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Crafts and Makers: Sumer and Akkad

A ten‑minute look at the artisans who shaped early Mesopotamian life—metalworkers, weavers, potters, and scribes—and the objects that reveal their skill.

Chapters

• 0:07 Weaving and Textiles
• 0:31 Metalworking and Ornament
• 1:58 Pottery and Storage
• 4:04 Writing, Scribes and Administration

On-screen text

• 0:07 Weaving and Textiles
• 0:14 Weaving and Textiles
• 0:22 Early loom weight from Uruk Historical record · Excavations at Uruk, 1928–1931 (Levantine Museum, London)
• 0:31 Metalworking and Ornament
• 0:38 Metalworking and Ornament
• 0:55 Copper mace of Naram‑Sin Historical record · Copper mace of Naram‑Sin, Louvre Museum (AO 1975)
• 1:13 Bronze sickle from Tell al‑Ubaid Historical record · Bronze sickle from Tell al‑Ubaid, Iraq Museum
• 1:31 Organized copper workshops The Institute's interpretation · J. N. Postgate, “Early Mesopotamian Metallurgy” (1977)
• 1:49 Gold‑electrum diadem Historical record · Gold and electrum diadem from the Royal Tomb of Ur, British Museum (BM 124674)
• 1:58 Pottery and Storage
• 2:05 Ur, Royal Cemetery, c. 2600 BC
• 2:33 Early Dynastic Ur, c. 2500 BC
• 3:01 Storage jars line the granary, Ur, c. 2500 BC The Institute's interpretation · J. A. Ur, “Form and Function in Early Mesopotamian Pottery” (2005)
• 3:28 Ur, market district, c. 2500 BC
• 4:22 Gudea’s temple inscription Historical record · Gudea cylinders, Louvre Museum (AO 1975)
• 4:40 Sargon’s workshop inscription Historical record · Stele of Sargon of Akkad, National Museum of Iraq

Sources

Historical record: Excavations at Uruk, 1928–1931 (Levantine Museum, London) · Lapis lazuli beads from the Royal Tomb of Ur, British Museum (BM 124673) · Copper mace of Naram‑Sin, Louvre Museum (AO 1975) · Bronze sickle from Tell al‑Ubaid, Iraq Museum · Gold and electrum diadem from the Royal Tomb of Ur, British Museum (BM 124674) · Royal Cemetery of Ur, artifacts in the British Museum (BM 124671) · Cylinder seal of a potter, Early Dynastic, British Museum (BM 129101) · Cuneiform tablet from Uruk, Early Dynastic, Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin (VA 331) · School tablet from Nippur, Ur III period, Oriental Institute (OI 117) · Gudea cylinders, Louvre Museum (AO 1975) · Stele of Sargon of Akkad, National Museum of Iraq

The Institute's interpretation: M. J. Oates, “The Early Dynastic Textiles of Mesopotamia” (1992) · J. N. Postgate, “Early Mesopotamian Metallurgy” (1977) · J. A. Ur, “Form and Function in Early Mesopotamian Pottery” (2005)

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 154 s of CPU.