Sumer

Sumer was the ancient civilisation of southern Mesopotamia, in today’s southern Iraq. Sapiens presents it as the place where writing and the first known money appeared.

At a glance

Source	Author	Role	In one line
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind	Yuval Noah Harari	subject	Birthplace of writing and of history’s first money, barley, both around 3000 BC.

Sub-places

• Uruk

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — Yuval Noah Harari (2014)

Source: Original · Readwise highlight

The first to overcome the problem were the ancient Sumerians, who lived in southern Mesopotamia. There, a scorching sun beating upon rich muddy plains produced plentiful harvests and prosperous towns.

• Role: subject
• In the book: Harari argues that human brains could not hold the numbers needed to run kingdoms; between 3500 and 3000 BC unknown Sumerians invented writing, pressed into clay to record goods and taxes, which grew into cuneiform by 2500 BC. The money chapter returns here for barley money, measured in standard one-litre silas and used to pay labourers.
• Why it matters: It is the book’s origin point for both bureaucracy by writing and trust-based money.