Highlights from the Collection: Mesopotamia | The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago Mesopotamia - the land between the rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates - is an ancient Greek term used by archaeologists to refer to the area now roughly equivalent to the modern country of Iraq. The Mesopotamian collection of the Oriental Institute Museum was acquired almost exclusively through archaeological excavations. The first of these - the University of Chicago Oriental Exploration Fund's expedition to Bismaya (ancient Adab) - worked in Iraq from 1903-1905. During the 1930's the Babylonian Section of the Iraq Expedition excavated four sites on the lower Diyala River, and today the Nippur Expedition is continuing its work, begun in 1948, at the holy city of Nippur. Foundation Figurine of King Ur-Nammu King Ur-Nammu rebuilt and enlarged one of the most important temples in ancient Mesopotamia - the E-kur of Enlil, the chief god of the pantheon. Striding Lion Four-Lugged Vessel Female Figurine Cup Supported by Hero and Animals Four-Faced God and Goddess Sumerian Statuette Banquet Plaque
The Seven Wonders - Hanging Gardens of Babylon Some stories indicate the Hanging Gardens towered hundreds of feet into the air, but archaeological explorations indicate a more modest, but still impressive, height. (Copyright Lee Krystek, 1998) The city of Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, must have been a wonder to the ancient traveler's eyes. "In addition to its size," wrote Herodotus, a Greek historian in 450 BC, "Babylon surpasses in splendor any city in the known world." Herodotus claimed the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. While archaeological excavations have disputed some of Herodotus's claims (the outer walls seem to be only 10 miles long and not nearly as high) his narrative does give us a sense of how awesome the features of the city appeared to those ancients that visited it. Gift for A Homesick Wife According to accounts, the gardens were built to cheer up Nebuchadnezzar's homesick wife, Amyitis. The Water Problem Turning the screw can be done by a hand crank. Garden Construction
Phillip Martin's You Be the Judge of Hammurabi's Code Hammurabi, the Priest King Hammurabi (ca. 1792 - 1750 BC) united all of Mesopotamia under his forty-three year reign of Babylon. Although Hammurabi's Code is not the first code of laws (the first records date four centuries earlier), it is the best preserved legal document reflecting the social structure of Babylon during Hammurabi's rule. About the Code Two hundred eighty-two laws, concerning a wide variety of abuses, justify Hammurabi's claim of having acted "like a real father to his people . . . [who] has established prosperity . . . and (gave) good government to the land." See for Yourself The laws were discovered in 1901 on a stela now in the Louvre Museum of Paris, France. What Other Have to Say Every now and then, I hear from people who enjoy the site.
Index Daily Life in Ancient Civilizations for Kids Ancient Sumer, Babylon & Assyria (Mesopotamia) - What do a sailboat and a wheel have in common? They were both invented by the ancient Sumerians. Find out what happened to kids in school who disobeyed their teacher! Ancient Egypt - Do you know what the ancient Egyptians believed would cure a toothache? Ancient Greece - How would you have behaved if you had lived in ancient Sparta? Ancient Rome - If you had lived in ancient times, would you have chosen to become a Roman citizen? Ancient China - Learn about Taoism with Winnie-the-Pooh! Ancient India - What did the ancient Indians wear? Ancient & Medieval Africa - Explore daily life in five huge trading kingdoms - The Kingdom of Ghana, Mali, Songhay, Benin, and Kush. Ancient Mongols - The ancient Mongols invented the ger - but what is a ger? The Iron Age Celts - Ancient Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man - The Iron Age Celts were very clean. The Vikings - The Vikings were a smart, creative, artistic, democratic people. FAQs
Gallery: Archaeological mysteries hidden in satellite images Archaeologists have many tools at their disposal: shovels, trowels, satellites. If you are scratching your head at that final entry, check out how TED Prize winner Sarah Parcak uses satellite imagery to locate long-lost ancient sites, and to solve some of archaeology’s most enduring mysteries. The mystery: What happened to Itj-tawy, the ancient capital of Egypt? Itj-tawy, once located on the bank of the Nile, was Egypt’s capital for about 350 years during the period known as the Middle Kingdom. The mystery: What did the lost city of Tanis look like? Archaeologists have explored the tombs and temples of Tanis since the mid-1800s. The mystery: Why has looting in Egypt accelerated so much in recent years? Parcak’s team used open-source satellite data to map looting across Egypt from 2002 to 2013. The mystery: Where is the lost Amphitheatre of Portus? “Portus was kind of like the Roman Empire’s Amazon.com,” says Parcak. The mystery: What remains to be discovered in the Valley of the Kings?
August 2008 - The world's ten oldest jokes revealed - University of Wolverhampton The study was commissioned for Dave to celebrate a night of top notch stand-up comedy for Live at the Apollo on Saturday 2 August 2008. A team of academics were tasked to research the world’s oldest examples of recorded humour. Led by humour expert Dr Paul McDonald from the University of Wolverhampton, the team spent two months trawling the annals of history to produce the first report of its kind into the world’s oldest recorded jokes. The Dave Historical Humour Study defines a joke as having a clear set-up and punch line structure - this definition enabled the team to plot the history of the joke as far back as 1900 BC. The results provide a unique and compelling insight into how jokes have evolved over the years, both globally and in the UK. The world’s oldest joke is revealed to be an ancient Sumerian proverb dating back to 1900 BC - Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.
Ancient Mesopotamia: Famous Rulers of Mesopotamia History >> Ancient Mesopotamia Sumerians Gilgamesh (c. 2650 BC) - Gilgamesh was the fifth king of the Sumerian city of Uruk. He became known as a demigod with superhuman strength in later legends and tales such as the Epic of Gilgamesh.Akkadian Empire Sargon the Great (reigned 2334 - 2279 BC) - Sargon the Great, or Sargon of Akkad, founded the world's first empire, the Akkadian Empire. He conquered many of the Sumerian city-states and united them under one rule. Naram-Sin (reigned 2254 - 2218 BC) - The Akkadian Empire reached its peak under the kingship of Naram-Sin. Learn More about Ancient Mesopotamia:
10 ways humans will leave fossils Updated Imagine if humans overnight simultaneously vanished from the face of the Earth. If intelligent beings came to examine the Earth a million years hence, would they find evidence our species ever existed? It sounds like the beginning of a science fiction film, but it is a serious question scientists are pondering this year. In 2016 the International Commission on Stratigraphy will meet to consider whether humans have made an impact on the fossil record. Today, in the journal Science, a group of eminent scholars are arguing we have entered a new geological age, and they are pushing for the commission's recognition. The scholars argue this one, like the "age of the fishes" or the "age of the dinosaurs" before it, should be defined by the dominant species on the planet: humans. "From their criteria, they can see a change occurring and this would be a new geological time period," he said. Here are 10 ways the scientists say humans have left their imprint on the fossil record. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
London skeletons reveal British capital's 2,000-year history as ethnic melting pot Updated New research suggests the British capital London has long been a cultural melting pot. DNA analysis of the remains of 2,000-year-old London residents found at four different locations has revealed most of them were immigrants. At a secure storage site deep in the heart of London, the remains of 20,000 people sit on shelves in non-descript cardboard boxes, where they have lain undisturbed for decades. The Museum of London's archaeological archive contains a treasure trove of remains, uncovered at thousands of archaeological sites found across the city. The museum has just conducted DNA analysis on four of London's earliest inhabitants. They date back almost 2,000 years to a time when Jesus Christ was living on the other side of the Roman Empire in then-Judea. London itself was known then as Londinium and was in the process of being established by Roman invaders who arrived in 43AD. Media player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek.
Philistine cemetery uncovered in archaeological dig in Israel, Goliath's people were 'normal sized' Updated A Philistine cemetery has been unearthed for the first time in southern Israel, shedding new light on the culture of the biblical giant Goliath's people. Key points: Excavation of 30 years uncovers first Philistine cemetery ever found145 Philistine corpses discovered, including a complete skeletonGoliath's people were of 'normal size', no evidence of giants The expedition's organisers said the cemetery's discovery marked the "crowning achievement" of some three decades of excavations in the area. Some of the site's finds were going on display at the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem. Almost three millennia since the Philistines were wiped off the face of the earth by Babylonian armies, archaeologists in the Mediterranean city of Ashkelon extracted a complete skeleton of a Philistine buried with a terracotta perfume flask, fused to the skull with the passage of time. 'Sea people' Philistines strangers in the region Who were the Philistines?