Sumerians

The Sumerians called themselves ùĝ saĝ gíg ga (cuneiform: 𒌦 𒊕 𒈪 𒂵), phonetically /uŋ saŋ gi ga/, literally meaning "the black-headed people". They called their land ki-en-gi(-r) (cuneiform: 𒆠𒂗𒄀) ('place' + 'lords' + 'noble'), meaning "place of the noble lords".

South Mesopotamians

The term Sumerian is the common name identifying the inhabitants in the region of Sumer, in southern Mesopotamia. The East Semitic-speaking Akkadians used the Akkadian word šumerû (Shumer) to represent the geographical name in dialect, however its phonological origins is uncertain. Egyptian Sngr, Hittite Šanhar(a), and Hebrew Shinar, all refer to southern Mesopotamia, and could be West Asian variants of Shumer.

Possible origins

Some have proposed a continuity of Sumerians, from the indigenous hunter-fisherfolk traditions associated with bifacial assemblages found on the Arabian littoral. Juris Zarins believes the Sumerians lived along the coast of Eastern Arabia, today's Persian Gulf region, before it was flooded at the end of the Ice Age.

Domestics

Main: Sumerian domestication

See also Sumerian commodities and Sumerian culture

The Sumerians caught many fish, and hunted fowl and gazelle. Evidence also shows that sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs were domesticated, and oxen were their primary beasts of burden. Donkeys, or equids, were used as their primary transport animal. “Woollen clothing as well as rugs were made from the wool or hair of the animals”. Additionally, the shaduf was already employed for the purpose of irrigation, for harvesting barley, chickpeas, lentils, wheat, dates, onions, garlic, lettuce, leeks and mustard. The Sumerians were one of the first known beer drinking societies. Cereals were plentiful and were the key ingredient in their early brew.

Agriculture

Main: Sumerian agriculture

The Sumerian people who settled Sumer, farmed lands made fertile by silt deposited by the Tigris and the Euphrates. The Sumerians adopted an agricultural lifestyle perhaps as early as c. 5000 BCE – 4500 BCE. The region demonstrated a number of core agricultural techniques, including organized irrigation, large-scale intensive cultivation of land, mono-cropping involving the use of plough agriculture, and the use of an agricultural specialized labour force under bureaucratic control. The necessity to manage temple accounts with this organization led to the development of writing (c. 3500 BCE).