he “Standard of Ur” is a small trapezoidal box (8.5 Inches high by 19.5 Inches long) whose two sides and end panels are covered with...

Foundation Nail of Gudea, about 2100 BC, Neo-Sumerian, probably Lagash, copper alloy, Cleveland Museum of Art

A SUMERIAN MARBLE CYLINDER SEAL EARLY DYNASTIC, CIRCA 2600-2400 B.C. With a contest scene of six figures, a nude hero with spiky hair...

Stele of Ushumgal Period:Early Dynastic IDate:2900–2700 B.C.Geography:Mesopotamia, probably from Umma (modern Jokha)Culture:SumerianMediu...

The Gudea cylinders are a pair of terracotta cylinders dating to circa 2125 BC, which are inscribed in cuneiform with the Sumerian myth...

Aristocratic noblemen Ancient Sumer male statues, in rack focus. Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization by the Western world,...

Statue of the so called 'wife of Gudea' or the 'First lady of Lagash'. She has a distinguished face and her hair is tied back with a...

A statue of a Sumerian worshipper. Marble, early dynastic period, 2800-2300 BCE, Mesopotamia, Sulaimaniya Museum, Iraq.

Relief panel Period: Neo-Assyrian Date: ca. 883–859 B.C. Geography: Mesopotamia, Nimrud (ancient Kalhu) Culture: Assyrian Medium: Gypsum...

Chair back carved in relief Period: Neo-Assyrian Date: ca. 8th century B.C. Geography: Mesopotamia, Nimrud (ancient Kalhu) Culture:...

Inscribed brick Period: Ur III Date: ca. 2112–2095 B.C. Geography: Mesopotamia, Nippur Culture: Neo-Sumerian Medium: Ceramic, glaze...

En-anna-tum I succeeded his brother Eannatum as king of Lagash. During his rule, Umma once more asserted independence under Ur-Lumma, who...

<p>Primitive trumpets of one form or another have been in existence for millennia; some of the predecessors of the modern instrument are now known to date back to the Neolithic era. The earliest of these primordial trumpets were adapted from animal horns and sea shells. For the most part, these primitive instruments were &#8220;natural trumpets&#8221;: [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The dragon-slaying myth and theme was an important motif in Sumer by 3000 BC, and the dragon-slaying epic influenced the myths of later groups, including the Babylonians and Akkadians. The dragon was worshipped, symbolising the element of water, fertility and wealth, and later became a frightful symbol of power. The Babylonian Epic of Creation centered principally around the slaying [&hellip;]</p>

<p>At an 14,400-year-old Natufian hunter-gatherer site &#8211; a site known as Shubayqa 1 located in the Black Desert in northeastern Jordan &#8211; researchers have discovered the charred remains of a flatbread baked by hunter-gatherers 14,400 years ago. It is the oldest direct evidence of bread found to date, predating the advent of agriculture by at [&hellip;]</p>

<p>According to A. Audin, who interprets the god as the issue of a long process of development, it started from two solar pillars located on the eastern side of temples, each of them marking the direction of the rising sun at the dates of the two solstices. The southeastern corresponding to the Winter and the northeastern [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Haplogroup J2 is thought to have appeared somewhere in the Middle East towards the end of the last glaciation, between 15,000 and 22,000 years ago. It is likely that J2 men had settled over most of Anatolia, the South Caucasus and Iran by the end of the Last Glaciation 12,000 years ago. The oldest known [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The Snake is a universal symbol of immortality and creativity in myth through out the ages and in virtually all lands inhabited by humans.  Many snakes shed their skin at various times, revealing a shiny new skin underneath.   Thus snakes have become symbols of rebirth, transformation, immortality, and healing.  We find images representing the [&hellip;]</p>