Revisiting the Sealands: Report of Preliminary Ground Reconnaissance in the Hammar District, Dhi Qar and Basra Governorates, Iraq

Abstract

The flourit of early Sumerian civilization in southern Iraq marked a degree of economic differentiation, sociopolitical complexity, and urbanization previously unseen in the ancient world. This article reports the results of recent geo-archaeological investigation of three complementary resources in southern Mesopotamia that are thought to have offered an ecological advantage, thus laying the economic foundations for these developments: (1) expansive irrigable plains; (2) vast pasture lands; and (3) the littoral resources of levee back swamps/deltaic marshes. Focusing on the area of the Hawr al-Hammar marshes, the authors conducted preliminary archaeological, geological and landscape investigation over the course of 18 days in the autumn of 2010, funded by a U.S. National Science Foundation High Risk Research in Physical Anthropology and Archaeology grant.

The unconquerable country: the Babylonian marshes in the Neo-Assyrian sources

“…21-31). 23 Hritz et al (2012) and Pournelle and Algaze (2004 by a rich biodiversity, providing a great variety of resources to people living there and a habitat for plants, fish, birds, and wildlife. 25 This ecosystem was severely destroyed in the 1980s during the Iraq-Iran war, but it was in the 1990s when it almost disappeared as a result of systematic desiccation.…”

Effects of mesopotamian marsh (iraq) desiccation on the cultural knowledge and livelihood of marsh arab women

“…In this turbulent environment, descendants of one of the oldest civilizations continue their struggle to survive and maintain their culture. This geographic area has been inhabited by the ancient Sumerian and Akkadian agricultural communities from 4000 to 6000 BCE (Ochsenschlager 2004, Hritz et al 2012). Until recently the Marshes supported the traditional lifestyles of approximately 500 000 indigenous people-the Marsh Arabs.…”

“…handicrafts, wildlife and water buffalo forage were plentiful. Reeds were used for water buffalo fodder, house and mudhif construction, sun shades, winnowing trays, and reed mats; and young, tender reeds were enjoyed as a snack (Hritz et al 2012). Historically, handicrafts made of reeds were a significant part of the Marsh Arab lifestyle and economy (Kubba 2011).…”

“…The long‐term resiliency of the southern Mesopotamian landscape provided abundant resources to humans since the time of the Ubaid‐Sumerian culture (4000–6000 BCE) (Pournelle and Algaze , Hritz et al. ). The indigenous people of the Marshes, the Marsh Arabs, have practiced sustainable traditional resource management for thousands of years, developing an iconic way of life that ties them intimately to their wetland landscape (Salim ).…”

“…This geographic area has been inhabited by the ancient Sumerian and Akkadian agricultural communities from 4000 to 6000 BCE (Ochsenschlager , Hritz et al. ). Until recently the Marshes supported the traditional lifestyles of approximately 500 000 indigenous people—the Marsh Arabs.…”