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SOUTH DAKOTA
SCHOOL OF MINES
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Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia, by Richard Hooker
The Mesopotamian plain was part of the Fertile Crescent. Situated between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the area was the birth place of the varied civilizations that developed writing, schools, libraries, written law codes and moved us from prehistory to history. The Sumerians, Akkadians, Chaldeans, Hittites, Babylonians, Israelites, Phoenicians, Lydians,Assyrians and Persians established the foundations for future Civilizations. Their contributions include: the wheel, glass, the sail, coinage, mathematics, the alphabet, calendars, bronze, iron, monotheism, epic poetry, farming and irrigation.
The art of Mesopotamia is as diverse as the civilizations that inhabited the area. Art became decorative, stylized and
conventionalized at different times and places in the area. Gods took on human forms and humans were combined with
animals to make fantastic creatures. Art commemorated the accomplishments of great men and intimidated the lowly. Skills improved and new media was developed. Large temples and imposing palaces dotted the landscape. Man recorded his history and poetry for the first time and set them down to music. Lyres, pipes, harps and drums accompanied their songs and dances.
Simply put, the Assyrian state was forged in the crucible of war, invasion, and conquest. The upper, land-holding classes consisted almost entirely of military commanders who grew wealthy from the spoils taken in war. The army was the largest standing army ever seen in the Middle East or
Mediterranean. The exigencies of war excited technological innovation which made the Assyrians almost unbeatable: iron swords, lances, metal armor, and battering rams made them a fearsome foe in battle.
The odd paradox of Assyrian culture was the dramatic growth in science and mathematics; this can be in part explained by the Assyrian obsession with war and invasion. Among the great mathematical inventions of the Assyrians were the division of the circle into 360 degrees and were among the first to invent longitude and latitude in geographical navigation. They also developed a sophisticated medical
science which greatly influenced medical science as far away as Greece.
Richard Hooker
Contact: Deborah Mitchell
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Last Modified: 09/19/2001 |
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