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The Sumerians Are Responsible for Far More than I Realized
Research indicates we basically owe all of modern society to Sumerian concepts
I started researching the Sumerians as part of a different article, but quickly became immersed in learning about them. I had no idea the value and knowledge the Sumerians, and really, Mesopotamia, contain when it comes to modern society.
Simply put, the Sumerians dramatically changed everything about how our species did and would live forever. Many of their inventions and ideas still thrive in our modern world. Some might even say we still rely on their knowledge.
Who Were They
The Sumerians thrived between about 4100–1750 BCE in the southern region named Sumer, of ancient Mesopotamia — modern-day Kuwait and Iraq. Sumer — a city-state— was overseen by a king or Lugal, meaning “big man.”
When I hear the word “King,” I automatically envision entitlement in the greatest sense, but the Sumerian Lugal, it seems, was a little different. Instead of viewing the Lugal as a god, speaker for the gods, or some other divinity like many other ancient cultures, the Sumerians viewed their leader as the head of a “household.” A tight-knit community that may have disagreed and disputed but could set qualms aside to come…
