the use of analogy is rare. Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that the concept equivalent to Pythagoras' theorem (the sum of the squares on the two shorter sides of a right-angled triangle equals the square on the longest side) was applied as early as the 18th century BCE, even though it was not explicitly formulated. Technical achievements were exemplified by the construction of ziggurats (temple towers resembling pyramids) and advancements in irrigation, both in practical implementation and theoretical calculations. During the early 3rd millennium BCE, an artificial stone considered a concrete precursor, was used at Uruk. However, its production method has been lost and not rediscovered in subsequent years.
Writing played a pervasive role in Mesopotamian society and gave rise to a highly developed bureaucracy, which remains one of the lasting legacies of the ancient Middle East. The effective organization was necessary to manage extensive estates, where, for example, under the 3rd dynasty of Ur, accounts for thousands of cattle or tens of thousands of bundles of reeds were not uncommon. Similar administrative practices were attested in Ebla three centuries earlier.
One of Mesopotamia's most significant cultural achievements is its literature. Although there are modern anthologies and compilations of Mesopotamian literature with translations, paraphrases, and attempts to write its history, it cannot be claimed that "cuneiform literature" has been fully resurrected and appreciated to the extent it deserves. This is partly due to material reasons, as many clay tablets survive only in fragmented form, and the discovery of duplicates that could restore the texts is still ongoing. Additionally, there needs to be a greater understanding of the languages, with insufficient familiarity with vocabulary and difficulties in Sumerian grammar. As a result, it may take another generation of Assyriologists before the great myths, epics, lamentations, hymns, law codes, wisdom literature, and pedagogical treatizes of ancient Mesopotamia can be presented in a manner that allows modern readers to fully appreciate the high level of literary creativity during that era.
Before the first excavations in Mesopotamia around 1840, knowledge of the ancient Middle East was primarily derived from three sources: the Bible, Greek and Roman authors, and the writings of Berosus, a Babylonian who wrote in Greek. By 1800, very little additional information had been obtained compared to the knowledge available in 800 CE. These sources, however, sparked the imagination of poets and artists, as seen in Lord Byron's poem "Sardanapalus" from the 19th century.
In the Hebrew Bible, Mesopotamia is mentioned primarily in historical contexts where the kings of Assyria and Babylonia influenced events in Israel and Judah. Figures such as Tiglath-Pileser III, Shalmaneser V, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar II are highlighted concerning their impact on the region. Among the Greeks, Herodotus of Halicarnassus, a contemporary of Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I in the 5th century BCE, was the first to report on "Babylon and the rest of Assyria." By then, the Assyrian empire had already been overthrown for over a century. Xenophon, an Athenian, participated in an expedition of Greek mercenaries during 401-399 BCE, which took them through Anatolia, down the Euphrates to the vicinity of Baghdad, and back up the Tigris after the famous Battle of Cunaxa. In his work "Cyropaedia," Xenophon described the final struggle between Cyrus II and the Neo-Babylonian empire.
Later, the Greeks adopted various legendary tales about King Ninus, Queen Semiramis, and King Sardanapalus. These stories were largely described in the historical work of Diodorus Siculus in the 1st century BCE, who based them on the accounts of the Greek physician Ctesias. Herodotus had personally seen Babylon, and Xenophon provided firsthand accounts of his travels and battles. However, subsequent historians relied on second or third-hand information, except Berosus (born c. 340 BCE). Berosus emigrated to the island of Cos, where he composed the three books of the "Babylniaka." Unfortunately, only extracts of his works survive, preserved by Alexander Polyhistor in the 1st century BCE, who, in turn, served as a source for the Church Father Eusebius.
Berosus criticized the "Greek historians" who had distorted the history of his country. He knew, for example, that Semiramis did not find the city of Babylon. However, Berosus was limited by his own context and likely had no more knowledge of his land's history than what was known in Babylonia during the 4th century BCE.
Berosus's first book discussed the beginnings of the world and a myth involving a composite being named Oannes, who was half fish and half man. According to the myth, Oannes came ashore in Babylonia when humans still lived like wild beasts and taught them the essentials of civilization, including writing, arts, law, agriculture, surveying, and architecture. Oannes was derived from the cuneiform U'anna (Sumerian) or Umanna (Akkadian), another name for the mythical figure Adapa, the bringer of civilization. The second book of Berosus contained the Babylonian king list from the beginning to King Nabonassar (747–734 BCE), a contemporary of Tiglath-Pileser III. Berosus's tradition, starting with a list of primordial kings before the Flood, is considered reliable as it aligns with the Sumerian king list, and individual names can be traced back to their Sumerian origins. Berosus also had knowledge of the Flood story, with Cronus as its instigator and Xisuthros (or Ziusudra) as its hero, as well as the construction of an ark. The content of the third book is presumed to have covered the history of Babylonia from Nabonassar to Berosus's own time.
Diodorus, in his writings, incorrectly placed Nineveh on the Euphrates, while Xenophon provided an account of two cities: Larissa (likely modern Nimrd, ancient Kalakh) and Mespila (ancient Nineveh, north of Mosul). Mespila was the Aramaean word for ruins, highlighting the disconnect between the ancient Middle East and the classical West. In contrast, the East had a tradition that the ruins across from Mosul concealed the ancient city of Nineveh. When Benjamin of Tudela, a Spanish rabbi, travelled in the Middle East between 1160 and 1173, Jews and Muslims knew the location of the grave of the prophet Jonah.
The credit for rediscovering the ruins of Babylon goes to an Italian traveller named Pietro della Valle. He correctly identified the extensive ruins north of modern Al-illah, Iraq, approximately 60 miles south of Baghdad. He likely recognized the large rectangular tower that represented the ancient ziggurat. Previous travellers had sought the Tower of Babel in two other monumental ruins: Birs Nimrd, the massive brick structure of the ziggurat of ancient Borsippa (modern Birs, near Al-Allah), which had been vitrified by lightning, and the ziggurat of the Kassite capital, Dur Kurigalzu, at Burj Aqarqf, located 22 miles west of Baghdad. Pietro della Valle brought back to Europe the first examples of cuneiform writing, including stamped bricks, which were reproduced in highly impressionistic ways. Following that, European travellers increasingly visited Mesopotamia, including Carsten Niebuhr, Claudius James Rich, and Ker Porter.
Another Middle Eastern ruin that attracted European visitors was Persepolis, located in Persia East of Susiana, near modern Shrz, Iran. In 1602, reports of inscriptions outside Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Georgian, or Greek reached Europe. In 1700, an Englishman, Thomas Hyde, coined the term "cuneiform" for these inscriptions. By the mid-18th century, it was known that the inscriptions in Persepolis were related to those in Babylon. Niebuhr distinguished three separate alphabets (Babylonian, Elamite, and Old Persian cuneiform). The first promising attempt at decipherment was made by the German philologist Georg Friedrich Grotefend in 1802, using the names of kings in the Old Persian versions of the trilingual inscriptions. However, his later efforts proved to be unsuccessful. Subsequently, the decipherment of cuneiform gradually developed into the discipline of ancient Oriental philology in the second half of the 19th century, thanks to the pioneering work of Emile Burnouf, Edward Hincks, Sir Henry Rawlinson, and many others.
Today, the field is still known as Assyriology because, by the end of the 19th century, the majority of cuneiform texts had been discovered in the Assyrian city of Nineveh, particularly in the library of King Ashurbanipal located in the mound of Kuyunjik at Nineveh.
The progress of archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia has evolved significantly over the past 150 years. Early expeditions were adventurous and carried out under challenging conditions, often without the support of authorities. In contrast, specialist teams with access to advanced technical equipment conduct modern excavations with broader objectives beyond simply finding valuable artefacts. The focus has shifted towards accurate observation, measurement, and documentation of the finds.
In the early days, excavations could have been more organized, recovering vast quantities of clay tablets and antiquities but with little precise information about their original locations. Only in the early 20th century did excavators learn to identify individual bricks in the walls, leading to the distinction of different brick types and the establishment of chronological architectural levels. This improved excavation methodology, while ensuring greater accuracy, has slowed down the pace of discovery. Additionally, the local inhabitants, now more knowledgeable about the value of archaeological finds, engage in clandestine digging, which poses challenges for professional archaeologists.
Due to the scarcity of fuel for firing baked bricks, the use of mud bricks in construction made the ancient buildings highly vulnerable to weathering and required frequent renewal. This resulted in the accumulation of layers of settlement debris, giving rise to the characteristic mound-like ruins called "tells." Excavating such mounds presents difficulties as horizontal and vertical axes must be considered. The depth of each level may be consistent, and earlier levels can be encountered when digging foundation trenches. Furthermore, artefacts may have been displaced from their original context in antiquity. Short-lived settlements that did not develop into mounds are often overlooked, but aerial photography has become useful in identifying ground discolourations indicative of remote settlements. Certain areas, such as waterlogged districts or sites covered by modern settlements or religious structures, are inaccessible to archaeological research.
France, England, the United States, Germany, Iraq, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Japan, and the former Soviet Union are just a few of the countries excavated in Mesopotamia. However, joint expeditions have become more common since the 1970s, such as the collaborative efforts in Ur during the 1920s. The history of archaeological research in Mesopotamia can be divided into four phases of varying duration. The first phase began with the French expeditions to Nineveh (1842) and Khorsabad (1843–55) and the English expeditions to Nineveh (1846–55) and Nimrd (1845, with interruptions until 1880). These early excavations marked the beginning of the "classic" approach, focusing on the major ancient capitals and anticipating spectacular finds.
During the third phase of archaeological research in Mesopotamia and its neighbouring regions, which began in the early 20th century, the focus shifted to prehistory and protohistory. American archaeologists played a significant role in these investigations, aiming to trace the chronological development of human civilization from hunter-gatherer societies to settled farmers and urban dwellers. The objective was to understand the progression of human societies through different stages.
Prehistoric archaeology influenced the techniques used in these excavations, and the discovery of texts and monuments was no longer the primary objective. Iraq and Japan also participated in this research phase, with Iraq being actively involved. The former Soviet Union was also involved in archaeological investigations in the region from 1969 until the early 1990s.
These excavations sought to uncover the early stages of human civilization and shed light on the transition from nomadic lifestyles to settled agriculture and the development of complex societies. The emphasis was on understanding this period's social, economic, and technological changes. The discoveries made during this phase contributed to our understanding of the origins of civilization in Mesopotamia and its neighbouring regions.
It's worth noting that the text mentions Italian excavations at Tall Mardkh (ancient Ebla) in 1967, which yielded remarkable results, including thousands of cuneiform tablets dating back to the 24th century BCE. These tablets provided valuable insights into the political, economic, and cultural aspects of Eblaite society.
The fourth category of archaeological research in Mesopotamia involves "surveys." These surveys focus on understanding the relationships between individual settlements, their positioning along rivers or canals, and the distribution of central settlements and their satellite sites. Due to time, resources, and human resources limitations, these surveys do not involve extensive excavations of individual sites. Instead, researchers observe and collect surface finds.
By examining the surface finds, particularly those from the latest periods, researchers can estimate the approximate end date of the settlement. Additionally, objects from earlier periods tend to work their way to the surface or become exposed in rain gullies, allowing for conclusions about the total period of occupation with a certain degree of probability. By marking individual settlement periods on maps, researchers can gain insights into the changing settlement patterns, the proportions between large and small settlements, and the evolving riverbeds and irrigation canal systems.
The objectives and excavation methods have evolved over the four phases outlined. Initially, the focus was on recovering valuable artefacts for museums, but there was also early interest in Mesopotamian architecture, which has since earned recognition in architectural history. The fields of philology and art history have made significant progress in establishing chronological frameworks by combining stratigraphic and stylistic criteria, especially in pottery and cylinder seals.
The discovery of graves and burial customs has shed new light on the history of religion, spurred by interest in biblical studies. Once collected primarily for aesthetic reasons or from an art historical perspective, pottery is now examined for its social and economic significance. Attention is given to everyday wares; the distribution and frequency of different pottery shapes and materials provide insights into social and economic history. The study of animal bones and plant remains, including pollen and seed analysis, has yielded valuable information on domestication, animal husbandry, and advances in agriculture. Such studies require collaboration between zoologists and paleobotanists. Microscopic analysis of excavated building floors can also help identify the functions of individual rooms.
The emergence of Mesopotamian civilization can be traced back to the Late Neolithic Period and the Chalcolithic Period, spanning from around 10,000 BCE to the beginning of large permanent settlements. During this time, several stages of development took place concurrently:
Transition to sedentary life: The shift from a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle to settling in one place for extended periods or permanently
Transition to deliberate farming: The progression from experimental plant cultivation to intentional and calculated farming of grains and leguminous plants
Construction of houses and temples: The establishment of permanent houses and the construction of temples for religious practises
Burial customs: The development of cemeteries for burying the dead
The invention of clay vessels: The creation of clay vessels, initially made by hand but later turned on the wheel and fired to achieve greater hardness. These vessels often featured incised designs or painted patterns.
Development of specialized crafts and labour divisions.
Metal production: The introduction of metalworking, beginning with the use of copper, marked the transition from the Late Neolithic to the Chalcolithic Period.
These stages of development highlight the key milestones in the emergence of civilization in Mesopotamia, from the transition to settled life and the advent of agriculture to advancements in technology, social organization, and cultural practices.
In the study of these stages of development, dating is often done by comparing different sites rather than relying solely on a sequence of levels within one site. The assumption is that simpler and less technologically advanced materials are older. Relative dating methods are used, but radiocarbon or carbon-14 has become increasingly valuable since the 1950s. This method calculates the time elapsed since the death of organic material by measuring the decay rate of the radioactive carbon isotope (carbon-14) in wood, horn, plant fibres, and bone. Although there is a margin of error of up to 200 years, this is acceptable for materials dating back 6,000 to 10,000 years. Carbon-14 dates are particularly useful for confirmation when combined with other dating methods. Also, radiocarbon dates can be made more accurate by comparing them to dates from dendrochronology, which looks at the annual rings of trees to figure out the exact age of something.
The initial stages of agriculture, animal domestication, and the transition to sedentary life occurred in regions where easily domesticated animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs, as well as early forms of grains and leguminous plants like wheat, barley, bitter vetch, pea, and lentil, were present. These dispersion centres were likely the valleys and grassy border regions of Iran, Iraq, Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, and possibly the northern slopes of the Hindu Kush mountains. As settled life led to decreased infant mortality and increased population, settlements gradually spread from these centres into the plains. This process, known as the Neolithic Revolution, unfolded over thousands of years.
An example of early settlements on the borders of Mesopotamia can be seen in the neighbouring sites of Zawi Chemi Shanidar and Shanidar, located northwest of Rawndz. These sites date from the transition between the 10th and 9th millennia BCE and are classified as pre-pottery. The findings at these sites include:
Querns were primitive mills used for grinding grain (whether wild or cultivated remains uncertain).
Remains of huts measuring around 13 feet in diameter.
A cemetery with grave goods.
The presence of copper beads indicates familiarity with metal, though not necessarily with metalworking techniques. The presence of obsidian, a non-indigenous raw material, suggests trade connections. Bones found at Zawi Chemi Shanidar provide evidence of domesticated sheep in the region.
At the site of Karm Shahir, located on the hilly borders of Mesopotamia, evidence indicated knowledge of grain cultivation through sickle blades and the baking of clay through lightly fired clay figurines. Another important site is Qalat Jarmo, situated east of Kirkk, which provides a sequence of approximately 3,000 years. The settlement at Jarmo dated back to around 6750 BCE and consisted of a village with 12 archaeological levels. The houses were built of packed clay, sometimes with stone foundations, and divided into multiple rooms. Excavations at Jarmo revealed types of wheat, barley, domesticated animals such as goats, sheep, and pigs, obsidian tools, stone vessels, and, in the upper levels, clay vessels with painted decorations, providing early evidence of pottery production. Jarmo is roughly contemporaneous with the sites of Jericho and atalhöyük.
Around 1,000 years later, the earliest villages in the plain of Mesopotamia were discovered: Asana, near Mosul, and Tall awwn, near Smarr. At Assna, more advanced pottery with incised and painted designs was found, although the decoration remained unsophisticated. One of the buildings at Assna may have been a shrine due to its unique ground plan. In addition to emmer wheat, a mutation resulted in the appearance of six-row barley, which later became the primary grain crop in southern Mesopotamia. At Tall Awwn, located south of the boundary of rainfall agriculture, some form of artificial irrigation, possibly drawing water from the Tigris, would have been necessary for settlement in that area.
Different "cultures" or "horizons" emerged in the fifth millennium BCE, each identifiable by its pottery's colour, shape, hardness, and decoration. These cultures were named after the type site or where the pottery was initially found, including Smarr, Tall alaf, assna Level V, Al-Ubaid, and jj Muammad. Along with advancements in tools, the emergence of water transport (evidenced by a model boat from the prehistoric cemetery at Eridu), and the development of terra-cotta, the most notable progress can be seen in architecture. The city of Eridu, which later became a centre for worshipping the Sumerian god Enki, provides a clear example of the accelerating advance in architectural techniques during this period.
During the Ubaid period, the temple at Eridu underwent significant development. Originally a small, single-room shrine, it expanded into a rectangular building measuring 80 by 40 feet on an artificial terrace. The temple featured an "offering table" and an "altar" against the short walls, aisles on each side, and a facade adorned with niches. This temple, situated on a terrace likely built to protect it from flooding, is considered the prototype of the ziggurat, a distinctive religious structure in later Babylonia. The Enki ziggurat, built during the 3rd dynasty of Ur (c. 2112–c. 2004 BCE), was located in the same spot as the temple at Eridu, indicating a long-standing cult tradition in the area spanning 1,500 to 2,000 years before the Ur III period. It is important to note that while the continuity of the cult tradition is remarkable, it does not necessarily imply an unbroken ethnic tradition. The peak of architectural achievement occurred with the construction of the great temples (or assembly halls) in Uruk during the transition from the 4th to the 3rd millennium BCE (Uruk Levels VI to IV).
When exploring the expression of thoughts and beliefs before the invention of writing, four major sources can be considered: pottery decoration, burial practises, sculpture, and seal designs. Pottery decoration, in particular, exhibits a wide range of styles. Notably, regions where writing developed generally ceased producing high-quality painted pottery. Decorative motifs can be abstract and geometric or depict figures, often with a tendency towards geometric stylization. The presence of symbols like the bucranium (an ox skull representation) raises questions about their association with specific religious ideas, such as a bull cult, and whether the decoration had any intended meaning.
The origins and intentions behind burial practices in ancient Mesopotamia are still unclear. The custom of burying the dead in graves is ancient, but its purpose remains uncertain. It is unknown whether the intention was to maintain communication through the cult of the dead or to protect against the potential malevolent influence of unburied corpses wandering freely. The earliest attested cemetery with grave goods is found at Zawi Chemi Shanidar. Pottery in graves suggests that the deceased's physical needs were provided for, and the discovery of a dog's skeleton and a model boat in the Eridu cemetery suggests a belief in the continuity of life's activities in the afterlife.
The earliest forms of sculpture in ancient Mesopotamia were crudely worked terra-cotta representations of women. However, during the Ubaid Horizon, figurines depicting both women and men with slender bodies, prominent features, arms akimbo, and accurately rendered genitals emerged. Figurines of women suckling children were also common. Whether these statuettes were considered idols, cult objects like votive offerings, or possessed magical significance, such as fertility charms, is uncertain. The exact purpose they served remains a subject of debate.
Seals were important in ancient Mesopotamia as objects of personal identification and property ownership. Stamp seals, first attested at Tepe Gawra, north of Mosul, featured geometric designs before scenes with figures emerged. The significance and deeper meaning behind these scenes are still being studied. Seals were directly linked to specific individuals or groups, as they were used to mark and identify containers like vessels or sacks as belonging to a particular person or bearing their responsibility. Seals, therefore, represent some of the earliest pictorial representations of individuals. Stamp seals were primarily distributed in northern Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Iran.
In contrast, the cylinder seal, which may have been an independent invention derived from two-faced stamp seals, was prevalent in southern Mesopotamia. With its larger surface area and practical application, the cylinder seal remained in use until the 1st millennium BCE. The evolving style of seal designs makes cylinder seals valuable chronological indicators for archaeologists.
The prehistory of Mesopotamia is understood by comparing human achievements rather than recounting the interactions of specific individuals or peoples. There is insufficient evidence to reconstruct the movements and migrations of peoples unless one equates the spread of archaeological types with population extent, changes in types with population shifts, or the appearance of new types with immigration.
The only reliable evidence of people's movement beyond their territories comes from discovering non-indigenous materials. Obsidian and lapis lazuli at sites in Mesopotamia or neighbouring lands indicates trade, which could involve direct caravan trade or a series of intermediate exchanges.
Little is known about the social organization of prehistoric settlements or their governance. It is impossible to deduce the specific governmental structures of villages or the existence of supraregional connections during the dominance of a particular centre. Large-scale construction projects that require the organization of numerous workers are first found in Uruk Levels VI to IV, with buildings suggesting gatherings of hundreds of people. The earliest form of artificial irrigation in southern Mesopotamia likely involved damming floodwater to collect in basins near the fields. Canals became necessary when the land near the river could no longer meet the needs of the growing population, leading to the development of irrigation systems.