Throughout history, a large number of civilizations have lived on Earth: Roman, Chinese, Islamic … But what was the first civilization in the world and where was it located? Well, answering the question, it is considered that the first civilization that existed was that of the Sumerians . Sumeria is a historical region of the Middle East, located in the south of ancient Mesopotamia.
The Sumerians appeared in 3100 BC, just after the Agricultural Revolution. They had their own religion and spoke their own language . They built a large number of city-states, each of which was led by a monarch-priest who lived in huge temples called ziggurats.
The society was governed by the priests , who managed the cult and all social, legal and economic affairs. As cities grew, military kings appeared. The rest of the citizens were artisans, merchants, free peasants and slaves.
Fun facts about the Sumerians, the world’s first civilization
Despite the numerous studies that have been carried out, the provenance of the Sumerians remains uncertain . The specialists handle two theories based on the cranial morphology of the bodies that have been found in archaeological excavations. On the one hand, they were an indigenous people from the south of ancient Mesopotamia. And, on the other hand, that they came from neighboring regions to the north or east.
If the Sumerians are well known for something, it is for being pioneers of writing . They were based on a system of hieroglyphs later used by other civilizations. They made use of writing for different purposes: telling stories, doing calculations, writing letters … The roots of their language remain a complete mystery, and experts consider it to be an isolated language.
Despite being the first known civilization, they had very advanced knowledge of astronomy . The Sumerians believed that the Earth was spherical and that the center of the Solar System was the sun.
To all this we must add that the Sumerians developed very complex mathematical models . They made great strides in algebra and mathematics, allowing them to build large structures to worship their gods and goddesses.
Very important inventions such as the wheel and writing are attributed to the Sumerians. They also invented beer, a calendar very similar to today, and made the first astronomical notations.