Near East; From the Birth of Agriculture to the Rise of the Cities

The transition from the nomadic ways of hunter-gatherer societies to the agricultural way of life of the early farming communities is a fascinating part of history. However, it is often overlooked mainly for two reasons. The first is that as writing had yet to be invented during that time, our knowledge of the period is rather shallow so we are fully dependent on archaeological and geological discoveries. The second reason is that this transition did not happen overnight. It was a gradual process spanning thousands of years and therefore it is very difficult to narrow it all down and to pinpoint specific details. Today though we are going to provide a brief overview of the rise of agriculture from its inception to the emergence of the first urban settlements. It is not exactly known when humans specifically started growing crops on their own, however a rough estimate suggests it occurred between approximately 11,000 and 9,000 BC. As we mentioned, this was a gradual process spanning thousands of years, ultimately leading to significant advancements in crop domestication around 7,000 to 6,000 BC thanks to the improvements in sowing, cultivation, harvesting and the storage of food and seeds by the early communities. The region where this first occurred is known today as the Fertile Crescent and in its earliest years it was specifically the northern part of that region. There are mainly two factors that contributed to the emergence of agriculture in that area. The first is the abundance of food including fruits, wild cereals, legumes, fish and other saltwater and freshwater foods. The people would occasionally include game meat in their diet, however they consumed it much less than in other regions due to the abundance of other, more easily accessible food. It was this abundance that gave them the opportunity to experiment with the wild seeds of various plants and try to cultivate their own food. The second reason why agriculture first found success in the Fertile Crescent is that the crops available to the people, particularly wild wheat and barley which were exclusive to the region at that time, proved ideal for domestication experiments. These plants had a longer lifespan, better preservation qualities and greater resilience compared to plants in neighbouring regions. Over thousands of years of selective breeding of plants, essentially through gradual genetic mutations, the farmers in the Near East significantly improved the durability and fertility of einkorn and emmer wheat, transforming it to the domesticated wheat we know today. In addition, the domestication of native animals in the region such as cattle, sheep, pigs and goats played a significant role in the advancement of agricultural societies in the Near East. Cattle were primarily used for agricultural work while sheep and goats were valued for their wool and pigs were raised for meat. Throughout those thousands of years, the transition was not one-sided. Many people would start growing their crops while settling in villages and after experiencing multiple crop failures, they would often revert to the hunter-gatherer way of life. Additionally, according to anthropologists, the earliest people who fully embraced agriculture often faced much more challenging lives than their hunter-gatherer counterparts. The early farmers had smaller statues compared to hunter-gatherers due to their malnourished diet. On top of that, they often suffered from diseases, possibly due to their large numbers. But this begs the question, when confronted with such hardships, why did some of the early farmers persist in crop cultivation and village settlement rather than returning to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, especially in a region with abundant food? While the answer to that question is not really clear, anthropologists have put forward several possible explanations. One of these is related to social reasons. People tend to form large groups and form bonds with one another as it provides them with a great sense of unity and most importantly, protection. Furthermore, cultivating their own food made more challenging for other people to seize it. This stands in contrast to wild food which was accessible to all and could be a source of dispute between small bands of hunter-gatherers. On top of that, since the farming communities were much more established, they could have probably defended themselves from other tribes more easily than the hunter-gatherers. Finally, the agricultural settlements provided a relative safety from wild animals, since farmers would encounter them less frequently. As time passed and agricultural technology advanced, farmers became more proficient in crop control and improved their diets though they would continue to gather small amounts of wild plants. Since as far as we know, the region of the Fertile Crescent was the first place in the world where agriculture was practiced, it served as the birthplace of some of the earliest and most fascinating cultures. Although there were pre-agrarian cultures and settlements, such as Gobekli Tepe and Jericho, also known as Teles Sultan, today we will focus on the first cultures that emerged after the advent of crop cultivation which also marked the introduction of pottery. Keep in mind that the further back in time we go, dating historical periods and archaeological findings becomes increasingly challenging. Therefore, the dating that will be provided is primarily an aggregate of the various datings that archaeologists and historians debate. One of the earliest agricultural settlements was located in the Anatolian Plateau in modern-day southern Turkey. This settlement is known today as Çatalhöyük which means Fork Chimneless in Turkish. Its original name though has been lost to the ages. This Neolithic settlement was inhabited from 7500 until 5600 BC. It was located near a river and had a large space of agricultural fields in its vicinity. At its peak, this proto-town may have had up to 8000 people which is an extraordinary number for that time. The houses of the settlement were constructed from mud brick and adorned on the interior with a variety of artwork including depictions of animals, humans and numerous intriguing art motifs. Inside the house there was usually a hearth, a sleeping area, a place of worship and sometimes a storage space. At Çatalhöyük it was the custom to bury the deceased within the confines of their own homes rather than in nearby cemeteries. The structure of both individual houses and the town as a whole is intriguing as there were no traditional doors. Instead, houses had holes through which residents entered and exited using ladders. Additionally, there were no streets and the houses were built adjacent to each other. In fact, the rooftops of the houses most likely served as streets. According to the findings, the houses were more or less similar to each other and there was no central or administrative building. This leads us to the conclusion that the society was largely egalitarian with no elite class. As for the profession and work of the inhabitants, they largely occupied themselves with agriculture. According to the findings, their diet consisted of wheat, barley, legumes as well as pigs and goats. Regarding their religion, it is difficult to determine their beliefs. The murals within their houses along with the presence of bullheads suggest the possibility of a place for worship inside their homes, while the discovery of elderly skulls near house entrances hints at ancestral worship. Another intriguing discovery includes female figurines featuring exaggerated body characteristics suggesting the veneration of a fertility goddess. Places similar to Çatalhöyük have been discovered both in Anatolia and the Levant, however, they tend to be smaller in scale and have suffered erosion over time, resulting in limited archaeological evidence. Yet another interesting site, although not nearly as well preserved as Çatalhöyük, is the Neolithic settlement of Jamo near Kirkuk in modern-day Iraq. Jamo was inhabited from 7250 to 5750 BC. Unlike Çatalhöyük, where the houses featured distinctive characteristics, the structures at this site had conventional doors. According to the evidence, the villagers of Jamo were cultivating plants like wheat, barley and lentils. Wild plants, pistachio nuts and acorns were also included into their dietary habits. Furthermore, the raised cattle, sheep and goats would supply them with both dairy products and meat. According to the findings, there is evidence of domesticated dogs that played a protective role for their flocks. One of the more interesting discoveries is that the people of Jamo seemed to hunt wild animals like lions and leopards. Finally, archaeologists discovered personal adornments like necklaces as well as pieces of pottery. Over the centuries, agriculture which originated in the northern and western regions of the Fertile Crescent gradually expanded into the eastern side of the region, which is known to us as Mesopotamia. At first, expanding agriculture in this region proved to be a formidable challenge. Although the soil between the two rivers was rich and fertile, spreading domesticated crops was challenging because unlike the expected late summer flooding of the Nile in Egypt, where farmers would plant their seed after the flood, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flooded during late spring, often destroying the crops that were still maturing by drowning them. But slowly, the people who aimed to expand south began creating complex water infrastructure and irrigation canals to control the two rivers and their tributaries. Gradually, Mesopotamia became adorned with agricultural fields that depended heavily on the continuous labor of those working on the water. This process began around 7200 BC and by the mid to the late 7th millennium, many new cultures began to emerge in the now predominantly agriculturally established Mesopotamia. Around 6200 BC, three different cultures started developing in Mesopotamia, the Hasuna, Samara, and Halaf. The Hasuna culture derived its name from the site of Tell Hasuna, where archaeologists uncovered a village in which distinctive pottery featuring decorative motifs and animal figures was found. The culture subsequently spread throughout the region. According to the findings, the Hasuna people used large vessels to store the wheat and barley and they baked bread using dome ovens. To the south, the Samara culture originated a bit later, possibly due to the migration of people from western Iran to the region who gradually intermingled with the Hasuna people. The culture was named after the city of Samara in Iraq. These people lived in small yet highly organized villages. The culture is primarily known for its finely made pottery decorated with naturalistic designs, geometrical motifs, and a variety of colors. The people largely exported their pottery in exchange for minerals such as obsidian from Anatolia. Over time, they developed a large trade network that linked all of their neighboring cultures. The Halaf culture originated south of Anatolia and north of Mesopotamia and then spread southward. It derived its name from the archaeological site of Tell Halaf, where it was initially discovered. Since then, many other important sites of the Halaf people have been discovered. The culture's architecture was unique, characterized by domed round houses constructed from sun-dried clay. The pottery in this culture was highly developed and of superior quality compared to the other two. Local workshops likely produced a substantial quantity of these vases and exported them across the region. Excavations have revealed a significant amount of jewelry primarily crafted from Anatolian obsidian. In addition to that, archaeologists have discovered numerous clay figurines depicting females, potentially symbolizing, once again, fertility goddesses, with the added detail that some of these figurines were painted. Another intriguing discovery includes stamp seals which are believed to be the world's earliest. These might have served either as decorative art or for the marking of personal belongings. At the outset of the 6th millennium BC, the Ubaid culture began to emerge in the southern Mesopotamian plains. It derived its name from the archaeological site of Tell al-Ubaid. This culture marks the transition period from village settlements to the first cities, a process that took almost 2,000 years. In the early period, the Ubaid people had an egalitarian society like all others, but later, a clear hierarchy would emerge. During that time, numerous new settlements were founded and many of them no longer resembled villages, but rather proto-towns. As the population grew and communities gathered, it appeared that elite individuals and families gained increased control over agriculture and larger portions of land, leading them to reside in bigger and more refined houses. Another group that appeared to belong to the elite were the priests, likely wielding more power than the common people. Archaeological findings also reveal the presence of luxurious metals such as lapis lazuli, turquoise and carnelian, which were likely used as jewellery by the members of the wealthy families. Many of these items were discovered in elite burials. The Ubaid culture was known for its unique pottery style, characterized by black geometrical lines drawn on a buff-coloured base which exhibited numerous regional variations. Ubaid pottery was extensively traded and discovered by archaeologists in regions spanning from Anatolia to modern-day Oman. Additionally, the production of female figurines continued, often featuring new designs as well, such as the famous lizard-headed female figurines, likely depicting goddesses. In the northern regions, the production of stamp seals evolved, incorporating a variety of intricate animal designs. In addition to marking private property, these were also used for sealing doors and pots. Eventually, the Ubaid culture spread north and absorbed the rest of the Mesopotamian cultures. The most significant settlement of the Ubaid period was Eridu, which holds a remarkable place in the annals of history. While its origins trace back to the 8th millennium BC, the establishment of the town as we recognize it took place during the 6th millennium BC. In an era when the topography of Mesopotamia differed substantially from today, Eridu stood in close proximity to the sea as back then the Persian Gulf extended much further inland. Nurtured by a microclimate, Eridu was surrounded by lush fields and marshes. At the peak of the Ubaid period, this settlement had approximately 3,000 inhabitants and served as a pivotal crossroads and trade hub. It connected the people of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula and the Iranian Plateau. Central to Eridu's significance was its temple, the earliest known in Mesopotamia. Over time, the temple underwent multiple reconstructions with 18 successive layers contributing to its increasing size and complexity. The initial structure dating to around 5500 BC measured 3.6 to 4.6 meters or 12 to 15 feet and was constructed from mud brick. Its interior featured an altar on one side and a table possibly holding a deity statue on the other. Archaeologists found an abundance of fish bones and ashes around the altar. This sacred space was dedicated to the Sumerian god Enki, also known as Ea to the Akkadians. He was associated with water, wisdom and creation. Eridu held immense mythological importance for the Sumerians who believed it to be the world's first city and Enki's home. According to the Sumerian kings list, the earliest rulers from Alulim to Ubaratutu enjoyed extraordinary long reigns spanning from 20,000 to 43,000 years, cementing Eridu's status as a divine realm. In Sumerian mythology, Eridu played a pivotal role in the tale of the great flood. According to the tablet known as the Sumerian creation myth, also called Eridu Genesis, before the great flood took place, Enki, who cared for humanity, instructed a man to build an ark and save the people from the destruction. This account marks the earliest known mention of a flood narrative. While Eridu never regained its mythical political prominence after the flood, it remained a significant spiritual centre intertwined with ancient legends of a golden age and a paradise on earth as well as the home of the first kings and the god Enki. Casting aside the mythological tales, according to archaeological findings, Eridu never reached the grandeur of great kingdoms, especially when talking about the Ubaid period where the population was at Nevertheless, it thrived as a vital centre of trade and religion and it holds a distinction of being the first agrarian settlement with a temple in history. Over time, as the Sumerian civilization emerged, Eridu waned in trade importance but retained its spiritual significance, preserving myths of a bygone era. Though not a seat of dynastic rule, Eridu maintained cultural prominence throughout the ages. Successive civilizations from the Sumerians to the Arcadians, Assyrians and Babylonians renovated and expanded the city and its temple. Eridu reached its zenith at the start of the second millennium BC and endured as a cultural beacon for nearly an astonishing 4,500 years. As the fifth millennium BC drew to a close, the Ubaid culture slowly faded away, paving the way for the emergence of the Sumerian civilization in the lower Mesopotamian region. This transition witnessed the gradual transformation of agrarian towns and settlements into the first urban centres which would eventually become mighty city-states such as Ur and Uruk. It marked the pivotal shift from early culture to full-fledged civilization. Sumerian mythology captures this transition vividly. Inanna, the goddess of love, fertility, war and divine law received the sacred mare, the gifts of civilization from Enki in Eridu. She then bestowed these gifts upon her homeland, the great settlement of Uruk which was destined to become a magnificent city. Many interpret this as a monumental shift in power and cultural evolution from agrarian societies to urban centres and from the mythical homes of gods to the historical splendid city-states that would govern Mesopotamia for thousands of years.