If there is no special interest and special reading in ancient West Asia，General readers’ impression Bet365 app download Sumerians is nothing more than three words: Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia)、Cuneiform、The Epic of Gilgamesh。The simple combination of "Sumerians" and "Mesopotamia" appears in many historical narratives，The Sumerians were gradually symbolized as representatives Bet365 app download two river basins，Becoming a stereotype。For historical research，This kind of stereotype and symbolization will undoubtedly simplify the relationship between the Sumerians and the Mesopotamia，Oversimplification means misrepresentation to a large extent。

　　Reconstructing the history Bet365 app download beginning of Sumerian civilization

British archaeologist Leonard Woolley intends to break this stereotyped research in "Sumerian" (Shanghai Joint Publishing House, March 2021 edition)。The whole book is formed through the aquatic and land environment Bet365 app download two river basins、Reappearance of change，Shows how the land in the two river basins was formed，Point out its connection to the uniqueness Bet365 app download people who live here - "The fertile land potentially attracts residents to move in"，And this is inevitable，It’s just that the residents won’t arrive at the same time，But gradually move in as the environment changes，And they came from all the shores Bet365 app download ancient gulf，Not from the same region"。As an attractive immigration area，Geographical characteristics determine to a certain extent that the residents of this area have complex ethnic composition，The Sumerians were “the latest of all immigrants”。The author draws from Sumerian gods and legends、Similarities between Sumerian and Indian Civilizations、Clues provided by the painted pottery and other cultural relics excavated in Eridu and other places，Proved the view that "human beings seem to have originally existed in the two river basins"。

Where did the Sumerians come from？The book gives several possible explanations，Each has its own rationality，But if you want to make a conclusion，There may be more historical data to come。The more basic question that arises is: Who are the Sumerians？The difficulty with this question is how to define the Sumerians。The author describes it as a race，But no more inking。And for this question，There are many differences in the academic community。Some scholars advocate that "strictly speaking，The accurate explanation Bet365 app download name ‘Sumerian’ should be: ‘people who speak Sumerian’”。But this explanation does not completely solve the problem，Further exploration needs to be combined with linguistic and archaeological data (Sumerian itself is also a very complex concept)。Some scholars also believe that，The Sumerians may be a mixture of many ethnic groups。Combining the Creation Epic with Babylonian accounts and archeology Bet365 app download sites Bet365 app download original inhabitants，The author attempts to reconstruct the history Bet365 app download beginning of Sumerian civilization。Although based on much uncertain evidence，There is a lot of room for discussion，But it is a useful attempt。

　　Clear the fog of Bet365 app download

There are some difficulties in the history Bet365 app download Sumerians that are difficult to solve and cannot be bypassed。On the one hand，The ethnic composition Bet365 app download region is complex、Many city-states，International exchanges、Conflict、Integrated and intertwined，There are occasional scuffles between city-states，Sometimes surrender to the overlord。This has caused the complexity Bet365 app download history Bet365 app download two river basins，The Sumerians are a part of this history。Because of complexity、Many involvements，It’s more difficult to find one end，Historians need to be able to understand everything，You must also have a meticulous vision。On the other hand，Although there are some written records Bet365 app download history Bet365 app download Mesopotamia and Mesopotamia，There are also many ruins、Tombs and unearthed cultural relics，However war、Plunder、Destruction、The destruction caused a large amount of precious historical materials to be buried in the dust of history。Compared to the complexity of this history，Existing materials are still relatively limited。

Written materials recording the early history of Sumer，Mainly derived from the Sumerian King List、Legendary story、Oracle Document、Royal inscription and king’s name。For the macro historical time and space Bet365 app download early Sumerian civilization，The Sumerian King List is undoubtedly very important。Pointed out in the book，You need to pay attention to some key issues when using Wangbiao: First，The recorded time in the King’s Biao seems to be continuous，But in fact, the reigns of many kings overlapped，There are also many kings who are not included in the chronology，Therefore the chronology reflects by no means everything、Accurate history，The choice of one or the other is governed by a certain concept。Secondly，Wang Biao’s weird count of reign time，Maybe due to confusion between different symbol systems，It may also be that some astronomical theory system is at work。Again，Since it was not uncommon at that time for kings to be deified，Therefore, the names of many kings will appear in myths and legends，The boundaries between fiction and reality are becoming more blurred。Because of this，As an archaeologist, the author has rich and bold use and interpretation of archaeological materials，The citation of written materials appears to be quite cautious。For example，To illustrate that the civilization during the First Dynasty of Ur was not closed、Regional，And has a vast trade network，The author is cautious about inferences drawn from the king list，Focus on the analysis Bet365 app download cultural relics unearthed from the Ur site，Point out that almost all of its raw materials are imported，This proves the far expansion of Sumerian culture。When restoring the Sumerian military organization，The author conducts detailed image analysis on three important cultural relics，Revealing the arming and organization Bet365 app download Sumerian army and its evolution。However, the author remains cautious about written materials，But it’s not completely unnecessary，But try to use it just right。For example, the section describing the destruction of Lagash，Quoting a dirge written by a priest or scribe of Lagash。From the perspective of historical narrative，This quotation not only proves the authenticity of history，It also enhances the sense of imminent disaster，Presenting the vividness and weight of history。In addition，The author is always sensitive to the linguistic factors in historical documents，For example, the names of officials believed to have Semitic characteristics appear more frequently，Possibly reflects the importance of Semites or the strong involvement of Semitic elements in cultural change。

　　Show the texture of Bet365 app download

A civilization with only outlines is not vivid。The author starts from the law in Chapter 4、Property、Marriage and family relations、Social class、Religion and life、Ideology and other aspects present the microstructure and life picture of Sumerian society，Shows the texture of Sumerian civilization，Make historical narrative more three-dimensional and vivid。For example，In discussing the legal institutions of Sumerian society，Introduced an official named Mashkim，He is responsible for accepting the plaintiff’s first litigation application in legal cases。However, he is not a judge in the strict sense，But an arbitrator，Committed to before embarking on legal proceedings，Attempt to resolve the disputes between the parties through mediation。In the time Bet365 app download Sumerians，There is such an invention，It’s really an amazing thing。Also，The temple is a mysterious and solemn place in people’s minds，This is true to some extent。But the author shows us another side Bet365 app download temple: the priestesses served as prostitutes，They have many children，But I don’t know his father，You can marry a secular husband but you cannot have children for him。Nevertheless，They may still be respected by people (lower-level priestesses may not)。The resulting large number of children who do not know their father has become a social problem，Contributing to the widespread adoption of children，The law has to set up provisions to protect and regulate the rights of adopted children and their relationship with adoptive parents。In addition，The temple is an important political tool to maintain the king’s power、A place to educate and train professional scribes，It is also a gathering place of social wealth，In times of war, it even became the last fortress against enemies due to its terrain and its solid buildings。In Chapter 5，Through the excavation Bet365 app download temple tower site，The author further restored the life in the temple，The temple not only collects taxes、Read the verdict、Practice medicine，The clergy are also responsible for taking care Bet365 app download daily affairs Bet365 app download king's palace。

Saving the glorious civilization created by the Sumerians from the abyss of oblivion is only the first step。At the end Bet365 app download book，The author writes: "The biggest problem now is not to recognize the truth，But to assess the importance Bet365 app download Sumerians，This is what we modern people owe to the Sumerians。”Whether it’s in construction technology、Plastic Art、Ideology or legal field，The influence Bet365 app download Sumerians on later civilizations can be traced。As Leonard Woolley said，“Sumerian civilization illuminated a world stagnant in primitive barbarism，Have the merit of pioneering”。Understand and restore this great ancient civilization，Destined to be a work of great significance and value to human civilization。

　For a long time，Historians have a mission of seeking truth and truth，Unswerving pursuit of objectivity，In Bet365 app download process, we inevitably resort to framing narratives。Bet365 app download approach even potentially affects the thinking of historians，Reducing the processing of historical materials to mechanical processing，Reducing history into materials that can be filled into its historical narrative framework，Finally built an expressionless historical machine，The grand significance of historical progress。The historical narrative of "Sumerian" reminds us to rethink，Why do historians return to old paper piles (clay tablets) and wilderness，To discover the thousand-year-old traces hidden under the yellow sand？Maybe，Bet365 app download is precisely because of human beings’ persistent exploration and deep feelings for their own roots。In the final analysis，Everything is for "people"。The absence of “people” caused by mechanized historical narrative is undoubtedly a tragedy。Although historians have the mission to remain objective，But absolute objectivity does not exist，And rational clarity and emotional accumulation are not naturally contradictory，Perhaps words that contain historians’ emotions can have stronger vitality，Bet365 app download is also the key to giving warmth and charm to historical narratives。

　(Author’s unit: Department of Bet365 app download, East China Normal University)