66. Figure of a god seated upon a throne, who may probably be identified with Ningirsu 67. Mace-head of breccia from a mountain near the "Upper Sea" or Mediterranean, dedicated to Ningirsu by Gudea 68. Designs on painted potsherds of the Neolithic period (Culture I.) from the North Kurgan at Anau 69. Designs on painted potsherds of the Aeneolithic period (Culture II.) from the North Kurgan at Anau MAPS AND PLANS I. Plan of Tello, after De Sarzec II. Plan of Jôkha, after Andrae III. Plan of Fâra, after Andrae and Noeldeke IV. Plan of Abû Hatab, after Andrae and Noeldeke V. Plan of Warka, after Loftus VI. Plan of Muḳayyar, after Taylor VII. Plan of Abû Shahrain, after Taylor VIII. Early Babylonian plan of the temple of Enlil at Nippur and its enclosure; cf. Fisher, "Excavations at Nippur" I., pl. 1 IX. Plan of the Inner City at Nippur, after Fisher, "Excavations at Nippur," I., p. 10 X. Plan of the store-house of Ur-Ninâ, at Tello, after De Sarzec XI. Plan of early building at Tello, after De Sarzec XII. Map of Babylonia, showing the sites of early cities. Inset: Map of Sumer and Akkad in the earliest historical period A HISTORY OF SUMER AND AKKAD CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY: THE LANDS OF SUMER AND AKKAD The study of origins may undoubtedly be regarded as the most striking characteristic of recent archaeological research. There is a peculiar fascination in tracking any highly developed civilization to its source, and in watching its growth from the rude and tentative efforts of a primitive people to the more elaborate achievements of a later day. And it is owing to recent excavation that we are now in a position to elucidate the early history of the three principal civilizations of the ancient world. The origins of Greek civilization may now be traced beyond the Mycenean epoch, through the different stages of Aegean culture back into the Neolithic age. In Egypt, excavations have not only yielded remains of the early dynastic kings who lived before the pyramid-builders, but they have revealed the existence of Neolithic Egyptians dating from a period long anterior to the earliest written records that have been recovered. Finally, excavations in Babylonia have enabled us to trace the civilization of Assyria and Babylon back to an earlier and more primitive race, which in the remote past occupied the lower plains of the Tigris and Euphrates; while the more recent digging in Persia and Turkestan has thrown light upon other primitive inhabitants of Western Asia, and has raised problems with regard to their cultural connections with the West which were undreamed of a few years ago.