27: Cities during the Jemdet Nasr period (Lugalbanda, part 2)

Guest: Kelten

(I just finished re-recording episodes 1-10, so there's never been a better time to check them out!)

First, we continue the story of Lugalbanda as he leaves his mountain cave. After he submits to the country of oppression, Zangara, the god of dreams, asks him for a space knife and goats of varying quality.

Then, we start episode 1 of 2 on the Jemdet Nasr period (3100-2900 BCE), bridging the gap between prehistory and the beginning of recorded history. The collapse of the Uruk colonial network heralds massive cultural and demographic upheaval across the Near East, and the Mesopotamian alluvium isn't exempt.

Then, we visit a handful of cities: the eponymous Jemdet Nasr, in the north, with the second-most texts from this period; Unug (with the most texts), whose patron goddess Inanna has already begun to take on her association with the planet Venus; and Ur, Kish, Shuruppak, and Tell Uqair.

Then, we take a look at the advancements made in cuneiform writing during this period. It turns out math with fractions is exactly five thousand years old!

Then, we examine the potential evidence for a league of cities— that is, a single political entity comprising several different city-states, seven hundred years before the conquests of Sargon of Akkad. If there was such an organization, it seems to have included Unug, Ur, Nippur (in the central alluvium), and possibly Eridu, among others.

Finally, we begin the story of Lugalbanda and Anzu. Still lost in the distant mountains, Lugalbanda sets out to ask Anzu (the mythical bird guarding the mountains at the edge of the world) for directions. Stay tuned for part three!

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