ership or identification. The pictures were made with what is called a stamp seal, an object similar to the rubber stamps we use for similar purposes today.Mesopotamian cylinder seal, upper left, on display in the British Museum. Of unknown provenance, it dates to ca. 2200–2100 BC. To the right of the seal is an impression of the scene carved on the seal; below is an enlargement of the scene. The seal depicts a banquet with a sacred tree in the center and a man and woman (?) reaching for fruit. On either side are serpents. Bryant G. Wood.Halaf towns were much advanced over any other habitation sites in their world. Streets were paved, and two-roomed “tholos” houses were constructed. The first room of a tholos house was long and rectangular, and led from outside to the beehive-shaped tholos room, the main room of the dwelling. Religious faith was important to the Halafians as well as architecture and pottery. Many mother goddess figurines have been found at Halaf sites. One final interesting thing about the Halaf Culture is that at almost every site where this culture has been found, it ended abruptly. The cause of this is not known. Invasion by people of inferior culture of some natural disaster are the best explanations, but nothing can be said with certainty. The Biblical Flood would seem to be ruled out since there are a few Halaf sites where there is no clear break and the culture developed gradually into a new form. The Biblical Flood took place earlier than any of the cultures we are now discussing.Ubaid CultureThe next major culture in Mesopotamian prehistory appeared in the southern part of the river valley, close to the Persian Gulf. This was the Ubaid Culture, named from its type-site, Tell Ubaid. The southern part of Mesopotamia, Sumer, is called Shinar in the Old Testament. This region was not settled at all before 6000 BC, and its southernmost cities such as Eridu, Ur, and Oueili were not founded until 5600 BC at the earliest. The cities of northern Sumer, including Babylon, were founded later still, some time after 5000 BC (Seely 2001).
The Ubaid Culture began in Sumer and spread north to sites such as Tepe Gawra,
where it gradually replaced the Halaf Culture. The Ubaid Culture is noted for its increased use of metal and for the invention of the wheel. This invention was not used in transport yet, so far as we know, but was used in making pottery.Uruk CultureThe Ubaid Culture lasted from ca. 4100–3750 BC. Out of it developed another innovative southern culture, the Uruk, which lasted until about 3200 BC. In this period a significant architectural change took place, the start of the use of beaked brick for monumental buildings. Sun-dried brick had been known and used in parts of the Near East as early as 8500 BC (Seely 2001:17; Walton 1995:163). But in the Uruk period it was discovered that brick, if heated in a kiln, became much harder and could be used to build monumental structures such as temples. This revolutionized architecture. The Uruk Culture thus produced the first great temples in Mesopotamia. It also produced another key invention, the boat. There were almost certainly other methods used for crossing the great rivers, the raft being the most obvious. But the invention of the boat was without doubt an important innovation.Elaborate headdress of a high-level Sumerian woman, possibly a queen or a priesless. From the royal death pits at Ur, ca. 2600 BC, now on display in the British Museum. It is made of gold, lapis lazuli and carnelian. Michael Luddeni.Proto-Literate PeriodPre-history in Mesopotamia can be said to end with the next cultural period, the so-called Proto-Literate period, lasting only about 3200–3100 BC. This remarkable period saw a number of very significant changes that made the difference between prehistory and history. The major development, of course, was the invention of writing. How this was accomplished is a complicated and interesting story. Suffice it to say here that this invention enabled humans to leave records and literary works of many types, thus greatly increasing our knowledge of ancient civilization. Another invention of the Proto-Literate period was something called the cylinder seal. This small stone cylinder, with a hole bored through it so it could be worn around the neck, was carved with a highly individualized scene. When rolled on wet clay, it produced a picture that identified the object’s owner.Finally, irrigation seems to have been introduced during the Proto-Literate period. The importance of this is twofold. First, the efficiency of agriculture was obviously improved, allowing for population growth and specialization of labor. Second, in order for irrigation to be done well, there is a need for some advanced degree of political organization and unification. This is not to say that Mesopotamia suddenly became politically unified, but pressure in that direction began. At first, city-states came into existence as political units. Only later did kingdoms and great empires rise.How does all this relate to the basic history of the region, and to the Bible? And can we link what we see archaeologically to the account of early mankind in the book of Genesis?Close up of theRosetta Stone Chinese
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