Sumerians

By Victor M Fontane

Before the emergence of the Sumerians, humanity lived in a stage known as prehistory, divided mainly into the following periods:

1. Paleolithic (2.5 million BC – 10,000 BC)

Humanity consisted of nomadic hunter-gatherers.

Hominids like Homo habilis and Homo erectus manufactured tools of stone.

Homo sapiens emerged around 300,000 BC and began to exhibit more complex behaviors, such as creating rock art.

Evidence of ritual burials suggests beliefs in possible life after death.

2. Mesolithic (10,000 BC - 8,000 BC)

Gradual transition into sedentary.

Small temporary villages appear near rivers or lakes.

Domestication of animals is practiced and experimentation with agriculture begins.

3. Neolithic (8,000 BC - 4,000 BC)

The agricultural revolution is emerging in different parts of the world.

Communities build permanent homes.

Pottery, fabric, and livestock are becoming fundamental.

Cities like Çatalhöyük (in present-day Turkey) and Jericho (in Palestine) emerge as some of the earliest human settlements.

4. Pre-Sumerian Civilizations

Ubaid (5000 BC - 4000 BC): Agricultural culture located in Mesopotamia. They built temples and dwellings out of adobe.

Halaf and Hassuna (6000 BC - 5000 BC): Agricultural societies that developed in the region of Mesopotamia and practiced advanced pottery.

North Africa and Levante: Here are traces of farming and livestock communities. Primitive commerce was given by barter.

These cultures laid the foundations for the Sumerian civilization, which would emerge around 4000 B.C.