Enheduana of Sumer

Enheduana was the first non- anonymous author in history. Back in 2300 BC, king Sargon of the city- state Akkad had made his daughter high priestess in the Ziggurat, in the city of Ur. Enheduana worshipped the goddess Nanna and lived in the top rooms of the Ziggurat, the room closest to the heavens. She offered prayers, carried out rituals, and she made animal sacrifices. She pleased the gods, in ways such as making them perfumes from burning incense and other perfumed resins. However, the reason why Enheduana became famous was for her poems, which at that time were bestsellers. Today we have found over 50 copies of the same poem, written on clay tablets with a tool called a stylus. Enheduana was famous for her poems. Unfortunately after many years as high priestess, Enheduana got kicked off by her niece that had come to power, and he had put his own daughter in the high priestess position. It is believed that she was thrown out into the desert. However, she was the first author known by name and this is something the world won’t forget.

What did books look like during the time that Enheduana was writing? How were these books written?
Books at 2300 BC looked very different from what they look like today. They were small clay tablets, that looked more like hard pillows and not paperbacks. To write on them they used a pointed tool called a stylus, which was used when the clay was still soft.

Where did Enheduana and her family live? What did her father do?
Enheduana, her twin brothers Rimush and Manishtusu, and her father Sargon lived in a spanking-new big palace, surrounded by the city- state of Akkad in Sumer. Enheduana's father Sargon was considered the greatest of Akkadian kings. Legend says that that when he was born, he was put in a basket on the Euphrates river and raised by a gardener who found him. As a young man, Sargon overthrew the king and seized power. At the time he had expanded his rule over Kish and Akkad, and made them important cities of Sumer.

What was Enheduana's job? List three of her duties. How did she lose her job?
Sargon, Enheduana's father, appointed her to be the high priestess to Nanna, the important moon- god of Sumer. Enheduana had her room at the top of the ziggurat in the city of Ur. Enheduana wore her special cap, carried a mace, and dressed in a long embroidered gown with rows of ruffles. She would offer prayers, and she carried out rituals through the years. On top of the ziggurat she made animals sacrifices. To please the gods and godesses, she also burnt incense and other perfumed resins. However, after many years of being a high priestess she got thrown out by her niece, who might have thrown her out into the desert and put his own daughter into high priestess position.

The author says that Enhaduana's poems were so popular that they were like bestsellers today. What evidence does she use to support this claim?
Some evidence that proves that Enheduana's poems were like bestsellers today was that archaeologists have found over 50 clay tablets with the same poem on them.

Enheduana's writings are also hymns of praise, but they also tell us about the times she lived in. Describe one "current event" that Enheduana wrote about.
Enheduana wrote an exciting piece on her own father, Sargon. At one point the city states which he reigned had unites and taken in revolt against him and exiled Innana, the godess, from her temples. Finally Sargon broke the siege, beat the rebels and made Innana powerful and worshipped once more.

From earliest times, people have changed their environments. How have people today changed their environment? Discuss both the good and the bad.

Humans have altered the environment piece after piece throughout history, and the first inventions and adaptations made in the ape-men could have lead to the problems and solutions to problems today. One of the first changes we made to our environments was fire. We burned wood, cooked our preys, made the nights bright, and had warmth whenever we needed it. Fire was good since humans had more time to share ideas, were healthier with cooked food, and were overall safer. However, a con to fire was that more wildfires occurred.

Another major change that we made was when we started domesticating plants and animals. We planted and harvested plants, and had more food. We controlled fields and had more food, and a more reliable and consistent diet. When we domesticated cattle we could take our meat with us, and control where it went, what it ate, what it did, and basically plan out their whole life. Domestication was heaven for humans. However, it also had negative sides. Humans had to clear fields and sow their seeds, which might eliminate other animals and creatures living there. By planting and harvesting food we might have caused extinction of species. Also, by keeping cattle we take away the animals’ freedom, and decide every minor fact in their life. Domestication and fire are two small examples of ways we have changed our environment in the earliest times- and these ways have been the beginning of ways we are changing it now.

Today we have robots working in factories, packaged food, overuse of lumber, extinction issues, oil spills, pollution, electricity, and many things we wouldn’t even dream of having 4,000 years ago. You’d probably say that all of these are benefits of the human race, and that these are all good things to make our lives easier. However, all of these “benefits” to the human race have harmful consequences, and destructive effects on the environment. All our trash that we eat ends up in landfills taking up green land that would otherwise be the homes of thousands of animals. All the trees we chop down to make furniture and firewood also destroy animal species’ natural habitats. With all our killing of species for furs, bones, teeth, and even liquids inside bodies we are causing extinction. All our cars, airplanes, helicopters, boats and motorcycles use fuel to work- fuel that then goes into the atmosphere and breaks down the ozone layer. All of these things have two sides- they are helpful to man, but harmful to the environment. Now, scientists are finding solutions and we have started recycling, taking better care of our environment, notifying everyone and making less waste. However, we are still controlling, changing and effecting our environments, something that we started to do many thousand years ago.

Why is Catal Huyuk an important archaeological find?

This very second a very important dig site is being exposed close to the city of Konya. Archaeologists are digging up the greatest Neolithic town in the Middle East of 6500BC, Catal Huyuk. Piece by piece, we are finding out what life was like 9000 years and one of the biggest steps for the human race, from hunter- gathering to early farming. The city covered 32 acres of land, which is the size of two football fields. So far, we know that Catal Huyuk was the biggest trade center in the Middle East. The people made crafts that were wanted by other neighboring villages. They used bone to make hairpins, needles, fish hooks, and beads, and wood to make bowls and advanced boxes with lids. The people also had excellent crops and fertile lands, so they had plenty of surpluses to trade. The main crop was grain. Because of the fear of dry seasons and droughts the people would sow their crops right after floods. In this way, the grounds would be fertile and moist, and perfect for farming. They also traded an unusual glass called obsidian. Obsidian is a dark, shiny mineral that can be found after a volcanic eruption when lava cools fast. The villagers would travel 120 miles to collect obsidian, and would then transport it with their cattle back. From this fantastic mineral they made various tools, mirrors and arrowheads. The edge of obsidian was very sharp, so perfect for cutting. The Catal Huyuk people also domesticated cattle. They protected it by hunting wolves, bears and deer, which hides gave them clothing to wear. Citizens of the city lived in small mud-brick houses. They were all roughly the same size. A house would contain two rooms. The first room was for the surplus food and for storage, for any extra food the family might own or goods it might trade. The second room was larger and contained the actual living quarters. It had a kitchen, a hearth and built in furniture. Archaeologists believe that dead relatives were buried underneath the floorboards of the houses. Every house also had a hole in the ceiling with a ladder through so that the people could go outside. The smoke from the fires made in the hearths would go outside from the same hole. You might be wondering why they had holes in the ceilings to go outside, and why they couldn’t just have doors. If the people had had doors in their houses, they would have just been walking in in another person’s house. In Catal Huyuk there were no streets, alleys, or passageways of any kind. There was only the city and the fields. To get to the other side of the city you would have to climb on top of another person’s house, and travel on flat rooftops. However, not all the rooftops were at the same level. This meant that ladders were needed. Archaeologists believe that the ladders were the reason behind all the broken bones that were found. Some houses were special and had religious meaning, like the shrines. The shrines were no larger than the houses. However, they had fancier furniture, statues, benches, and paintings. From these paintings scientists have been able to get a better view about the lifestyle at that time. These shrines were what made the city of Catal Huyuk become the religious center of the region. All of the following – the trade, the craft making, the sowing and farming, minerals like obsidian, the domesticated cattle, the shrines- all lead to the town of Catal Huyuk becoming the biggest town in the Middle East. With discovering and unearthing this miraculous city we can find out more about life 9000 years ago. Going from hunter-gathering to early farming was a huge step for the human race, and the City of Catal Huyuk displayed a great picture of the human race making this major transition.