{"database":"biostudies-literature","file_versions":[],"scores":null,"additional":{"omics_type":["Unknown"],"volume":["20(8)"],"submitter":["Giosan L"],"pubmed_abstract":["Economic mechanisms behind the emergence of ancient Sumer remain unavoidably speculative and should benefit from a better understanding of their environmental context. Abundance sustaining increased social complexity during the Uruk period (c. 6,000-5,200 y BP) has been traditionally ascribed to pastoralism, trade, and/or resource diversity. However, contemporary agricultural surpluses are hard to explain before adoption of large-scale irrigation systems. Here we use high-resolution satellite-based topography and paleoenvironmental proxies from a new drill core at Lagash/Tell Al Hiba, together with previous geological and archaeological data, to reconstruct the morphodynamic evolution of coastal Sumer. We propose that tidal irrigation offers a plausible jumpstarting mechanism for high-yield, diversified agriculture providing an impetus for urbanization. As access to sea was restricted by delta build-up and tides shifted with the advancing deltaic coast, intensified reliance on mercurial river regimes eventually led to the expansive fluvial irrigation network of Early Dynastic city-states. By positioning coastal morphodynamics as a pivotal factor in urbanization and political ecology, we underscore the intricate interconnections between naturally evolving systems and collective human agency."],"journal":["PloS one"],"pagination":["e0329084"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12367111"],"repository":["biostudies-literature"],"pubmed_title":["Morphodynamic Foundations of Sumer."],"pmcid":["PMC12367111"],"pubmed_authors":["Giosan L","Goodman R"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"Morphodynamic Foundations of Sumer.","description":"Economic mechanisms behind the emergence of ancient Sumer remain unavoidably speculative and should benefit from a better understanding of their environmental context. Abundance sustaining increased social complexity during the Uruk period (c. 6,000-5,200 y BP) has been traditionally ascribed to pastoralism, trade, and/or resource diversity. However, contemporary agricultural surpluses are hard to explain before adoption of large-scale irrigation systems. Here we use high-resolution satellite-based topography and paleoenvironmental proxies from a new drill core at Lagash/Tell Al Hiba, together with previous geological and archaeological data, to reconstruct the morphodynamic evolution of coastal Sumer. We propose that tidal irrigation offers a plausible jumpstarting mechanism for high-yield, diversified agriculture providing an impetus for urbanization. As access to sea was restricted by delta build-up and tides shifted with the advancing deltaic coast, intensified reliance on mercurial river regimes eventually led to the expansive fluvial irrigation network of Early Dynastic city-states. By positioning coastal morphodynamics as a pivotal factor in urbanization and political ecology, we underscore the intricate interconnections between naturally evolving systems and collective human agency.","dates":{"release":"2025-01-01T00:00:00Z","publication":"2025","modification":"2026-05-07T00:26:21.751Z","creation":"2026-04-07T22:21:37.851Z"},"accession":"S-EPMC12367111","cross_references":{"pubmed":["40833960"],"doi":["10.1371/journal.pone.0329084"]}}