#BlackHistoryMonth: Ancient Black Civilisations That Were Not in Africa: Part 1

Ancient Mesopotamia

The Mesopotamian collection of the Oriental Institute Museum was acquired almost exclusively through archaeological excavations. Credit: The Oriental Institute

Many scholars have concluded that the founders of the first Mesopotamian civilisation were Black Sumerians. Mesopotamia was the Biblical land of Shinar (Sumer), which sprung up around 3000 B.C.

Described as the land between the rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates - is an ancient Greek term used by archaeologists to refer to the area now roughly equivalent to the modern country of Iraq.

After deciphering the cuneiform script and researching ancient Mesopotamia for many years Henry Rawlinson (1810-1895) discovered that the founders of the civilisation were of Kushite (Cushite) origin. He made it clear that the Semitic speakers of Akkad and the non-Semitic speakers of Sumer were both Black people who called themselves sag-gig-ga or ‘Black Heads’.

During the Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia, statuettes were placed in sanctuaries as votive offerings. Credit: The Oriental Institute

 John Baldwin wrote in his book PreHistoric Nations (1869): “The early colonists of Babylonia were of the same race as the inhabitants of the Upper Nile.”

This was corroborated by other scholars including, Chandra Chakraberty, who asserted in his book A Study in Hindu Social Polity that “based on the statuaries and steles of Babylonia, the Sumerians were “of dark complexion (chocolate colour), short stature, but of sturdy frame, oval face, stout nose, straight hair, full head; they typically resembled the Dravidians, not only in cranium, but almost in all the details.”

Source: Atlanta Black Star and The Oriental Institute