mirrored file at http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== *_The emergence of cultures_* For the next millennium, the 5th, it is customary to speak in terms of various "*cultures*" or "*horizons*" distinguished in general by the *pottery*, which may be classed by its *colour*, *shape*, *hardness*, and, above all, by its *decoration*. The name of each *horizon* is derived either from the type site or from the place where the pottery was first found: *Samarra'* on the *Tigris*, *Tall Halaf* in the central *Jazirah*, *Hassuna Level V*, *Al-'Ubaid* near *Ur*, and *Hajj Muhammad* on the *Euphrates*, not far from *As-Samawah* (some 150 miles south-southeast of *Baghdad*). Along with the improvement of *tools*, the first evidence for *water transport* (a model boat from the prehistoric cemetery at *Eridu*, in the extreme south of *Mesopotamia*, c. 4000 BC), and the development of *terra-cottas*, the most impressive sign of progress is the constantly accelerating advance in *architecture*. This can best be followed in the city of *Eridu*, which in historical times was the centre of the cult of the *Sumerian* god *Enki*. Originally a small, single-roomed shrine, the temple in the *Ubaid* period consisted of a rectangular building, measuring 80 by 40 feet, that stood on an artificial terrace. It had an "*offering table*" and an "*altar*" against the short walls, aisles down each side, and a *facade* decorated with *niches*. This *temple*, standing on a terrace probably originally designed to protect the building from *flooding*, is usually considered the prototype of the characteristic religious structure of later *Babylonia*, the *ziggurat*. The temple at *Eridu* is in the very same place as that on which the *Enki ziggurat* stood in the time of the 3rd dynasty of *Ur *(c. 2112-c. 2004 BC), so the cult tradition must have existed on the same spot for at least 1,500 to 2,000 years before* Ur III* itself. Remarkable as this is, however, it is not justifiable to assume a continuous *ethnic* tradition. The flowering of architecture reached its peak with the great temples (or assembly halls?) of *Uruk*, built around the turn of the 4th to 3rd millennium BC (*Uruk* Levels *VI* to *IV*). In extracting information as to the expression of mind and spirit during the six millennia preceding the* invention of writing*, it is necessary to take account of *four* major sources: *decoration on pottery*, the *care of the dead*, *sculpture*, and the *designs on seals*.There is, of course, no justification in assuming any association with ethnic groups. The most varied of these means of expression is undoubtedly the *decoration of pottery*. It is hardly coincidental that, in regions in which *writing* had developed, high-quality *painted pottery* was no longer made. The motifs in decoration are either *abstract *and *geometric* or *figured*, although there is also a strong tendency to *geometric stylization*. An important question is the extent to which the presence of symbols, such as the *bucranium* (a sculptured ornament representing an ox skull), can be considered as expressions of specific *religious ideas*, such as a *bull cult*, and, indeed, how much the decoration was intended to convey meaning at all. It is not known how ancient is the custom of *burying the dead* in graves nor whether its intention was to maintain communication (by the cult of the dead) or to *guard* against the *demonic power* of the unburied dead left free to wander. A *cemetery*, or collection of burials associated with *grave goods*, is first attested at *Zawi Chemi Shanidar*. The presence of pots in the grave indicates that the *bodily needs* of the dead person were provided for, and the discovery of the skeleton of a *dog* and of a* model boat* in the *cemetery *at *Eridu* suggests that it was believed that the activities of life could be pursued in the afterlife. The earliest sculpture takes the form of very crudely worked *terra-cotta* representations of *women*; the *Ubaid Horizon*, however, has *figurines* of both *women* and *men*, with very slender bodies, protruding features, arms akimbo, and the genitals accurately indicated, and also of women suckling children. It is uncertain whether it is correct to describe these statuettes as* idols*, whether the figures were *cult objects*, such as *votive offerings*, or whether they had a* magical significance*, such as *fertility charms*, or, indeed, what purpose they did fulfill. *Seals* are first attested in the form of stamp seals at *Tepe Gawra*, north of *Mosul*. Geometric designs are found earlier than scenes with figures, such as *men*, *animals*, *conflict* between animals, *copulation*, or *dance*. Here again it is uncertain whether the scenes are intended to convey a deeper meaning. Nevertheless, unlike *pottery*, a seal has a *direct relationship* to a *particular individual *or *group*, for the seal identifies what it is used to seal (a vessel, sack, or other container) as the property or responsibility of a specific person. To that extent, seals represent the earliest *pictorial* representations of persons. The area of distribution of the *stamp seal* was *northern Mesopotamia*, *Anatolia*, and *Iran*. *Southern Mesopotamia*, on the other hand, was the home of the *cylinder seal*, which was either an *independent invention *or was derived from *stamp seals* engraved on two faces. The *cylinder seal*, with its greater surface area and more practical application, remained in use into the 1st millennium BC. Because of the continuous changes in the style of the seal designs, *cylinder seals* are among the most valuable of *chronological* indicators for archaeologists. In general, the *prehistory of Mesopotamia* can only be described by listing and comparing human achievements, not by recounting the interaction of individuals or peoples. There is no basis for reconstructing the movements and migrations of peoples unless one is prepared to equate the spread of particular archaeological types with the extent of a particular population, the change of types with a change of population, or the appearance of new types with an immigration. The only certain evidence for the movement of peoples beyond their own territorial limits is provided at first by material finds that are not indigenous. The discovery of *obsidian* and* lapis lazuli* at sites in *Mesopotamia* or in its neighbouring lands is evidence for the existence of *trade*, whether consisting of direct *caravan trade* or of a succession of intermediate stages. Just as no *ethnic identity* is recognizable, so nothing is known of the *social organization *of *prehistoric* settlements. It is not possible to deduce anything of the "*government*" in a *village* nor of any supraregional connections that may have existed under the domination of one centre. Constructions that could only have been accomplished by the organization of workers in large numbers are first found in *Uruk* Levels *VI* to *IV*: the dimensions of these buildings suggest that they were intended for gatherings of hundreds of people. As for *artificial irrigation*, which was indispensable for *agriculture* in *south Mesopotamia*, the earliest form was probably not the *irrigation canal*. It is assumed that at first floodwater was dammed up to collect in *basins*, near which the fields were located. *Canals*, which led the water farther from the river, would have become necessary when the land in the vicinity of the river could no longer supply the needs of the population. *Back to the History page* *Home*