Historical Analysis of Three Peoples and the Search for Comfort: Sumerians, Yayoi, and the Mississippian Culture

Historical Analysis

Introduction

Humans created societies, states, and empires from the late Neolithic period to 1500 CE in order to seek greater means of comfort and ease. Human beings are lazy by nature, preferring to live lives of comfort over anything else. This is because once a people have achieved a level of comfort, they have already achieved a means of survival. Instead of carrying water from place to place, or even hunting for a fresh water source away from predators, human beings can create the means to make the water come to them. Instead of having every citizen be responsible for hunting their own food, a market will allow for services and goods to be exchanged in return for food instead. People, and any other living creature, will be more attracted to a setting where their needs are met. In the following sections, we will be examining the Yayoi culture of Japan, the Mississippian culture of North America, and the people of Sumer.

The Structure of Complex Societies

Every society is defined by their environment, and these three cultures were no different. The Yayoi culture of Japan relied on farming, especially the cultivation of rice in wetlands, for most of their food. This being because, “Hot temperatures in the summer and sufficient water supply provide the best conditions for rice cultivation.”1 Before the Yayoi culture, Japanese natives relied on the hunter-gatherer method of food acquisition and were more nomadic in nature. The Yayoi built structures that consisted of pit dwellings, where “a fireplace and a set of items for daily production, subsistence, and consumption activities, including earthen storage and cooking wares and various stone (and later iron) tools”2 would be present. All this allowed them to settle, and maintain a steady food source, instead of scavenging for their next meal.

Sumerians relied on the water of the land in much the same way that the Yayoi did. Sumerian people also had their fair share of wetlands at the time, however “…irrigated cultivation probably gained ground over the use of wetlands.”3 Much of everyday life in Sumer depended on water. “Water manifested itself in many ways: not only as a supplier of essential drinking water for humans and their flocks, but also in the form of marshes and wetlands, as irrigation water, and as rivers and channels for bulk transport.”4 Having these various water systems in place allowed for greater ease of living. Transportation through waterways, and access to water for farming gave Sumerians a means to survive. This allowed food cultivation, and ease of trade. The Sumerians used, “intensive agriculture, stock breeding, fishing, and date palm cultivation forming the four mainstays of the economy.”5

The Mississippian culture or North America used a mixture of cultivation methods for plants such as corn, as well as hunting and gathering for their food sources. Mississippians ate deer, rabbits, and other small game as, “Archaeozoologists also find the bones of waterfowl, amphibians, reptiles such as turtle, and substantial quantities of fish in Mississippian food refuse. Fish, in particular, was an important source of protein in the Mississippian diet.”6 Mississippians were no strangers to living off the land they inhabited, though a later dispersal of the culture shows that some may have encountered trouble with farming and spread out to more fertile communities to avoid starvation.

Class and Gender Structures

The Yayoi had a social structure made up of small clans, and households. Some of the households that were held in higher regard were given elevated status in the community, “…this involved increasing control by higher-ranked lineages over food storage and access to precious goods and resources.” Though there seem to be some form of clan hierarchy within the Yayoi, with clan heads at the top, there is also record of at least one woman that held power during the time. This shows that women could hold at least some political power in the community since, “Toward the end of the Yayoi era political organizations developed in several regions. The most famous example is the country of Yamatai described in the History of the Wei Dynasty, a Chinese court history of the third century c.e.. This land was ruled by a shaman named Himiko, and was distinguished by social distinctions and institutionalized political activities, such as tax collection.”7

Ancient Sumerians were ruled by priest kings that were in place to interpret the will of their god. There was a caste system in place within the Sumerian society with royalty, priests and religious figures at the top, followed by nobles and those with money and land, then the lower class that owned no land, and finally slaves and servants at the bottom rung of the ladder.

As with many of the societies we have studied this semester, only the men within Sumerian society could participate in affairs of government. Men were considered the head of the household and made any important decisions. Women, on the other hand, were considered dependent on their father or husband. As such, women were not allowed to hold any form of government, nor were they allowed ownership of any belongings. Until a woman got married, her father owned all her belongings. After marriage, responsibility of the woman and a dowery would be given to the husband.

Ancient Sumer also had their fair share of slaves. There were house slaves that would help with chores, child raising, and in some cases running their master’s business. There were also what were called public slaves. Public slaves would help build infrastructure, irrigation canals, and roads. They would also tend to stables and do all the work nobody else wanted to do. Slaves, like women, were not allowed to take part in government. A slave could gain their freedom by buying out their debt, being set free by their master, or fulfilling their contract of three years of servitude that is mentioned in the Code of Hammurabi. Though slaves did not have many rights, they were allowed to defend themselves in court. There are court documents from the time-period, that show the children of a slave gaining their freedom from the family they served by supplying documentation showing their release. This shows that slaves were at the very least, allowed a day in court.

The Mississippian culture had a similar tribal system to the Yayoi, with those who headed the community being given more access to food stores and being held at a higher regard than commoners. Some chieftain leaders would have their homes built atop mounds and were regarded as interpreters and communicators with spirits and other supernatural beings.

As well, it seems that women had a much larger part to play in the Mississippian society. As many women worked the fields and helped to produce a fair amount of the food, “their critical knowledge of domesticated crops and wild food plants would have earned them positions of power and respect at every level of the society.”8 Women even headed their own social groups within the culture and held power through them as, “Women in these tribes who belonged to organizations called “Goose Societies” played a dominant roles in tribal farming and spiritual life.”9

Intellectual and Religious Structures

Burials have been tied to religion since the first person wondered, “What happens to us when we die?” As such, examining the burial grounds of different cultures and societies can give modern day people a small look into the spiritual practices of ancient civilizations. Though each culture has a slightly different method of burial, nearly all people throughout time have sought comfort or closure in their funeral practices.

The Yayoi, having put down roots in a way that the Jumon before them had not, began practicing more ceremonial burials for their dead. “By the transition from Jomon to Yayoi, burial customs also changed. Cemeteries became independent and, generally, burials were practiced more carefully than in earlier times. Localization of burial customs eventually became as distinct as that of pottery…”10 This localization of burial customs can be seen in the differences between the Kyushu region and Kinki, as the Kyushu region buried treasures within the graves towards the center of burial structures. However ,“the Yayoi people in the Kinki and its vicinity did not customarily place treasures in their tombs. It is thought that in this area treasures belonged to the community rather than to one person, and that they were either handed down through the generations…”11

This differentiation in burial techniques could be due to the differing beliefs of clans and families throughout early Japan. However, it is generally agreed upon that the Yayoi practiced an early form of what would become Shinto, a religion that worships many gods and spirits that exist everywhere. Metal working was used to create ceremonial implements such as bells, as well as other tools. Bells and mirrors were used in rituals meant for keeping crops alive and giving prosperity, and many of these ritualistic artifacts still exist today.

Even ancient Sumerians had a version of funerary customs they prescribed to. Though elaborate funeral rites, and large-scale tombs were reserved for royalty and people of import, most everyday people weren’t given such lavish treatment after death. “Throughout Mesopotamia, those who were not royalty were buried below the family home or next to it so that the grave could be regularly maintained.”12 This closeness to dead loved ones may be considered unsettling by today’s standards, but for those living in ancient Mesopotamia, it seemed to be a simple matter of practicality. There was, however, a certain measure of superstition surrounding the death of a family member. Professor Mark states that if a person was not buried correctly, “they could return as a ghost”.13

Sumerians didn’t only believe in ghosts though. Their religion was built around three main gods, “The Sumerians had two leading gods in their divine pantheon: Enlil, the poliad god of Nippur, and Enki, the poliad god of Eridu. The first is the undisputed head of the Sumerian pantheon, the second is the god of wisdom par excellence. Besides these two main divinities, another god, the father of both, plays a prominent role in the Sumerian religious outlook — An, the god of the sky.”14 Other gods were also worshiped, but these three made up the center of most religious beliefs.

The Mississippian culture practiced a form of religion that didn’t so much worship a single god as it did aspects, spirits and the world as a whole. “Mississippian religion was a distinctive Native American belief system in eastern North America that evolved out of an ancient, continuous tradition of sacred landscapes, shamanic institutions, world renewal ceremonies, and the ritual use of fire, ceremonial pipes, medicine bundles, sacred poles, and symbolic weaponry. Mississippian people shared similar beliefs in cosmic harmony, divine aid and power, the ongoing cycle of life and death, and spiritual powers with neighboring cultures throughout much of eastern North America.”15 Many of these beliefs would differ from tribe to tribe, and would change over time, but the way in which these people worshiped always pointed back to what they observed in their day-to-day existence. The spirit world is always a mirror of the physical one.

Economic and Political Structures

There is a pervasive theory that the Yayoi were either partially descendant from the Chinese people of the Han Dynasty, as they existed around roughly the same time period, or that they were influenced by them to a high degree whether through trade or cross-cultural exchange. This can be seen in the main food source for those within the Yayoi culture at the time. The method of rice cultivation that was seen developing within Japan at the time was similar to that of Chinese farmers. As the people of the Jumon period were mainly hunter-gatherers and didn’t have the kind stability to experiment with such methods, it is assumed that the Yayoi learned this method from people coming out of China. This theory is given support by the metal working methods that would later come near the end of the Yayoi period.

The act of cultivation was important to the Yayoi. The tribe that had the most land, and the most food, were considered to wield the most power and influence in the community. This was only second to priests and chiefs that would communicate with the spirits on the communities’ behalf. The leaders of the time were described as, “priestly rulers making use of imported techniques and ideas conquered most of Japan.”16

Sumerians would use the barter system to get other goods and services. Due to the abundance of water in the region at the time, there was heavy cereal and textile trade, as well as fish and other water-based commodities. The Tiger and Euphrates rivers were possibly the most important routes of trade for the civilization. The rivers allowed the mass import and export of goods via sailboat. Though they predominantly dealt using the barter system mentioned above, there is some evidence that Sumerians used a monetary system to trade with other civilizations near them.

The region of Sumer and other parts of Mesopotamia were scattered into independent city-states with their own nobles, rulers, and way of doing things. They did however, always have a hand in crop cultivation and distribution. “The ruler of the city-state’s urban center, as well as his advisers and leading nobles, ordained how much each farm or farming area was expected to produce and oversaw maintenance of the canals.”17

The Mississippian Culture had a food-based economy. “The bounty of food supported towns and cities, enormous public works such as temple mounds and log stockades, and brought about the spread of Mississippian culture throughout eastern North America.”18 Leaders of Mississippian tribes would sometimes live atop mounds, and be given access to stores of food to show their importance.

Historical Perspective

Sumer may have been the driving force behind the advancement of many different civilizations throughout the Middle East. Innovations such as their irrigation systems and infrastructure likely laid the groundwork for many civilizations to come. The advent of one of the first written sets of law were likewise invaluable.

The Yayoi, and by extension their methods for rice cultivation, completely changed the way that inhabitants of Japan lived their lives. This was again, likely due to the influence of travelers from China at the time. This is a prime example of how trade and travel can jumpstart a society into an entirely different socio-economic era.

Like-wise, the Mississippian people took their knowledge and spread out across the nation. Whether do to poor crop cultivation, or some other stressor to the Mississippian tribes, the people dispersed. Their customs can be seen in what some claim to be their descendants, the Cherokee and Chickasaw.

The influence of other cultures has always facilitated great change throughout the world. This is one of the big ways that cultures learn and grow. Stability is never a given, but the ability to learn from people whose ideas differ from our own, as well as their triumphs and shortcomings, are how nations grow and adapt. It’s far easier to learn a skill from someone else than to come up with it on your own, and at the end of the day, ease is what we strive for as a species.

Conclusion

Human beings have one main goal outside of procreation. That goal is to make things as easy as possible in themselves. The ability to be lazy means that a people’s everyday needs are met. This allows societies to try new ways of living, farming, expression, etc. Once a means of survival is achieved, the next step is to make everything easier on ourselves as a species. Those that don’t know where their next meal is coming from will not look towards the future, because they’re too busy thinking about surviving the day. People band together in a society to make their lives easier, and this ease of living facilitates creativity and innovation. Being able to fail at something without dying is an evolutionary advantage, and something that we all strive for.

Academic Journals

KANASEKI, HIROSHI, and MAKOTO SAHARA. “The Yayoi Period.” Asian Perspectives 19, no. 1 (1976): 15–26. Accessed April 5, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42927906.

Mizoguchi, Koji. 2016. “The Household as a Node of Communal Collaboration between Settlements and Tension within Settlements: A Case Study from the Yayoi Period in Northern Kyushu (Japan).” Journal of Anthropological Research 72 (2): 158– 77. doi:10.1086/686558.

Ebooks

Crawford, Harriet, ed. The Sumerian World. London: Taylor & Francis Group, 2013. Accessed April 4, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Tiedemann, Arthur. Sources of Japanese Tradition : From Earliest Times to 1600. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002. Accessed April 4, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Wilson, Gregory D. 2017. Mississippian Beginnings. Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series. Gainesville: University of Florida Press. https://search- ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx? direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1435064&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Electronic Resources Britannica Academic, s.v. “History of Mesopotamia,” accessed April 6, 2021, https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/levels/collegiate/article/history-of- Mesopotamia/108642

Carnagie, Julie L. “Ancient Mesopotamia: 3300–331 BCE: Social Class System and the Economy.” In Ancient Mesopotamia: 3300–331 BCE, 53–76. Vol. 1 of UXL World Eras. Farmington Hills, MI: UXL, 2016. Gale In Context: World History (accessed April 21, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3629700010/WHIC? u=nhc_main&sid=WHIC&xid=362ee360.

Cobb, Charles R. 2003. “Mississipian Chiefdoms: How Complex?” Annual Review of Anthropology 32 (January): 63. https://search-ebscohost- com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx? direct=true&db=edsggo&AN=edsgcl.119007789&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Dye, David, and Stephen J. Stein. “Mississippian Religious Traditions.” Chapter. In The Cambridge History of Religions in America, 137–55. Cambridge History of Religions in America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521871105.008.

Everding, Gerry. “Women Shaped Cuisine, Culture of Ancient Cahokia: The Source: Washington University in St. Louis.” The Source. Washington University in St. Louis, November 13, 2020. https://source.wustl.edu/2019/03/feedingcahokia/.

Illinois State Museum. “Mississippian Economy Food” Museum Link Illinois. Accessed April 25, 2021. http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/pre/htmls/m_food.html

Mark, Joshua J. “Burial.” World History Encyclopedia. Last modified September 02, 2009. https://www.ancient.eu/burial/.

Mizoguchi, Koji. “Genealogy in the ground: observations of jar burials of the Yayoi period, northern Kyushu, Japan.” Antiquity 79, no. 304 (2005): 316+. Gale In Context: World History (accessed April 22, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A134816381/WHIC? u=nhc_main&sid=WHIC&xid=9d01ce9a.

Museum Link Illinois. Native Americans:Prehistoric:Mississippian:Economy. Illinois State Museum. Accessed April 26, 2021. http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/pre/htmls/m_econ.html#:~:text=Although%20hunting%20and%20gathering%20and%20the%20cultivation%20of,Mississippians%20expanded%20their%20small%20gardens%20into%20larger%20farms.

Nardo, Don. “Sumerians.” In The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Mesopotamia, edited by Robert B. Kebric, 274–277. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Gale In Context: World History (accessed April 25, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3205100364/WHIC? u=nhc_main&sid=WHIC&xid=1ff5f013.

Pettinato, Giovanni. “Mesopotamian Religions: An Overview [Further Considerations].” In Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed., edited by Lindsay Jones, 5963–5967. Vol. 9. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. Gale In Context: World History (accessed April 25, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3424502043/WHIC? u=nhc_main&sid=WHIC&xid=78ecee09.

Vinh, Sinh. “The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 1, Ancient Japan.” Canadian Journal of History 29, no. 2 (1994): 435+. Gale In Context: World History (accessed April 25, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A15772278/WHIC?u=nhc_main&sid=WHIC&xid=29c9a765.

“Yayoi.” In Encyclopedia of Asian History. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1988. Gale In Context: World History (accessed April 25, 2021). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2358201993/WHIC? u=nhc_main&sid=WHIC&xid=6e630822.

(Cobb) pg 72. Rituals/pg.74 btm of pg, society not solely male oriented cont on pg 75/pg 76 chief using food to gain prestige through feasts/