Sumerian civilization: Did you mean...?

Limestone statue of a Sumerian male in a gesture of prayer. He wears the classical Sumerian flounced garment. The head/neck, right upper limb, and both feet are lost. Back view. From the Small Shrine at Khafajah (also Khafaje; ancient Tutub...

Limestone statue of a Sumerian female in a gesture of prayer. The eye sockets were filled in with white shell set in bitumen. She wears a Sumerian garment with a bare right shoulder. Her hair was carefully carved. Side view, right. From the...

Limestone statue of a Sumerian male in a gesture of prayer. He wears the classical Sumerian flounced garment. The head/neck, right upper limb, and both feet are lost. Side view, left. From the Small Shrine at Khafajah (also Khafaje; ancient...

Limestone statue of a Sumerian female in a gesture of prayer. The head is lost. She wears the classical Sumerian flounced garment with a bare right shoulder. The feet stand on a semi-rectangular base with a back-pillar. Back view. From the...

The 'Near East' is a modern-age term for the region formerly known as the 'Middle East,' comprising Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and part of Turkey, corresponding to ancient Urartu, Mesopotamia...

Ishtar (Inanna in Sumerian sources) is a primary Mesopotamian goddess closely associated with love and war. This powerful Mesopotamian goddess is the first known deity for which we have written evidence. While largely unknown in the modern...

Gypsum replica of the statue of Sumerian scribe Dudu. The original statue was made of diorite and probably came from Tell Telloh (Girsu), Iraq, c. 2600 BCE. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraq.

Amongst the most famous statues from Tell Asmar are these two standing male and female ones, which were made of veined gypsum. They have a wide-eyed gaze and hold a cup with their hands. The man is bare-chested and wears a flounced kilt while...

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

My favorite example of how odd Cuneiform became as it was passed from civilization to civilization. Thanks, rampant Sumerianization! Cuneiform languages took Sumerian very seriously, even after it was long dead. That’s how Akkadian and...