Sumer (Sumerian: ki-en-ĝir15 "Land of the Lords of Brightness", Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar) was a civilization and historical region in southern Iraq (Mesopotamia). It is the earliest known civilization in the world and is known as the Cradle of Civilization. The Sumerian civilization spanned over three-thousand years and began with the first settlement of Eridu in the Ubaid period (mid 6th millennium BC) through the Uruk period (4th millennium BC) and the Dynastic periods (3rd millennium BC) until the rise of Babylonia in the early 2nd millennium BC. Sumer was the birthplace of writing, the wheel, and many other things. The term "Sumerian" applies to all speakers of the Sumerian language.
The cities of Sumer were the first to practice intensive, year-round agriculture (from ca. 5300 BC). However, such agriculture appeared independently in multiple civilizations close to the same time as Sumer. The surplus of storable food created by this economy allowed the population to settle in one place instead of migrating after crops and grazing land. It also allowed for a much greater population density, and in turn required an extensive labor force and division of labor. This organization led to the development of writing (ca. 3500 BC).
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