Inventing Civilization: The Secrets of the Ancient Sumerians

Journey back to the dawn of history and meet the Sumerians, the enigmatic people who built the world's first civilization in the fertile plains of Mesopotamia. In this episode, we uncover what we really know about these ancient pioneers. Explore how they invented not just the wheel and the plow, but the very concepts of the city, written law, and history itself through their revolutionary cuneiform script. We'll delve into the great "Sumerian Problem"—the mystery of their origins and their unique, isolated language that has no known relatives.   We will walk through the spectacular and shocking Royal Cemetery of Ur, questioning what the dazzling treasures and evidence of mass human sacrifice reveal about their society and beliefs. From their pantheon of powerful, human-like gods to their surprisingly advanced legal codes that favoured monetary fines over revenge , discover the complex world of the Sumerians and learn how their innovations and their ultimate environmental collapse have left an echo that still resonates in our world today.