The civilizations around the world offer both written

records and the material remains of those

societies .Sources can be classified into two category.
literary sources. Archaeological sourin
Literary sources include all text -long or
short ,written or oral Eg.epics,biography, records;
Archaeological sources include all tangible material
remain Such as pottery ,Sculpture , monuments
Ornaments ,grave or cementeries seals bones etc.
These Sources helps in understanding of world
civilisations religion, Social life, economy, politics etc.
for example the Harappan civilization or the Indus
Valley civilization..
The script evolved by the Sumerians is known as the
cuneiform
Script Clay tablets were used for writing. Impressions
were made on these tablets with a hard pointed device
(stylus). The clay tablets were then dried in the sun or
baked in an oven. This gave permanent shape to the
document. The earliest such tablets were of the nature
of temple accounts and ration lists.
With written records we can fill in some of the details.
Of political history. We are fortunate to possess
detailed 'King Lists' which give an account of the main
dynasties of ancient
Mesopotamia. These lists are useful for working out
the chronology of political events. Another useful
source is the epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh, the hero of
the epic, was a ruler of
Uruk. His heroic exploits became the subject of many
legends. In these legends Gilgamesh was depicted as
partly human and partly divine . This epic, the earliest
of its kind, is an outstanding example of
Mesopotamian literature and has come down to us
more or less in its entirety. Apart from its great
literary value it is rich in details about contemporary
society and religion.

The Minoans had developed writing, mainly for the purpose of

maintaining lists of goods. Initially their symbols were modified
pictures. They then evolved a script which has been named
'Linear A'. We do not uknow the language of the Linear A script.
This script remains undeciphered, but the surviving records are
probably related to trade and exchange. Another script was also
in use in Crete. This third script is called 'Linear B'. This has been
found mainly on tablets of unbaked clay. At some point of time
the 'Linear B' script was transferred to an early form of Greek.
Many of the objects were discovered at Harappa and
other large cities. Rectangular copper tablets with
writing and animal motifs were found at
Mohenjodaro, while a few tablets with raised writing
were found at Harappa The evidence of writing on
pottery suggests a wider use in craft production and
economic transactions. The Dholavira ‘signboard’ may
or may not indicate a high level of urban literacy, but
it does indicate a civic use of writing. Some of the
writing inscribed or painted on personal possessions
such as bangles, tools, beads, and bone rods may have
had some sort of magicoreligious or ritualistic
significance. Writing also appears on miniature tablets
made of steatite, terracotta, and faience

the proximity to Euphrates and Tigris had promoted

intra-regional trade in Mesopotamia. The literary
sources inform that centralized agencies organized the
exchange of grain, fishes, and animals. Besides this,
there were separate administrative officers appointed
to look after the canals for transportation of goods.
Evidences suggest existence of long-distance trade as
well, which was organized by the temples and later
palaces. Sumer lacked certain raw materials such as
copper, precious stones, building material, which were
essential for the sumerians to engage in craft
specialization

ARCHEOLOGICAL SOURCES

(1)Sculpture- The Stone Sculpture of Priest King, it

has a hair ornament & a styled beared I wored a shawl
or a cloak which is not plain but rather
embroided .Traces of cotton have been found for
example Cotton thread rolled around Copper mirror.
The dancing girl, which was named by John
Marshall She is a thin and naked girl with 20-31
bangles on her one arm & holding something this arm
and 2nd arm aresting on her waist. Many beads were
discovered made up of Various material such as
carnelian, lapis lazuli, Jasper, gold etc

[2]-Teracotta and SEALS-

In Harappa numerous teracotta figurines of women
haur been found. In one figurine, a plant is embryo of
a women. The Imag of the Earth and was! of 1 do
shown growing out aster by represents! the goddes
probable Treimage! connected with the origin &
•growth of the plants. Therefore, the Harappan looked
upon the as a goddess and worshipped her. The male
Earth as a delty is represented on the seal. This bod
has 3 horned heads, bis représented in the sitting
posture of leg place'd above the a yogi, with one is god
is surrounded by other. This god arhinocerous and
below his throne and at his 2 deer. The god so depicted
represented here but the by an elephot there's a
buffalo them are one- the humped bult. Therefore the
Harappan the form of trees, animals and human
beings. Next in impis worshipped gods in but the gods
were not placed in temples. Hot fanwe can not 5 say
about the religious - able to read their beliefs of the
Harappans without being script. Amulets Amulets
have been found in large no.." 5 in all probability, the
Harappans believed that ghosts were capable of
against them. Sevil forces harning them and therefore,
they used amulets - A seal found at monen shows. a
row of 87 figures with Long braids standing in front of
a pipal tree horned there may of the nay be connection
seven rishi with & later traditions. or seven mother. A
fire altar from kallbangan rituals. -Yos
is identified as Pasupati Mahadeva but the
identification is doubtful be the bull is not figure in
other ancient fedentification and horned gods also
civilizations. d trees the os Indus also worshipped trees
The go people of piction of a намарра deity is
presented on a seal amidst branches of the pipal,
Animals repre were also worshipped in represented on
seals. Harappan timer & many of t the most imp. of
them is the horned

Harappan seals were discovered from mohenjodaro

from this we got to know about there was trade
relation between mohenjodaro and Harappa.

Monuments-
The large collection of religious texts found at
the Nippur library give us fairly comprehensive
information about Sumerian religion. The city of
Nippur emerged as the religious centre of uni-fied
Sumeria.
Great bath in mohenjodaro, water tankfound in
mohenjodaro, granary in Harappa nd mohenjodaro
and kalibangaan
Mesopotamian temples mere vital to religious and
civic life, reflecting the civilization's deep connection
to dieties, Prominent Ziggurats, ters terraced
pyramid- like structures, derved as temple platforms
Etemenanki, in Babylon is notable. These temples
dedicated to gods like Enlil and Manduk, featured
intricate architecture and symbolic artwork Temples
also housed administrative function displaying the
religion and goverance in harappan society whereas in
harrapan no temples were found.
[3] INSCRIPTION- Many inscriptions were placed in
temples. One such inscription was placed at the temple
of Shamash in the
city of Sippar. The Susa inscription is the most well
known of all the copies of Hammurabi's code.
Hammurabi's code give evidence at a time when
Mesopotamian society had undergone substantial
transformation. Hammurabi's code of law is not really
a legal code in the sense of a comprehensive,
systematic arrangement of all the laws governing
Mesopotamian society. The code confirms the
existence of a highly stratified society. This was a class
society with separate provisions in
the code for various classes. The code recognizes three
main classes: wardu, mushkenu and awelu. Wardu was
the term used for slaves. there were both male and
female slaves in Mesopotamia.The first slaves were
women. The wardu had distinctive marks on their
bodies. This made it difficult for them to run away. In
Hammurabi's code the penalty for helping a slave to
escape was death. Slave owners had absolute power
over their slaves. If a person caused harm to another
person's slave
the penalty was the same as that for damaging
property. The awelu were the uppermost stratum of
society. Leonard Woolley regards them as the nobility.
The awelu included priests, nobles, military
leaders, warriors, scribes. The mushkenu did not enjoy
certain rights. They could not hold public office and
were usually not allowed to possess weapons. Their
right to property was limited. They
were tenants rather than landowners. The mushkenu
stood much lower than the awelu in the social
hierarchy of Mesopotamia. Yet they were free, unlike
the wardu.

[4]-graves
[5]-ornaments- In Mesopotamia nd harrapa various
ornaments showcased the; civilization's. Jeuxley like
necklaces, bracelets and earrings. fashioned from gold,
silver and precious stone symbolizing wealth and
status Diaderms Cyclindrical
[6]- Artifacts: seals, opton made to tone or clay, werke
intricately engraved and used for malking overnership
or olat document.. and hairpin adorned havestyles.
Bead neckbresj made from materials life terracotta,
shell and simi-precious stones. These ornaments. not
only served decorative purposes but also conveyed
social and religious meanings, providing us ghts. "into
the intricate cultural tapestry
Pottery: The pottery of the Harappa civilization, part
of the larger gendus valley civilization, displayed
remarkable craftsmanship and utilitarian design
wheel made and Kiln-fired, Harappan pottery
featured distinctive red and black colours. Intricate
geomatic pattose, including circles and spikale. The
fine quality! of the pottery suggests a well-developed

ceramic technology Harappan pottery is notable for its

uniformity indicating centralized production and
trade Mesopotamian pottery was a crucial aspect of
daily life and cuttore, wheel-threon