The Biblical Archaeologist - Vol.50, N.3

67 Pages·1987·19.48 MB·English

by  American Schools of Oriental Research

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AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
ADMINISTRATIVOEF FICEA, SOR,4 243 SPRUCES TREETP, HILADELPHIAP,A 19104 [phone]
lames A. Sauer,P resident W.E AlbrightI nstitute of
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B iblical
Archaeologist
A Publication of the American Schools of Oriental Research Volume 50 Number 3 September 1987
The Cuisine of Ancient Sumer 132
Henri Limet
The civilizationo f Sumers pannedn early3 ,000 years,a nd its many
accomplishments,i ncludingt he inventiono f writing, had a pro-
founde ffect on subsequentp eoples,n ot only in Mesopotamiab ut
throughoutt he ancientN ear Easta ndb eyond.D espite this, Sumer
was forgottenf or thousandso f years- until little more than a
century ago,w hen archaeologicadl iscoveriesi nitiated the chal-
lenging processo f its reconstruction.T his paperc ontinues that
process,u sing as its basis tablets fromt he ThirdD ynasty of Ur, its
last periodo f greatnessa t the end of the second millennium B.C.E.
Page 132 ArchaeologicaSl ourcefso r the Historyo f Palestine
The MiddleB ronzeA ge:T he Zenith of the Urban
CanaaniteE ra 148
William G. Dever
Sometime around 2000 B.C.Et.h e long process of collapse in the
southernL evantw as halted, and improvedc onditions set the stage
fora suddenr evivalo f urbanl ife. Duringt he next 500 years,i mpres-
sive walled cities wereb uilt, new and significantlyi mprovedf orms
of potterya nd bronzei mplements appeareda, simplifieda lphabet
was developed,a nd internationalt radew as conducted.T hese
accomplishments,a nd more, markt his perioda s a formativeo ne
in the history of ancient Palestine.
Lifeo n the LandT: he SubsistencSe truggles
of EarlyI srael 178
David C. Hopkins
Most scholarsa greet hat the Israelitesf irst appearedin Palestine
around 1200 B.C.ET. he debate about how they came into posses-
sion of the land-whether by conquest,p eacefuls ettlement,
or revolution-has often diverteda ttention from the no-less-
importanti ssue of what their day-to-dayli ves were like. How did
they growe nough foodt o survive?H ow did their communities
Page 148 organizet o facilitatet his effort?O nly by answerings uch ques-
tions can we understandt he impressiveg rowtht hat took place in
this period,a growtht hat contributedt o the establishmento f the
monarchy around 1000 B.C.E.
Introducingth e Authors 130
Fromt he Editor'sD esk 131
Cover:T his painting by Linda Huff is based on photographso f side B of the Standardo f
Ur, a Sumerian artifact that dates to the mid-second millennium B.C.E.
Biblical Archaeologist is published with the financial assistance of
the Endowment for Biblical Research, a nonsectarian foundation for
the study of the Bible and the history of the Christian Church.
Page 178
Biblical Archaeologist, September 1987 129
lip.
i
i
..................
..........
TAW
!~ :'~ i(cid:127) :
w-4
David C. Hopkins
the Authors
Introducing
.0
Henri Limet is a Professor at the Universit6 de Liege in
20'. Brussels,B elgium, where he teaches Sumeriana nd Akka-
dian, as well as the history and archaeologyo f the ancient
Aw
Near East. He has written many books and articles on
William G. Dever ancient Near Eastern philology, linguistics, and archae-
ology, including the recently published Textess umbriens
de la IIIe dynastie d'Ur (Brussels:t he Musees royauxd 'art
et d'histoire, 1976).D r. Limet is particularlyi nterested in
the social relations of the ancient Sumerians as revealed
in their administrative documents and in their myths.
William G. Dever is Vice President for Archaeological
Policy of the American Schools of Oriental Research.
With a Ph.D. from HarvardU niversity, he has directed
several excavations-among them, the one at Gezer in
1966-1971 and 1984. He is presently Professor of Near
East Archaeology at the University of Arizona.
David C. Hopkins is Associate Professor of Old Testa-
ment at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington,
D.C. His dissertation for Vanderbilt University was
recently published as the book The Highlands of
Canaan: Agricultural Life in the Early Iron Age (Shef-
field, England:A lmond Press, 1985).H is studies in Israel
have been based at the Ecumenical Institute for Theologi-
cal Studies.
Henri Limet
130 Biblical Archaeologist, September 1987
of the present editorial staff, has won several regional
awardsi n this area, and now our June 1986 issue (volume
49, number 2) has won a certificate of merit in an inter-
national competition. The 1987 Graphic Arts Awards
Competition-sponsored by Printing Industrieso f Amer-
ica, Inc., Miller Printing Company, SM, Scitex America
Corporation,a nd WestvacoC orporation-drew a field of
6,700 entries from organizations around the world. This
achievement could not have been realized without the
'AA
diligence, imagination, and tireless efforts of Martin
Wilcox, Executive Editor, and Linda Huff, Art Director,
whom I would like to publicly congratulatea nd to whom
I would like to express my deepest gratitude.O thers at BA
have also helped to make this possible and I am grateful
for their efforts as well.
Or Finally, this issue demonstrates the breadth and
quality of work that is currentlyb eing done in the field of
ancient Near Eastern studies. Professor Henri Limet of
the Universit6 de Liege takes us to Mesopotamia;b asing
his paper on a review of cuneiform tablets dating to the
From the Desk last century of the third millennium B.C.E., he describes
Editor' the fundamental elements of the cuisine of ancient
Sumer. Anyone interested in the history of one of the
ith this fall issue of ourf iftiethy earo f world's first great civilizations will find this article
publication, we mark several important revealing and entertaining.
events. First, I am pleased to announce William G. Dever, of the University of Arizona and
that the JohnsH opkins University Press ASOR'sV ice President for Archaeological Policy, follows
of Baltimore is now the official publisher, on behalf of with another in our series on the archaeological periods
ASOR, of Biblical Archaeologist. This arrangement is of ancient Palestine. Picking up the story presented by
part of a multifaceted agreement that calls for Johns Thomas E. Levy in his paper on the Chalcolithic period
Hopkins to publish and provide subscription and fulfill- and Suzanne Richard in hers on the Early Bronze Age,
ment services for ASOR periodicals (including, in addi- Professor Dever's article on the Middle Bronze Age does
tion to BA, the ASOR Newsletter, the Bulletin, and the more than merely summarize the work of others; it also
Journal of Cuneiform Studies) as well as to launch an attempts to synthesize and interpret all of the various
important new book series, The ASOR Libraryo f Biblical theories about the history and material culture of
and Near Eastern Archaeology. We are proud to be the region during a pivotal period in the second millen-
associated with one of this country's most prestigious niurmB .C.E.
university presses. Our final paper is by David Hopkins of the Wesley
The affiliation with JohnsH opkins will help ASOR Theological Seminary.F ocusingi n particularo n farming
be more effective in reaching a largera udience, while at and the social dimension of subsistence, Dr. Hopkins
the same time not changing the basic nature of our publi- offers many keen observationsa bout life in the highlands
cations. BA will still be edited and designed on the cam- of Canaand uringt he early IronA ge- a period that set the
pus of Duke University, and ASOR's other periodicals stage for the emergence of the monarchy and the nation-
will maintain their editorial staffs. ASOR will also con- states of Judaha nd Israel in the first millennium B.C.E.
tinue several of its joint projects with Eisenbrauns in I think you will agree with me that BA continues to
Winona Lake, Indiana. I would like to take this oppor- be unsurpassed in its presentation of articles of distinc-
tunity to thank Jim and Myrna Eisenbraun for the fine tion by noted authorities in their fields of specialization.
service they have rendered ASOR publications for the All of us in ASOR, and at JohnsH opkins, hope you enjoy
past several years. Their assistance, particularly in the this issue and encouragey ou to invite your friends to join
areas of book publication, Bulletin production, and dis- us in rediscoveringt he past.
tribution of back issues of ASOR periodicals, has been
very much appreciated.
I am also happy to announce that BA has again been
recognized for the excellence of its design. In the past I Eric M. Meyers
have reportedt o you that this magazine, with the efforts Editor
Biblical Archaeologist, September 1987 131
The
C
U1I'SI'NE
k
,
IX. A,I, i It(cid:127)'(cid:127),
U.l l
ofAncientSurner
o
byHenriLimet
igguraStu. meAr.k kad. often in broadt erms. We can deter-
lit~l I
Uruk. Gilgamesh. Gudea. mine when population groups began
Ebla. To the person inter- to settle, when they first cultivated
Alt,
ested in the history of the grains and domesticated animals.
ancient Near East, these words and We can learn about the basic societal
names call up rich, often powerful, units, about pottery and architec-
images: images of human origins tural traditions, and even about
and progress,o f the first great civili- some of the basic elements of their
........ .
zations and the art and literature diet. Unfortunately, however,t he ~ ~A1
they produced;i mages that cause us archaeology of Mesopotamia, at
AIlI I
to journey back into time, to study least in its early stages, was some-
and seek to understandt hose origins times more interested in the spec-
and to evaluate that progress. tacular finds, with the palace and
Our attempt to understande arly temple complexes, with archives. Vo ill 1 jt. 1 i
human history is, of course, not new. Again, the less privileged of society All '
The great myths and epics first were only studied inasmuch as they
recordedb y the Sumerians also give were part of the greatera nd more
reasons for the human condition. important institutions.
They addresst hese human ques- In this article I will attempt to
tions, however,i n the arena of the reconstruct one aspect of Mesopo-
gods or of superhuman, often semi- tamian life in one period of its his-
divine, beings. What of the lives of tory: the Sumerian diet at the end of
ordinaryp eople? How did they live? the third millennium B.C.E. We will
What role did they play in their vil- look at the diet not only of royalty
lages or in the largers phere of Meso- but also of the common people, of
potamian society. What did they eat the privileged classes and of the Drawing of an offerings cene carved on an
alabaster vase found at the Sumerian city of
and drink?H ow did they survive? lower classes of the soldiers, arti- Uruk. The central figurei n the top registeri s
And where can we turn for this type sans, and peasants. To do this, I will the goddess Inanna (orh er priestess), who
of information? draw from a variety of texts dating is being offered a wide range of foodstuffs.
Drawing, by Elisabeth Andrae, is from Klein-
Archaeology provides abundant from the period of Sumerian history funde aus den ArchaischenT empelschichten
data that help us reconstruct much known as the Third Dynasty of Ur in Uruk (Berlin:D eutsche Forschungsgemein-
about early Mesopotamian life, but (see the accompanying sidebarsf or schaft, 1936), by ErnstH einrich.
132 Biblical Archaeologist, September 1987
I
f(cid:127).W1. (cid:127)jS it1C 5 -- - tamia during this period, and as
such was most used in the pro-
/4T ill ~ '4';h \ duction of bread. Other grains were
cultivated as well but in smaller
I7,k 7fjlo -
amounts: wheat and emmer, the
Q!IfVIP / f latter a coarser cereal. Of these
grains, wheat was better able to
withstand the high salt content of
the soil found in some areas of
Sumer.'D espite this, the proportion
Itt of wheat to barley was low. A
milling list, for example, records the
processing of 556 kur of barley,4 69
kur of flour (barleyf lour), 14 kur of
wheat and 6 kur of emmer (Jones
and Snyder,1 961: 135).
The barley was winnowed; then
WE:.ui Ti the kernels were ground into flour
.1114:1 14i 1. IIt /ij 1 q,1 with portable millstones. Milling
hki~])' ~i jt'4I,t ~ *171,- producedv arious grades of flours.
Sometimes grain was toasted before
it was ground. It could be crackedt o
~c'
rr produce a kind of groats or hulled
'')II JuI , and crushed, much like the bour-
ghoul of present-dayS yria. Emmer
Vu" ' I Iry yielded a special flour called esa.
These flours were then com-
It-" ol ,," ,l jL .*C' \ N J bined with water (generallyw ithout
I
. " ' : '. .. . Y Pii :.. ' " '!' any leavening agent) to produce vari-
ous kinds of breads.A number of
varieties are attested: excellent, ordi-
nary, fresh, and dry. Of course barley
flour was most commonly used (in
fact, unless a different type was spec-
ified, we may assume that barley
flour was used in a given bread).T his
basic bread resembled the large flat
cakes (hobes) that women knead and
bake in the Middle East today.I t was
a rather coarse food, very plain and
certainly tasteless.
A better kind of breadw as the
ninda.d.d.a, which was improvedb y
more detailed information on both Sumerian Diet "beating in" various fatty substances:
the texts consulted and the history What, then, were the items that vegetable oil (sesame oil), lard (pork
of this period). made up the Sumerian diet in the Ur fat), mutton "butter,"o r even fish fat.
I should mention here that, IIIp eriod?T he oldest lexical lists Among these breads, distinction was
while these documents do inform us begin with the terms for water, made between first-quality and ordi-
of the staples of the Sumerian diet, bread,b eer, and soup. Other texts nary, between black and white.
we are at a great loss to know how include various types of oil, meat, Honey was sometimes added (MSL
the foods were prepared.U nfortu- fish and poultry, fruits, vegetables, XI, 119, 24-35).
nately, we have not yet discovered dairy products, cereal grains, and a Giig cakes were made with a
one text containing recipes or de- wide variety of herbs and spices. higher quality flour (Legrain 1937:
scriptions of the taste, texture, or Bread.B arleyw as the most common numbers 288 and 985)2 and a "noble"
appearanceo f Ur IIIc uisine. cereal grain cultivated in Mesopo- fat (ghee or clarified butter?). The
Biblical Archaeologist, September 1987 133
V
i'", Ilk
'oo
.AMR
MW
97
"IF
"Ael IV
or,
7777
'YAW,,,
Side B of the so-called Standardo f Ur depicts scenes from a banquet in threep anels. This mosaic, which was found in Royal Tobmb77 9, is
made of shell, blue lapis lazuli, and red stone (possibly jasper).I t measures 22 by 9 inches and dates to around 2600-2450 B.C.E. (Seep ages
98-102 of Ur'of the Chaldees')P hotographc ourtesy of the Trusteeso f the British Museum.
common folk did not eat them
(Gordon 1959: 1.52, note 6). Breads Oil, AN&LA" Ike
and cakes made from other kinds of
flours (regulara nd high-quality)
were destined for the royal table.
One text seems to provide the
proportions in which the ingredi- - .77
ents are to be mixed for cakes that
'19
"haveg one to the palace"( Delaporte If
1912:n umber 7248): 1 sila of butter;
1/3 sila of white cheese; 3 sila of first-
quality dates; 1/3 sila of Smyrnar ai- qw use-
sins. We may assume that "excellent"
flour would have been added,b ut it
was not mentioned in this case.
We may compare this with a silk
recipe for a ninda.1.d6.af rom Nippur, .J-J
a recipe that dates from the time of low
Hammurapi:x sila of flour; x sila of
dates; 1/2 sila, 5 gin of butter; 9 gin
of white cheese; 9 gin of grapej uice;
5 gin of apples; 5 gin of figs (Sigrist
1977: 169).
-0
Anothert ype of pastry,m entioned
Awl
quite frequently,w as the
girl.lam.
This was most often offeredt o the
gods, but it was sometimes received
by the king. Sweetened with honey
and bound together with small Limestone relief from Ur showing a libation offeringb eforea seated god (upperr egister)a nd a
amounts of flour, it was a prepara- steamcrpifliec fea. cInad the e(l coewnetrer re ogfi tshteer p).lI anq tuhee, lwohwiecrh s dceantees a t ofi agruoruen alds 2o4 h5o0l-d2s1 a0 0li vBe.C k.E i.d, i, sp ao shsoiblely t hfoart
tion of fruit, always dates, and also was used to fasten the panel to a wall. (Seep ages 123-24 of Ur'of the Chaldees')P hotograph
sometimes of figs. courtesy of the Tustees of the British Museum.
134 Biblical Archaeologist, September 1987
MediterraneanS ea
i
?mm
Vegetable oil. Vegetableo il, another
important part of the Sumerian diet,
Though we have not yet found a text
was generally producedb y an oil-
bearing plant, sesame. The olive tree that contains a recipe from Ur III, the
was not grown widely in the Near
East until much later. Also known texts do tell us what items made up
were mutton fat, lard, fish oil, and,
above all, the "noblef at."S ometimes the Sumerian diet.
the oil was seasoned or flavoreda nd
was described in Sumerian as "made
good."T his seasoning would mask
the rancid taste that the fat would of beer. Though the Sumerian word brewed. Freshly brewedb eer and
have quickly acquired in the heat of ka' has been translated as "beer," well-aged beer are mentioned. This
the Fertile Crescent. this is not strictly accurate. It is in- latter beer must have been very
Drinks. Another essential compo- stead "barley-beer,f"o r it was not strong. Sweet and pleasant beers, as
nent of this diet was drink. Water flavoredw ith hops. Plain barley-beer, opposed to beer one might call
was the natural drink, of course, one first quality as well as ordinary,i s "bitter,"a re also attested.
that needed no other preparation listed, along with a beer that appears The Sumerians also drank milk:
and that was available to all; there- to have been weaker in alcoholic cow's milk, goat's milk, and, it
fore, it is seldom mentioned in the content (honey or grapej uice was would seem, ewe's milk. A wide
lexicographic lists. sometimes addedt o it-Civil 1964: variety of cheeses were produced:
The lists do, however,c ontain 67 and following). A dark beer was a white cheese (which was on the
many terms describing various types favoreda t Ur; a clear beer was also royal table), a "fresh"c heese, and
Biblical Archaeologist, September 1987 135
a
4i. If i
Dairy scene that makes up part of a frieze found in the temple of Ninhursag at Tella l-cUbaid. Dating to the first half of the third millennium
B.C.Et.h, e frieze shows typical dairy activities-milking, straining, and, possibly, making butter-but the fringedg arments of the workerss ug-
gests that they arep riests rathert han ordinaryl aborers.( Seep age 108 of Ur'of the Chaldees'P hotographc ourtesyo f the IraqM useum,B aghdad.
a cheese that was richer than the list" has a possible mention of a "fish
others. The lexical lists also in- soup"( MSLX I, 152).T hese were
clude flavored,s weetened, and thick and nourishing soups that
sharp cheeses. must have really stuck to the ribs.
Although the vine was cultivated Meat. The diet we are describing is
(Legrain1 937: number 1368), it does that of a settled population. It was
not seem that wine was an everyday principally vegetarian,m ade up of
drink in Mesopotamia. The Sume- cereals and legumes, which provided
rian word for grapej uice literally protein, some carbohydratesa, nd . .
means "thatw hich comes forth from lipids from the oils and the fats.
the grape."T he word we translate as Nomads ate more dairy products, as
"grape-waterd"o es not describe wine well as moderate amounts of meat.
but vinegar.T his fermented grape The Sumerians, too, certainly ate
juice was used to season certain meat. There was a "slaughterhouse"
dishes. At Mari, it should be noted, at Lagash,b ut this meat may have
wine was brought in from the north been reservedf or the temples
and the west and was offered as a gift (Oppenheim 1948: 6, note 13).
(Finet 1974-1977: 122-31). There are, however,a number of
Soup. Soup, food that is both liquid indications that animals were raised TWob anquet scenes arep ortrayedo n these
plaster impressions taken from cylinder seals
and solid, came at the top of the lex- "forc ooking."A t Puzrish-Dagan found in Royal Tomb8 00 at Ur, which dates
icographicall ists but is not men- (Drehem),n ot far from Nippur, there to around 2600-2450 B.C.E. (See pages 64 and
tioned in any other texts of the were some very large structures that 76 of Ur'of the Chaldees'.)P hotographc our-
tesy of the Trusteeso f the British Museum.
period. Should we conclude from were probablyu sed to confine nu-
this that it was the everydayf ood of merous animals. These flocks and
the people, too common to merit herds came from voluntary or obliga-
special note? These soups had a tory contributions and were redistrib- typical of the listings of the Ur III
starch or flour base: chick-peas, uted for dietary or cultic needs. period. It gives the shipments of ani-
lentils, barley flour or emmer flour. The documents often list ani- mals for several days of one partic-
They were sometimes made with mals described as "deliveryf or cook- ular month. Besides six sacrificial
hulled barley and may have ing."S ometimes the animals were steers, these animals were used for
resembled the bourghoul dish that is delivered alive, then slaughteredb y food:
still preparedi n Syria or the kishk the butcher; on occasion they ar- day 11:8 steers, 4 cows were
soup found in severalp arts of the rived alreadyd ead. This does not loaded on a boat when the king
Middle East today.C ertain soups seem to have made them unfit for went to Uruk.
contained mutton fat or oil, honey, human consumption in the eyes of day 16: 1 living steer and 1 dead
or meat juice. They were rarely sim- the Sumerians. Accordingt o the cow for cooking were loaded on
ilar to our vegetable soups. A soup of Drehem texts, the meat was for the a boat when the king went to
turnips seems to have been rather soldiers of the guard,t he couriers, Nippur.
unusual (MSLX I, 113, 4-46), though and the cult functionaries. day 19: 4 steers, 11 cows, placed
another list mentions a few soups The following document, from at the disposal of the soldiers of
with a vegetable base. A "forerunner the second year of king Shu-Sin is the guardw ho hauled the boat
136 Biblical Archaeologist, September 1987