In the deepest archaeological levels of cities in Mesopotamia, and in the lowest levels of ancient temples, such as of that Eridu, archaeologists have uncovered material remains of a culture they've named "Ubaidian," for Tel al'Ubaid, near the city of Ur. Included in these was a distinctive pottery that worked its way around much of ancient Mesopotamia so thoroughly its often used as an indication of an Ubaid "horizon." The tel was first investigated by H. R Hall around 1920. Later in the decade, when C. Leonard Woolley uncovered the royal graves at Ur, he found some of the greenish-clay pottery Hall had found at the tel, though these pieces were far outshone by the spectacular grave goods from Ur.
The Ubaid culture is generally assigned the time period 5000-4000 BCE. It is not known who the Ubaidians were, nor what language they spoke, as they have left no written record. Woolley thought they may have been a Semitic people and pointed out that in later times, wave after wave of semi-nomadic Semites worked their way into Mesopotamia, either peacefully or by force of arms. Woolley thought they were original Semite settlers, who were then invaded by the Sumerians. The origin of the Sumerians themselves is still unknown, but because their language was an agglutinative one, which Samuel Noah Kramer sees as bearing some resemblance to Ural-Altaic languages, it has been thought that they came from central Asia, perhaps from around the Caspian Sea.
Kramer did not believe the Ubadians were necessarily Semites, though he believed they were invaded and influenced by Semitic peoples. Citing the work of Benno Landsberger, he points out that many Sumerian words do not appear to be of Sumerian origin. According to him, even the Sumerian words for Tigris and Eurphates--idiglat and buranun respectively--appear to be borrowed. He adds that many Sumerian city names do not appear to be Sumerian, nor do words involving technology (e.g., apin for plow) and echoes Landesberger's conclusion that the Sumerians picked these words up from people who were already there. Kramer believed that the Sumerians invaded the Semitic-influenced Ubaidians. Nicholas Postgate, however, dismisses all this with the single phrase, saying that the findings based on such linguistic evidence "have not achieved general acceptance." Postgate seems to favor a position that the Sumerians were already there, or at least did not invade Mesopotamia in any time marked by the archaeological record. He does not state that the Ubaidians were ancestors of the Sumerians or spoke Sumerian, which cannot be known at this point.
Stamp seals and sealed envelopes have been found at various Ubaid-culture sites, precursors to writing perhaps, but the Ubaidians had no system of writing. Earlier flint sickles were replaced by clay sickles, which, though more fragile, were also cheaper to replace, with the material in abundant supply. They also built simple boats. An Ubaid site at Yarim Tepe in Northern Iraq yielded several hundred grindstones and grinders in a single room, which Postgate believes were manufactured to be traded for other goods.
It was during the Ubaid period that a tournette was devised which made pottery easier to manufacture and paint. Hans J. Nissen says that after this, pottery found throughout much of Mesopotamia became much more uniform, conforming to Ubaid style with its monochrome black painting. He refer to this as the Ubaid horizon. Daniel Snell states that it is the most widely spread style known, reaching from the plain into what is now Syria. Lacking bearings, the tournette is not considered a "true" potters' wheel, as it keeps going only as long as a human moves it. The invention of the true potters' wheel came at the end of the Ubaid period and helped usher in the Uruk period of pottery and culture. Snell and Nissen both believe that within this period a division of labor and a professionalism evolved.
Woolley uncovered a temple dedicated to Ninhursag at al'Ubaid, dating from the later period Early Dynastic period, with a dedication inscription in Sumerian from one A-anni-padda, king of Ur and son of Mes-anni-padda, king of Ur. According to the Sumerian king lists, they are from the First Dynasty of Ur (late 4th-early 3rd millennium BCE), the third dynasty listed coming after the flood. This, Woolley states, points to the king lists, despite assigning some kings reigns of superhuman length (A-anni-padda and Mes-anni-padda are given long but human terms), as having a basis in history rather simply legend. Pictures of friezes, and a reconstruction of the temple in its final stage are in Woolley's book "The Sumerians." Postgate says that al'Ubaid, and other archaic sites were remembered into the historic periods as holy places long after they were abandoned.
The title of this article is taken from Wolkstein and Kramer's translation of "The Huluppu Tree," which talks about some of the earliest doings of the goddess Inanna. Like Inanna planting her huluppu tree, the Ubaidian culture rose just before the dawn of writing.
Some artifacts from Ubaid sites and other sites in ancient Mesopotamia can be found here.
Reconstruction of Al'Ubaid Temple Facade c. 3000-2340 BCE from Slides of Mesopotamia from the Metropolitan Museum of New York.
Works referenced:
Fagan, Brian; Time Detectives
Kramer, Samuel Noah; The Sumerians: Their History, Culture and Character
Nissen, Hans J.; The Early History of the Ancient Near East
Postgate, J.N; Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History
Snell, Daniel; Life in the Ancient Near East
Wolkstein, Diane and Kramer, Samuel Noah; Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth
Woolley, C. Leonard; The Sumerians
