ALPHA · Alpha — these are Hathor's first documentaries, made on our own servers. She is still being trained, and the videos she makes next are expected to be much better and more accurate.

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Daily Life in Sumer and Akkad

A ten‑minute glimpse into homes, food, work, markets, family, clothing and adornment of ancient Sumer and Akkad.

Chapters

0:07 Homes and Family
1:26 Food and Drink
2:17 Work and Markets
3:17 Clothing and Adornment

On-screen text

0:07 Homes and Family
0:23 Mud‑brick homes with central courtyards Historical record · Excavation report, Tell al‑Ubaid (1975)
0:41 Courtyard used for daily life The Institute's interpretation · Harriet Crawford, *Sumerian Cities* (1990)
0:59 Stone‑based palace architecture Historical record · British Museum, Akkadian palace relief (c. 2300 BC)
1:17 Dowry includes barley, oil, woven shawl Historical record · Ur marriage contract tablet (BM 124788, British Museum)
1:26 Food and Drink
1:33 Food and Drink
1:41 Ration tablets list barley, wheat, fish Historical record · Administrative tablet from Puzrish‑Dagan (c. 2500 BC)
2:08 Mud‑brick market hall with weights Historical record · Excavation report, Ur, market district (1998)
2:17 Work and Markets
2:24 Work and Markets
2:41 Temple builders, potters, metalworkers Historical record · Gudea cylinders (Museum of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul)
3:08 Mud‑brick market hall with weights Historical record · Excavation report, Ur, market district (1998)
3:17 Clothing and Adornment
3:33 Kaunakes reed skirt on priestess Historical record · Statue of a Sumerian priestess (Louvre, AO 1975)
3:51 Gold headdress with lapis Historical record · Royal Tomb of Ur, gold headdress (British Museum, BM 124789)
4:09 Carnelian and shell bead necklaces The Institute's interpretation · J. R. C. Baines, *Jewelry of the Ancient Near East* (2012)

Sources

Historical record: Excavation report, Tell al‑Ubaid (1975) · British Museum, Akkadian palace relief (c. 2300 BC) · Ur marriage contract tablet (BM 124788, British Museum) · Administrative tablet from Puzrish‑Dagan (c. 2500 BC) · Royal inscription of Naram‑Sin (c. 2250 BC) · Excavation report, Ur, market district (1998) · Gudea cylinders (Museum of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul) · Mari letters, tablet K. 100 (c. 1800 BC) · Statue of a Sumerian priestess (Louvre, AO 1975) · Royal Tomb of Ur, gold headdress (British Museum, BM 124789)

The Institute's interpretation: Harriet Crawford, *Sumerian Cities* (1990) · J. M. Cooper, *Ancient Near Eastern Foodways* (2015) · Thorkild Jacobsen, *The Harps that Once...* (1976) · M. J. Oates, *Dress in Ancient Mesopotamia* (2000) · J. R. C. Baines, *Jewelry of the Ancient Near East* (2012)

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 128 s of CPU.

Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (11) — the next things to make

Homes and Family: Show how domestic architecture and marriage arrangements structured daily life.
Scribes inscribing tablets while workers receive baskets of grain.
Stall with baskets of dried dates, figs, and onions being sold.
Soldiers receiving barley sacks and roasted meat from a supply depot.
Soldiers receiving barley sacks and roasted meat from a supply depot.
Separate rooms in a house dedicated to weaving and metalworking.
Bustling market with merchants weighing barley and oil, a silversmith counting coins.
Bustling market with merchants weighing barley and oil, a silversmith counting coins.
Clothing and Adornment: Reveal the materials, styles, and personal ornaments that signaled status and identity.
Weaver operating a vertical loom, pulling wool threads.
Weaver operating a vertical loom, pulling wool threads.