StromNov 2022Strongly recommends
Fall of Civilizations is absolutely amazing stuff, I double recommend it. It has an episode that covers this specific topic as well - ▶ this video
in “Ur” · View on HN
8. The Sumerians - Fall of the First Cities
8. The Sumerians - Fall of the First Cities on HackerTube: recommended by 7 Hacker News commenters across 9 separate months, 2020–2023.
Fall of Civilizations
Open on YouTubepodcast · evergreen
Episode 8 of the Fall of Civilizations podcast, a roughly two and a half hour history of the Sumerians. It covers their mysterious origins, invention of writing and mathematics, great early cities and eventual collapse, with myths, proverbs and recreated music.
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN commenters strongly recommend it as an audiobook-length, deeply informative introduction to Sumer and early Mesopotamian civilization.
- people recommended it
- 7
- separate months
- 9
- strong recommendations
- 2
- discussed on HN
- 2020–2023
“I highly recommend the _Fall of Civilizations Podcast_ episode 8.”
What HN commenters said
12 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
wanderingstanOct 2022Strongly recommends
If you’re interested in the history of Lagash and the wider Sumerian civilization, I highly recommend the _Fall of Civilizations Podcast_ episode 8. ▶ this video At 2.5 hours it’s more like an audiobook. During the pandemic this was my gateway into learning a ton about this ancient civilization, when humanity first began to write and thus be able to communicate with us thousands of years later.
in “Drone photos reveal an early Mesopotamian city made of marsh islands” · View on HN
wanderingstanFeb 2023Recommends
Related: I was introduced to Sumerian history by this excellent episode of the “Fall of Civilizations Podcast”: ▶ this video
in “Discovery of 4,500-year-old palace in Iraq may hold key to ancient civilisation” · View on HN
StromNov 2022Recommends
It's a great episode and I also recommend it. For those who wish to have something visual the better link would be ▶ this video
in “Ur” · View on HN
davedxMay 2022Recommends
Yeah, the sea level rise thing is one explanation for why Sumerian is a language isolate. This YouTube series is a great deep dive into it all: ▶ this video
in “Ancient civilisation under eastern Turkey estimated to be 11k-13k years old” · View on HN
miltondtsDec 2021Recommends
And one more resource with the history of many civilizations: [link] I especially enjoyed ▶ this video , as I had no idea the first cities were already so advanced and lasted for so many centuries. EDIT: fixed youtube link.
in “The sea people: Alexander the Great trod in the footsteps of forgotten Greeks” · View on HN
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miltondtsDec 2021Recommends
Fall of civilizations has the history of many: [link] I especially enjoyed ▶ this video , as I had no idea the first cities were already so advanced and lasted for so many centuries.
in “Ask HN: What is the best podcast you listened to in 2021?” · View on HN
mannerheimSep 2021Recommends
Arizona is very hot, very arid, and also very favourable for agriculture, with significant production of lettuce and cotton. As long as you can make sure your crops get water through irrigation (which ancient Mesopotamians were very skilled at), your crops will thrive. In fact, the heat and sunlight actually provide a bit of an advantage. However, a number of factors eventually led to the collapse of the civilisations in the fertile crescent. One factor has been the region getting warmer and drier, which poses a challenge even with irrigation. As an example of how different the climate is now from what it was then, Uruk used to be on a channel of the Euphrates, but now that riverbed is completely dried up. Meanwhile, Ur was once a coastal city, but is now ten miles inland. Another factor for the collapse of these civilisations is that the process of irrigation accumulated salt in the soil. The very process that made complex civilisation possible in this part of the world eventually contributed to its end. I recommend the Fall of Civilizations podcast for more on this and other societies: ▶ this video
in “Life-size camel sculptures in Saudi Arabia are older than Stonehenge, pyramids” · View on HN
andyxorAug 2021Recommends
this is just 30km from Ur, I thought Akkad capital was more to the north , in the traditionally Akkadian territory [link] btw this is great series on that time (and what preceded it) "The Sumerians - Fall of the First Cities" ▶ this video
in “Archaeologists discover 4k-year-old ancient city in Iraqi desert” · View on HN
wanderingstanFeb 2021Recommends
I went down the cuneiform rabbit hole last summer after listening to the excellent “Fall of Civilizations Podcast” episode about Sumer: ▶ this video This led to many of Finkel’s videos and the book mentioned in this post. (So far I’m not too impressed with the book, TBH.)
in “How to write cuneiform” · View on HN
oblioNov 2020Recommends
> The producer of "civilization and culture"? In what sense? Farms produce the goods we eat, how does that lead to culture and civilization? I'm not that knowledgeable at history - if that is the case, then I'd really like to read more about it. Well, I recommend any history book about the Fertile Crescent and Ancient Egypt. If you have 1 hour, hear/listen to this podcast/video: ▶ this video
in “1% of farms operate 70% of world's farmland” · View on HN
mwattsunApr 2022Cites it
I clipped this from Fall of Civilizations - The Sumerians - Fall of the First Cities. I'm not sure if they got it right, but it sounds good. (not monetizing, so not promoting) [link] Full show ▶ this video
in “Why are there 360° in a circle?” · View on HN