Our word "civilization" comes from the Latin civis, meaning "city." The origins of agriculture and animal husbandry, the human technologies that enable populations to settle down and grow, can be found in the ancient Near East (the territory occupied by modern Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, the Arabian Peninsula, among other countries), so it should come as no surprise that some of the earliest cities, and thus civilizations, arose in this very region.

The general term "Mesopotamia" derives from the Greek word that means "between rivers." It lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now the war-torn country of Iraq. In ancient times, however, the area was home to cultures whose art, architecture, religion, and literature have survived in various forms to this day, and whose influence on Western culture is immeasurable.

In addition to developing one of the earliest examples of writing, various Mesopotamian cultures told stories that survive in our own Biblical texts, and that exemplify aspects of myth that can be found throughout human cultures worldwide. We will focus on one such story, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and consider its mythic elements, as well as what the story tells us about the art, architecture, history, and cultural accomplishments of those who first told the story orally, and then wrote it down.

But we will also consider the vast range of artistic endeavor, evidence for which has been uncovered by archaeologists over the last two centuries. Many of the monuments of ancient Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, and Babylon are now under threat because of modern conflict, so it has become vital to understand the role of this region in the development of our understanding of who we are.

History

For an overview of the area and its history, take some time to browse through the British Museum's excellent pages on Mesopotamia. They're designed primarily for school-age (up to high school) students, but isn't dumbed down or condescending. Each segment covers linguistic, archaeological, and cultural history and provides information on the decipherment of cuneiform and on a variety of artifacts. See also the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibit on The Art of the First Cities, which features some excellent images and information.

The Arts

Images of bulls and other animals appear regularly in Mesopotamian art, but so do human beings--often of rulers and "standing figures" which may represent priests, priestesses, or votive offerings. Materials include precious metals such as gold, in addition to a variety of minerals--including the deep blue lapis lazuli, which is mentioned in the first tablet of Gilgamesh, and which was clearly more sought-after in the ancient world than it is today.

Musical instruments were played and the remains of elaborately decorated lyres have been found. The picture that emerges from both literature and artifacts is of a highly sophisticated culture with a well-developed tradition of visual and performing arts, all of which took place in complex cities with walls, temples, houses, and places of business. As it turns out, the description of Uruk that appears in the story of Gilgamesh helps to give us a good idea of what the city of Uruk looked like, and what its people valued.

Writing

The system that came to be known as cuneiform ("wedge-shaped") was used to write several languages in ancient Mesopotamia, just as the Roman alphabet serves languages from English to Spanish to Turkish to Vietnamese today. Decipherment was fairly easily accomplished because of the existence of bilingual "dictionaries" used for commerce among speakers of Sumerian and Akkadian. It was, in fact, commercial necessity that first led to the development of writing in this part of the world--unlike the more historical purposes that initiated writing systems in other areas.

For a contrasting exploration of the development of writing in two cultures, see the Annenberg/CPB Project series, Out Of The Past. The episode "Signs And Symbols" focuses on the various reasons why people begin to write, using the Sumerians and the Maya as examples of differing priorities and how they affect the development of written language.The origins of writing in the ancient Near East differ from those in Mesoamerica. But both situations tell us a great deal about the human need to record ideas and events, and to keep records of many different aspects of their daily lives. For more information on the origins of writing, see the materials linked to next week's class on the schedule, including the "Toolkit" essay on Epigraphy and Decipherment, and the new Annenberg series, Art Through Time; a segment of the episode on Writing will be shown and discussed in class.

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04.17.11