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The Civilization of Mesopotamia ranges from the earliest human occupation in the Paleolithic period up to Late antiquity. This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writing in the late 4th millennium BC, an increasing amount of historical sources. While in the Paleolithic and early Neolithic periods only parts of Upper Mesopotamia were occupied, the southern alluvium was settled during the late Neolithic period. Mesopotamia has been home to many of the oldest major civilizations, entering history from the Early Bronze Age, for which reason it is often called the cradle of civilization.

Mesopotamia is the area of land between the River Euphrates and the River Tigris. In ancient times, both rivers frequently flooded the surrounding land. Each time the flood water receded, it left behind a layer of silt, creating a fertile area of soil near the rivers. The first people to live in Mesopotamia led a nomadic life. Then around 6000 BC people began to keep animals and grow their own food crops on the fertile river soil in northern Mesopotamia. In the south, where there was less natural rainfall, they built canals to bring water from the river to water the fields. These first farmers settled in one place and lived in small villages. Some of these villages grew into towns, and in turn some of the towns grew into cities. The cities grew wealthy from agriculture and trade.  Across Mesopotamia, different groups of people settled, based around particular cities. The Sumerians were to be found in southern Mesopotamia, the Akkadians, and then the Babylonians, in central Mesopotamia and the Assyrians in northern Mesopotamia. Sometimes, the whole of Mesopotamia was ruled by one of these groups of people. Sometimes, it was ruled by people who came from outside Mesopotamia. Nowadays, most of Mesopotamia is the country of Iraq with its capital city at Baghdad, in central Mesopotamia. 

Mesopotamian cities were centers of knowledge and learning. The Sumerians developed a number system based on 60. The Assyrians occasionally used a system based on 10. To help with mathematical calculations, people used multiplication tables written on clay tablets. Babylonian astronomers studied the night sky and recorded the movement of the moon and planets.  The Sumerians started to write down stories about their kings and gods from about 2500 BC.  Cuneiform tablets were kept in the royal palaces and temples. The Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (reigned 668 to 631 BC) collected a library of about 25,000 clay tablets at his palace at Nineveh. The tablets included letters, legends, dictionaries and histories, mathematical and medical texts. The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (reigned 605 to 562 BC) started a museum in Babylon, which contained objects, statues and clay tablets, some of which dated back to Sumerian times. 

Writing began in the Sumerian cities around 3200 BC. This writing was used to record the collection and distribution of food supplies in the cities. The first Sumerian writing used pictograms; simple pictures which represent objects. Gradually, these pictograms were simplified into a form of writing which used wedge-shapes. This writing is known as cuneiform. Cuneiform symbols represented syllables which could be combined to make a word, or used by themselves to represent a complete word. Eventually, there were more than 600 cuneiform symbols. The first cuneiform represented the Sumerian language. Later, the Assyrians and Babylonians wrote down their language using cuneiform. Most of the writing from Mesopotamia is on small clay tablets. Damp clay was formed into a flat tablet, which could be held in one hand. The writer pressed a stylus made from reed, wood or ivory into the clay to make the cuneiform symbols then left the tablet in the sun to harden. From about 2000 BC ivory tablets covered with a layer of wax were also used for writing. These could be reused, since the wax could be smoothed over ready for the next piece of writing. Cuneiform signs were also carved onto stone. Early numbers were recorded by making circular or semi-circular marks in the surface of a clay tablet.  Cuneiform was used in Mesopotamia for over 3000 years. The last known use of cuneiform is a second-century AD Babylonian astronomy text. 

Mesopotamian cities were home to specialist craft workers. These workers used a wide range of materials to create different craft and art objects. Mesopotamian pottery included bowls, plates, saucers and jars. At first pottery was shaped by hand. Then, from about 3500BC, the potter’s wheel was developed, enabling potters to make pots with thinner sides and in more elaborate shapes. Many pots were left undecorated. Others were decorated with a thin wash of coloured liquid clay, burnished (polished so that they had a shiny surface) or painted with patterns. The process of making glass was invented in Mesopotamia about 1600 BC, and by the 700s BC a wide range of glass vessels was being produced. A variety of stones were used to make statues, cylinder seals and carved wall reliefs. There is little stone in the south and there are no metal mines in Mesopotamia, so both materials had to be imported. Copper, bronze, silver and gold were used to make weapons, farming equipment, cups, vases, dishes, bowls and jewelry. Metal was also used to decorate objects made from other materials such as wooden musical instruments and stone statues.              

The people of Mesopotamia believed that the universe was controlled by gods and goddesses who had to be obeyed, and worshiped with prayers and offerings. There were many myths and legends about these gods and goddesses. Temples were the centers of religious activity where priests and priestesses served a particular god or goddess. People believed that the god or goddess lived in the temple. All temples contained a statue of their god or goddess, together with an offering table.  Special feasts and festivals were held in honor of the gods and goddesses.  At some periods, important people were buried with some of the possessions and food; perhaps they believed they would need them in the afterlife.

from https://www.britishmuseum.org/learn/schools/ages-7-11/middle-east-and-asia/visit-resource-mesopotamia