Fashion and Agriculture

One of Sumer’s earliest material achievements was the development of textile and clothing industries.

Our own Industrial Revolution is considered to have commenced with the introduction of spinning and weaving machines in England in the 1760s.

Grace M. Crowfoot (Textiles, Basketry and Mats in Antiquity) says that textile weaving appeared first in Mesopotamia, around 3800 BC.

Sumer was renowned in ancient times for its woven fabrics and its apparel.

The Book of Joshua (7:21) reports that during the storming of Jericho a certain person could not resist the temptation to keep “one good coat of Shin’ar,” which he had found in the city, even though the penalty was death.

So highly prized were the garments of Shinar (Sumer), that people were willing to risk their lives to obtain them.

A rich terminology already existed in Sumerian times to describe both items of clothing and their makers.

The basic garment was called TUG—was the forerunner in style as well as in name of the Roman toga. Such garments were TUG.TU.SHE, which in Sumerian meant “garment which is worn wrapped around.”

The ancient depictions reveal not only an astonishing variety and opulence in matters of clothing, but also elegance, in which good taste and coordination among clothes, hairdos, headdresses, and jewelry prevailed. (Figs. 17, 18)

Another major Sumerian achievement was its agriculture. Its land only had seasonal rains. The rivers were enlisted to water year-round crops through a vast system of irrigation canals.

Mesopotamia—the Land Between the Rivers—was a veritable food basket in ancient times.

The apricot tree, the Spanish word for which is damasco (“Damascus tree”), bears the Latin name anneniaca, a loanword from the Akkadian annanu.

The cherry—kerasos in Greek, Kirsche in German—originates from the Akkadian karshu.

These and other fruits and vegetables reached Europe from Mesopotamia. So did many special seeds and spices.

• Our word saffron comes from the Akkadian azupiranu
• crocus from kurkanu (via krokos in Greek)
• cumin from kamanu
• hyssop from zupu
• myrrh from murru.

Greece provided the physical and etymological bridge by which these products of the land reached Europe.

Onions, lentils, beans, cucumbers, cabbage, and lettuce were common ingredients of the Sumerian diet.

What is equally impressive is the extent and variety of the ancient Mesopotamian food-preparation methods, their cuisine. Texts and pictures confirm the Sumerian knowledge of converting the cereals they had grown into flour, from which they made a variety of leavened and unleavened breads, porridges, pastries, cakes, and biscuits.

Barley was also fermented to produce beer; “technical manuals” for beer production have been found among the texts.

Wine was obtained from grapes and from date palms. Milk was available from sheep, goats, and cows; it was used as a beverage, for cooking, and for converting into yogurt, butter, cream, and cheeses. Fish was a common part of the diet.

Mutton was readily available, and the meat of pigs, which the Sumerians tended in large herds, was considered a true delicacy. Geese and ducks may have been reserved for the gods’ tables.

The ancient texts leave no doubt that the haute cuisine of ancient Mesopotamia developed in the temples and in the service of the gods. One text prescribed the offering to the gods of “loaves of barley bread… loaves of emmer bread; a paste of honey and cream; dates, pastry… beer, wine, milk… cedar sap, cream.”

Roasted meat was offered with libations of “prime beer, wine, and milk.” A specific cut of a bull was prepared according to a strict recipe, calling for “fine flour… made to a dough in water, prime beer, and wine,” and mixed with animal fats, “aromatic ingredients made from hearts of plants,” nuts, malt, and spices.

Instructions for “the daily sacrifice to the gods of the city of Uruk” called for the serving of 5 different beverages with the meals, and specified what “the millers in the kitchen” and “the chef working at the kneading trough” should do.

A thriving economy, a society with such extensive material enterprises could not have developed without an efficient system of transportation.

The Sumerians used their two great rivers and the artificial network of canals for waterborne transportation of people, goods, and cattle. Some of the earliest depictions show what were undoubtedly the world’s first boats.

The Sumerians also engaged in deep-water seafaring, using a variety of ships to reach faraway lands in search of metals, rare woods and stones, and other materials unobtainable in Sumer proper. An Akkadian dictionary of the Sumerian language was found to contain a section on shipping; listing 105 Sumerian terms for various ships by their size, destination, or purpose (for cargo, for passengers, or for the exclusive use of certain gods).

Another 69 Sumerian terms connected with the manning and construction of ships were translated into the Akkadian. Only a long seafaring tradition could have produced such specialized vessels and technical terminology.

For overland transportation, the wheel was first used in Sumer. Its invention and introduction into daily life made possible a variety of vehicles, from carts to chariots, and no doubt also granted Sumer the distinction of having been the first to employ “ox power” as well as “horse power” for locomotion. (Fig. 19)