The Sumerians came from the east or from the mountains of Elam perhaps as early as 5,000 B.C, to the swamps at the head of the Persian Gulf. They drained the swamps, developed flood control, invented the wheel, and established a permanent agriculture. As successful trade developed with the surrounding areas, Sumerian villages and settlements grew into prosperous citystates, such as Ur, Eridu, Lagash, Nippur and Uruk.

It is theorized that writing evolved to keep track of property. Clay envelopes marked with the owner's rolled seal were used to hold tokens for goods, the tokens within recording a specific transaction. Later on, the envelope and tokens were discarded and symbols scratched into clay recorded transactions such as 2 bunches of wheat or 7 cows. As writing evolved, pictures gave way to lines pressed into clay with a wedge tip. This allowed a scribe to make many different types of strokes without changing his grip. By 3,000 B.C., the script evolved into a full syllabic alphabet.

Sumerian states were believed to be under the rule of a local god or goddess, and a bureaucratic system of the priesthood arose to oversee the ritualistic and complex religion. High Priests represented the gods on earth, one of their jobs being to discern the divine will. A favorite method of divination was reading sheep or goat entrails. The priests ruled from their ziggurats, high rising temples of sunbaked brick with outside staircases leading to the shrine on top.

The Sumerian gods personified local elements and natural forces. Anu, the supreme god of heaven, Enlil, god of water, and Ea, god of magic and creator of man, were worshiped by the Sumerians. The Sumerians held the belief that a sacred ritual marriage between the ruler and Inanna, goddess of love and fertility brought rich harvests.

Of interest to food historians, the earliest written evidence of beer comes from Mesopotamia, where the ancient Sumerians called it kash. The Sumerian recipe was unleavened barley wafers, malted barley and date juice, called geshtin. Kash was a thick and porridgy beer. Sumerians are usually depicted drinking beer with reed or metal straws, and the cuneiform texts tell of priests drinking beer at cult rites, and of drunken Sumerians. Around 1800 b.c., a poet composed a Hymn to Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of brewing. A minor goddess in the Sumerian pantheon, Ninkasi's name means "you who fill my mouth so full."

The recording of literature, science, society and history is a lasting legacy of the Sumerians. Tens of thousands of cunieform texts have given us Sumerian lullabies, poetry, ledgers, codes of law, administration, property records, and lists of astronomical occurences, animals and medicinal plants.

In the wet lowlands of the lower Tigris River, local traditions place the Garden of Eden in the marshes. Some archaeologists suggest that prehistoric people would have indeed found a paradise in the waters teeming with fish and waterfowl. As farmers learned to plow the land and tame the waters, a fabled granary flourished in the plain of Mesopotamia. It was then that the Sumerians stood as literary and urban pioneers, ready to change the face of history.

The Sumerians thought that a great domed roof contained the sky, the stars, the moon, and the sun which lighted the cities beneath it; they also believed that below the earth swirled the dim netherworld, a fearsome abode of demons and the kingdom of the dead. Enlil and Enki are credited with creating the cattle, sheep, plants, the yoke and the plow to provide sustenance for themselves and less important deities, but these minor gods lacked the resolution to make use of this bounty so man was fashioned from clay and given breath so he might tend the sheep and cultivate the fields for the gods. The gods of Sumer, much like mortal men, suffered the vicissitudes of fate and many legends tell of their often ineffective exploits.

Nammu, Goddess of the Primeval Sea, "the mother who gave birth to heaven and earth."

An, God of the Heavens, leading Sumerian deity from Fourth Millennium B.C. until the city of Erech began to lose its power (c. 2500 B.C.).

Ki, Goddess of the Earth

Enlil, God of Air and Storms, son of An and Ki: Enlil is credited with separating the heavens from earth and, therefore, described as the "father of the gods," "king of the universe," "king of all lands." For about a thousand years after 2500 B.C., Enlil is supreme ruler of Sumerian pantheon of gods and guardian of the city of Nippur; he is credited with raising up the "seed of the land" and with bringing "whatever is needful" into existence. Enlil is said to have been responsible for the me, a set of universal laws governing all existence.

Utu, sun god who lights the world with rays issuing from his shoulders: Utu was also the god of justice and carved out justice with the many-toothed saw he carried with him.

Ninhursag, Mother Earth, the source of all life: from Ninhursag came the birth of the planets; she is usually seen wearing a leafy crown and holding a branch to indicate fertility.

Enki, Lord of Water and Wisdom: Enki emits streams from his shoulders; he is the god who gave rulers their intelligence and who provided craftsmen with their skills.

Inanna, The story of Inanna, the oldest written myth, is a tender, compassionate epic that speaks to all women in search of the divine feminine. In the transformative tale of the “Descent of Inanna," Inanna is called to the Below by her dark, distraught sister, Erishkegal.  Making the descent through seven gates of initiation and following their encounter, Inanna returns transformed and strengthened with new wisdom and integration.  Goddess of Love and War: Inanna stands beside her insignia, gateposts hung with streamers, and is present whenever life is conceived through love or ended in battle. Said to be of the race of Eagle-men or Owl-men, Inanna's counterparts have been giant Owls, giant Golden Eagles, and bird-men of lost races.

Ereshkigal, Goddess of the Land of No Return, of Darkness, Gloom, and Death, sister of Inanna

The principal Mesopotamian Gods were identified with the forces of nature, such as Anu (sky god), Sin (moon god), Enki (water god), and Enlil (wind god).

The goddess Ishtar, goddess of love and war, was portrayed as the lover of the shepherd Dumuzi. Once, Ishtar descended to the underworld to challenge her sister Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Underworld. Ishtar was abused there but released in exchange for another god. While in the underworld, the world's fertility was disrupted. Upon her return, she found that her lover Dumuzi had not been mourning and so she sentenced him to the underworld. His sister procured his release during the year in exchange for her presence in the underworld. While the connections with the cycle of the seasons is obvious, it is also clear that the story of Ishtar and Dumuzi was enacted by monarchs to ensure the fertility of the land.

The major God of Babylon, Marduk, forms the central figure of the Babylonian creation epic, the Enuma Elish. Usually depicted as a God-King who commands a young Dragon, or as the Dragon himself, Marduk successfully defeated the Mother Goddess, Tiamat, and proceeded to create the universe out of her. Later Marduk created humans from the blood of her defeated general, Qingu, before creating his temple complex, Esagila, in Babylon.

Note that Sumerian mythology from southern Iraq of the 3rd millennium B.C. formed the background for the later Babylonian and Assyrian developments.

NOTE: I must also point out that there are STRIKING similiarities between the Sumerian and Hopi Indian doctrines and languages. Here they are, as I can find them...

The Hopi believe the Creator of Man is a woman. The Sumerians believed the Creator of Man was a woman.

The Hopi believe the Father Creator is KA. The Sumerians believed the Father Essence was KA.

The Hopi believe Taiowa, the Sun God, is the Creator of the Earth. The Sumerians believe TA.EA was the Creator.

The Hopi believe two brothers had guardianship of the Earth. The Sumerians believed two brothers had dominion over the Earth.

The Hopi believe Alo to be spiritual guides. The Sumerians believed AL.U to be beings of Heaven.

The Hopi believe Kachinas (Kat'sinas) are the spirits of nature and the messengers and teachers sent by the Great Spirit. The Sumerians believed KAT.SI.NA were righteous ones sent of God.

The Hopi believe Eototo is the Father of Katsinas. The Sumerians believed EA.TA was the Father of all beings.

The Hopi believe Chakwaina is the Chief of Warriors. The Sumerians believed TAK.AN.U was the Heavenly Destroyer.

The Hopi believe Nan-ga-Sohu is the Chasing Star Katsina. The Sumerians believed NIN.GIR.SU to be the Master of Starships.

The Hopi believe Akush to be the Dawn Katsina. The Sumerians believed AK.U to be Beings of light.

The Hopi believe Danik to be Guardians in the Clouds. The Sumerians believed DAK.AN to be Sky Warriors.

The Hopi believe Sotunangu is a Sky Katsina. The Sumerians believed TAK.AN.IKU were Sky Warriors.

The Hopi name for the Pleaides is ChooChookam. The Sumerians believed SHU. SHU.KHEM were the supreme Stars.

The Hopi believe Tapuat is the name of Earth. The Sumerians believed Tiamat was the name of Earth.

The Hopi call a snake Chu'a. The Sumerians called a snake SHU.

The Hopi word for "dead" is Mokee. The Sumerians used KI. MAH to mean "dead."

The Hopi use Omiq to mean above, up. The Sumerians used AM.IK to mean looking to Heaven.

The Hopi believe Tuawta is One Who Sees Magic. The Sumerians believed TUAT.U was One from the Other World.

The Hopi believe Pahana was the Lost Brother who would one day return to assist the Hopi and humankind. The Sumerians would recognize PA.HA.NA as an Ancestor from heaven who would return.