The Sumerians

            
             The Sumerians, the active and gifted people who preceded the Semites in the land first known as Sumer, and later as Babylonia, created what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man, spanning the fifth to the second millenniums B.C. This book is an unparalleled collection of what is know about them.
             Samuel Kramer's intension, which the book admirably serves, is to provide a comprehensive introduction of the history and culture of Sumer, while avoiding the usual gloss and superficiality that sometimes accompanies similar text. This book can also serve as companion to Kramer's very popular, History Begins at Sumer, by providing the political and economic background necessary to fully appreciate the contributions of that civilization to our modern world. In contrast to The Sumerians, Kramer's From the Tablets of Sumer, didn't treat the political history of the Sumerian people or the nature of their social and economic institutions. (Kramer, preface).
             Citing the work of Benno Landsberger, he points out that many Sumerian words do not appear to be of Sumerian origin, not even the Sumerian word for Tigris and Euphrates ---idiglat and buranun, respectively. He adds that many Sumerian cities names do not appear of Sumerian nor words involving technology, (e.g. apin for plow). Echoing Landsberger's conclusion that the Sumerians picked these words up from people who were already there. Nicholas Postgate, however, dismisses all this with the single phrase, saying that the findings based on such linguistic evidence "have not achieved general acceptance." (126) He seems to favor a position that the Sumerians were there, or at least did not invade Mesopotamia in anytime marked by the archaeological records. Kramer disagrees with the description that picture the economy as dominated by the temple and instead argues that it was "cultivable free and that private property was the rule rather than exception.