how the first cities of Mesopotamia began, and who came to rule them

Sources and credits for imagery used in this film, including material incorporated into explanatory animations.

• Proto-cuneiform tablet: administrative account of barley distribution with seal impressions

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Gift, 1988.

• Disk of Enheduanna

  Mefman00

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Enheduanna, detail of her disk

  Mefman00

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Detail extracted from the disk photograph; resized for video.

• Statue of Gudea

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1959.

• Victory stele of Naram-Sin, Musée du Louvre

  Shonagon

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Cropped to the king wearing his horned crown.

• Ziggurat of Ur, 2005

  Hardnfast

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 3.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Administrative account of barley and emmer

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Purchase, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Gift, 1988.

• Administrative account of malt and barley groats

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Purchase, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Gift, 1988.

• Headdress from Ur

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Dodge Fund, 1933.

• Necklace from Ur

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Dodge Fund, 1933.

• Ram in a Thicket, Penn Museum

  Benjamin82877

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Inscribed brick

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Rogers Fund, 1959.

• Necklace beads from Ur

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Dodge Fund, 1933.

• Stele of the Vultures, enhanced composite

  Kikuyu3 (background); Eric Gaba / Sting (elements); पाटलिपुत्र (composite)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Cropped to Ningirsu and the net of captives; resized for video. Original composite combines photographs of the stele and its historical and mythological sides.

• Stele of the Vultures, war side: historical plate

  Ernest de Sarzec

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Cropped to the upper register of soldiers; resized for video.

  From Découvertes en Chaldée, published in 1886.

• Carnelian bead

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Rogers Fund, 1959.

• Tell Brak

  Zoeperkoe

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Ziggurat at Eridu

  David Stanley

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Laws of Ur-Namma tablet, Istanbul Archaeology Museums

  Oncenawhile

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Cropped to the tablet, excluding the museum label; resized for video.

• Foundation figure of Ur-Namma carrying a basket

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Gift of Mrs. William H. Moore, 1947.

• Foundation figure of Shulgi carrying a basket

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Rogers Fund, 1959.

• Queen Puabi's gold headdress and jewellery, Royal Cemetery of Ur

  Mary Harrsch

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0

• White Temple ziggurat at Uruk

  tobeytravels

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

  Source photograph detail; resized and reframed for video.

• Tablet recording rations for messengers

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Gift of Archbishop Elias F. Shaheen, 1985.

• Clay accounting envelope, Louvre Sb 1932

  Marie-Lan Nguyen

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Uruk archaeological site at Warka

  SAC Andy Holmes (RAF)/MOD

  View original source ↗Source licence: Open Government Licence v1.0

  Extracted photograph detail; resized and reframed for video.

  Photo: SAC Andy Holmes (RAF)/MOD

• Late Uruk seal impression: temple facade

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Cropped to the temple facade, excluding the figures; resized for video.

• Uruk Trough

  Gary Todd

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Source photograph detail; resized and reframed for video.

• Cylinder seal: goddess leading a worshipper

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1988.

• Silver lyre, PG 1237, Royal Cemetery of Ur

  Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  The source image was extracted from another file; converted from JPEG to PNG for production.

• Ur III tablet IM 204458, Figure 6

  Abather Rahi Saadoon, Noemi Borrelli and Maurizio Viano / Iraq Museum

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Tablet photographs extracted from Figure 6; caption and surrounding page removed; cropped and resized for video.

  Saadoon, Borrelli and Viano, From the Collections of the Iraq Museum: New Ur III Tablets Primarily from the Umma Region, Iraq, 2026, Figure 6.

• Gold and carnelian beads from the Royal Cemetery of Ur

  Vassil

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Cropped to the whole-necklace panel of the composite; resized for video.

• Cuneiform account concerning bitumen

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Purchase, 1886.

• Harappan carnelian beads from Ur

  Zunkir

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Royal Akkadian head from Nineveh

  Hans Ollermann

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Warka Vase, upper register

  Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Source has a retouched background. Cropped to the upper register of offerings and reed-bundle posts; resized for video.

• Ubaid bowl

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Gift of Theodore M. Davis, by exchange, 1949.

• Standard of Ur, peace side

  Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Cropped to the middle register of people leading livestock; resized for video.

• Lapis lazuli cylinder seal from Ur

  Mary Harrsch

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Standard of Ur, peace side: lower-register detail

  LeastCommonAncestor

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Standard of Ur, peace side: upper-register detail

  LeastCommonAncestor

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Stamp seal and impression: horned animal and bird

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Bequest of Lester Wolfe, 1983.

• Tell al-Hiba, ancient Lagash

  David Stanley

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Painted bowl fragment

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Purchase, Colt Archaeological Institute Inc. Gift, 1983.

• Inscribed stone tablet of Entemena

  Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Proto-cuneiform tablet OIM A12259

  Daderot (original photograph); Zunkir (derivative)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Source is a detail from the accounting display photograph; resized and reframed for video.

• Numerical and proto-cuneiform tablets

  Daderot (original photograph); Zunkir (derivative)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Source is a detail from the accounting display photograph; resized and reframed for video.

• Stamp seal and impression: geometric pattern

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1986.

• Stele of Ur-Namma, front and back

  Onceinawhile

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Extracted photograph details; resized and reframed for video.

• Stele of Ur-Namma: king and god

  Onceinawhile

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Source photograph detail; resized and reframed for video.

• Diorite victory stele of Sargon

  Gary Todd

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Cropped to the stele, excluding the visitor at the left edge; resized for video.

• Bevelled-rim bowl

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Rogers Fund, 1962.

• Sargon and dignitaries on his victory stele

  ALFGRN

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

  Source assembles two views of Sargon's victory stele; resized and reframed for video.

• Clay accounting counters from Girsu

  Zunkir

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Eye idol

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Gift of The Institute of Archaeology, The University of London, 1951.

• Cone-mosaic temple wall from Uruk

  Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Cone mosaics from the Eanna district of Uruk

  Dosseman

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Cuneiform tablet recording copper knives

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Rogers Fund, 1962.

• Standing female figure

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  Rogers Fund and Gifts of Lucy W. Drexel, Theodore M. Davis, Helen Miller Gould, Albert Gallatin, Egypt Exploration Fund and Egyptian Research Account, by exchange, 1950.

• Bearded male worshipper from Tell Asmar

  Daderot

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Sumerian King List, Ashmolean Museum

  M.atkinsonross

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Inscribed cone fragment of Eannatum

  Marie-Lan Nguyen

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Ur III account from the reign of Amar-Suena

  Daderot (original photograph); Zunkir (derivative)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Source photograph detail; resized and reframed for video.

• Habuba Kabira exhibit, Berlin

  Miguel Hermoso Cuesta

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Reconstruction of Habuba Kabira

  Wolfgang Sauber

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Warka Mask, Iraq Museum

  Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Standard of Ur, war side

  LeastCommonAncestor

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Separate crops show the middle-register infantry and upper-register king with attendants; resized for video.

• Diadem of Body 36, Great Death Pit at Ur

  Zunkir

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Ornaments from the Great Death Pit

  Gary Todd

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  Cropped to the headdress, earrings and necklaces on the modern display form; resized for video.

• Proto-Elamite tablet from Susa

  Darafsh

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 3.0

  Cropped to exclude the display tag and most window reflections; resized for video.

• Behistun inscription and reliefs

  Hara1603 (photograph); Pataliputra! (derivative)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Source derivative of Bisotun Iran Relief Achamenid Period.JPG; resized and reframed for video.

• Lion Hunt Stele from Uruk

  Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed; a separate crop shows the lower hunting scene.

• Clay cone of Urukagina, Louvre AO 3149

  Poulpy

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Cropped to exclude the display number tag; resized for video.

• Raw lapis lazuli from Afghanistan

  Parent Géry

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Barley ration tablet from Girsu, British Museum 1906,0512.2

  The Trustees of the British Museum

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

  © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (object 1906,0512.2)

• Body 52 from Ur's Great Death Pit, Figure 3

  A. Baadsgaard (photograph)

  View original source ↗

  Photograph extracted from Figure 3; caption removed; cropped and resized for video.

  Photograph: A. Baadsgaard, in Baadsgaard, Monge, Cox & Zettler 2011, 'Human sacrifice and intentional corpse preservation in the Royal Cemetery of Ur', Antiquity 85: 27-42, Fig. 3.

• Excavated walls of Jericho

  Daniel Case

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Gold treasure from Varna

  Zde

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  Resized and reframed for video.

• Statue of Gudea, 3D model

  Cleveland Museum of Art

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Rendered as a turntable animation; excerpt edited into the film.

• The Sumerian King List, 3D model

  Ingmar Franz

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Rendered as a turntable animation; excerpt edited into the film.

• Cuneiform tablet: receipt of bronze

  Chester Beatty

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  3D model rendered as a turntable video by AgentHouse; excerpt used.

• Cylinder seal, 3D model

  Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

  Rendered as a turntable animation; excerpt edited into the film.

• Ziggurat of Ur

  Sgt. Kelly Longbine / DVIDS

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain (U.S. Government work)

  Extracted a close-up of the brick facing and bitumen joints; trimmed and edited into the film.

• Natural Earth 1:50m lakes

  Natural Earth

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Selected, projected and styled as lakes in original animated maps.

  Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

• Natural Earth 1:50m land

  Natural Earth

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Projected, simplified for display and styled as land and coastlines in original animated maps.

  Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

• Natural Earth 1:50m rivers and lake centre lines

  Natural Earth

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Selected modern river courses projected and styled in original animated maps.

  Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated to 0.025 degrees; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as regional hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, world subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Decimated to 0.1 degrees; rendered as world-map hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade with enhanced foothill relief and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia and Indus region subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint in successive original maps.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• GEBCO 2021 Grid, southwest Asia subset

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

  View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  Subset and decimated; rendered as hillshade and sea-depth tint.

  GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) GEBCO 2021 Grid (doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f)

• Holocene climate records and significant excursions, Supplementary Data 1

  Nicholas P. McKay, Darrell S. Kaufman, Stéphanie H. Arcusa, Hannah R. Kolus, David C. Edge, Michael P. Erb, Chris L. Hancock, Cody C. Routson, Maurycy Żarczyński, Leah P. Marshall, Georgia K. Roberts and Frank Telles

  View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  Record coordinates plotted in an original animated world map; records with significant dry excursions at 4200 BP highlighted. The source figure was not reproduced.

  McKay et al. (2024), The 4.2 ka event is not remarkable in the context of Holocene climate variability, Nature Communications 15, 6555, Supplementary Data 1.

Licensed stock footage used in this film, with each item’s creator and source page.

• arial view of Great Ziggurat of Ur one of Oldest temples in iraq 2050 BC

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• arial view of Great Ziggurat of Ur one of Oldest temples in iraq 2050 BC

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• arial view of Great Ziggurat of Ur one of Oldest temples in iraq 2050 BC

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• arial view of Great Ziggurat of Ur one of Oldest temples in iraq 2050 BC

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Drone shot The marshes of Iraq Mesopotamian Marshes

  enesyk

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Drone shot The marshes of Iraq Mesopotamian Marshes

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Aerial View of Lush Date Palm Tree Plantation

  BlackBoxGuild

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• Date Palm Fronds Frame the Sky in a Grove

  icetray

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Close Up of Golden Barley Ear Swaying in Sunset Field

  cavanimages

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Barley Field Swaying Gently at Golden Hour

  Kokhanchikov

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Hand Weaving Textile on Wooden Loom Close Up

  Renaud83

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• Herd of Sheep Moving Across Desert Landscape

  ronib1979

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Large Flock of Sheep Grazing in a Dusty Field at Sunset

  Pro-Stock

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Mud Brick Creation Using Traditional Methods in Field

  BlackBoxGuild

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Reeds Along Calm Waterway on a Sunny Day

  egunes_

  View on Envato Elements ↗

• Inside a Dark Cave with Stalactites and Stalagmites

  ProStockMediaHD

  View on Envato Elements ↗

Research references

Selected sources from the episode’s research and scientific figures.

1. ISAC OIS 13, historical background ↗
2. publisher excerpt ↗
3. DAI project ↗
4. Tell Brak's excavators ↗
5. Artefacts/DAI White Temple reconstruction account ↗
6. *Assignment of account type to proto-cuneiform economic texts* ↗
7. Met record ↗
8. British Museum's own account of ration tablet 1906,0512.2 ↗
9. Louvre AO 50 and joined fragments ↗
10. CDLI P431154, RIME 1.09.09.01 ↗
11. Penn Museum's own current headdress account ↗
12. Met Akkadian essay ↗
13. Sophus Helle's authorship discussion ↗
14. Louvre Sb 4 ↗
15. Curse of Agade, ETCSL 2.1.5 ↗
16. Object ↗
17. record ↗
18. 1997 preview ↗
19. BDTNS project ↗
20. Hamburg CSMC, updated 2024-12-16 ↗
21. doi:10.1017/irq.2026.10058 ↗
22. ETCSL 2.2.3, lines 1–55 ↗
23. Oracc entry, current citation 2024 ↗
24. doi:10.1186/s13059-026-04145-4 ↗
25. *Mathematics in Ancient Iraq*, publisher chapter excerpt, 2008 ↗
26. DOJ primary release ↗
27. French Ministry of Culture/Mosul Museum account ↗
28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-026-04145-4),17 ↗
29. Met writing essay ↗
30. Tell Brak Suburban Survey ↗
31. doi:10.15184/aqy.2021.117 ↗
32. Quenet ↗
33. Rayne et al. 2026 ↗
34. doi:10.15184/aqy.2024.189 ↗
35. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-50886-w ↗
36. doi:10.1029/2024PA004974 ↗
37. Background-retouched photo ↗
38. Penn-named photograph ↗
39. Enhanced composite ↗
40. Photo ↗
41. Disk photo ↗
42. MOD45156521 ↗
43. source page ↗
44. Side photo ↗
45. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Warka_vase_(background_retouched).jpg),2824×6632 ↗
46. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Penn_Museum_-_%22Ram_in_a_Thicket%22_.jpg),3510×5265 ↗
47. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stele_of_the_Vultures_in_the_Louvre_Museum_(enhanced_composite).jpg ↗
48. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Disk_of_Enheduanna.JPG),6000×4000 ↗
49. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uruk_Archaeological_site_at_Warka,_Iraq_MOD_45156521.jpg),3000×1993 ↗
50. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zig_from_side.JPG),3072×2304 ↗
51. Saitta publisher record ↗
52. Jotheri et al. 2025 ↗
53. Giosan and Goodman 2025 ↗
54. magnetometry team's account ↗
55. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103730 ↗
56. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.106022 ↗
57. 2026 European Archaeologist 87 field report ↗
58. doi:10.15184/aqy.2024.165 ↗
59. Oxford manuscript ↗
60. How to write cuneiform ↗
61. Cracking ancient codes ↗
62. 2023 season ↗
63. 2024 season ↗
64. Spring 2025 ↗
65. *Sumer* 71 issue record ↗
66. Zimmerman and Zettler 2021 ↗
67. ISAW's headdress record ↗
68. Baadsgaard, Monge, Cox and Zettler 2011 ↗
69. Vidale 2011 ↗
70. *Deeper Into Ur's Royal Cemetery* ↗
71. Ur strontium study ↗
72. Tell Brak project ↗
73. CDLI P215544 ↗
74. doi:10.1126/science.261.5124.995 ↗
75. doi:10.1073/pnas.1808103115 ↗
76. doi:10.1130/G46604.1 ↗
77. doi:10.1007/s10814-024-09197-3 ↗
78. doi:10.1002/gea.70027 ↗
79. Zenodo 12681061 ↗
80. archiraq ↗
81. AsianSpeleothemCoherency ↗
82. Leiden's historical account ↗
83. full volume PDF ↗
84. Roth scan ↗
85. Primary study ↗
86. BDTNS BM project ↗
87. doi:10.1086/741144 ↗
88. Van De Mieroop's historical synthesis, relevant chapter ↗
89. author/publisher PDF, p.39 ↗
90. *Lament for Urim*, 2.2.2 ↗
91. OIS 2 pp.91–120 ↗
92. 2020 chapter summary ↗
93. doi:10.1073/pnas.2526276123 ↗
94. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.105797 ↗
95. 2021 study, pp.2–4 ↗
96. Ebla Digital Archives ↗
97. Oxford OUMNH Corsi 703 ↗
98. Wyart, Bariand and Filippi, GIA geological paper ↗
99. Kenoyer, Law and Dussubieux, doi:10.1111/arcm.13098 ↗
100. 2013 Ur/Harappa strontium study ↗
101. publisher description ↗
102. ETCSL 2.1.7, relevant procurement passages ↗
103. “Shu-ilishu's Cylinder Seal,” 2006 ↗
104. Sumerian King List ↗
105. *Gilgamesh and Aga* ↗
106. 2019 primary study ↗
107. CDLJ 2005:2 ↗
108. 2010 interview with then museum director Donny George ↗
109. UNESCO Hatra record ↗
110. UNESCO Ahwar, inscribed 2016 ↗
111. File page ↗
112. Visitor photo ↗
113. Close-up ↗
114. File (5) ↗
115. Visitor photo ↗
116. File page ↗
117. War side ↗
118. Victory stele 9064 ↗
119. Istanbul photo ↗
120. Photo ↗
121. Photo (2) ↗
122. Open Access policy ↗
123. exact Commons file ↗
124. Royal Tombs of Ur ↗
125. Dressing Queen Puabi ↗
126. Great Lyre from the King's Grave ↗
127. Al-Chibayish marshes tour ↗
128. https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/an/original/DP-42230-002.jpg ↗
129. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Warka_vase_(background_retouched).jpg ↗
130. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Warka_vase_(360).jpg ↗
131. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bull-headed_lyre_recovered_from_the_royal_cemetery_of_Ur_Iraq_2550-2450_BCE_Gold_Lapis_Lazuli_(33400752642).jpg ↗
132. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Closeup_of_Queen_Puabi%27s_gold_headdress_and_gold_jewelry_recovered_from_the_royal_cemetery_of_Ur,_Iraq_2550-2450_BCE_(33434975442).jpg ↗
133. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ram_in_the_thicket_(5).jpg ↗
134. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stele_of_the_vultures_(war).jpg ↗
135. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uruk_ziggurat_(2).jpg ↗
136. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uruk,_erste_Metropole_der_Weltgeschichte_(CC_BY_4.0).webm ↗
137. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZngHY1nriA),1:39 ↗
138. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJm7Qgef3ks),9:13 ↗
139. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgNKWkWTbE4),1:01 ↗

Music

• Original score
  AgentHouse · Project-made score (From Cosmos to Civilization score catalog v4 with bespoke opening and closing)
  Impulse responses: Detmold University of Music SRIR database, CC BY 4.0.