Ancient Mesopotamian Tools

Mesopotamia has always been the centre of awe and amazement for historians and scholars worldwide. The immense promise of development that this civilization showed 5000 years from now is indeed a source of inspiration for times to come.

Mesopotamia was credited with many a unique advancements in the fields of art, architecture, technology, etc. The development of better and modern tools was one amongst the many developments. Here is a small account of the tools of Mesopotamia.

Stone Tools:

Stone was one of the main raw materials for many uses in the ancient times. Heavy tools were first made out of stones coz metals were yet to be discovered. Sculptors used stone told to chip through stones to give them the beautiful shape of statues.

ancient-mesopotamian-tools

None of the excavated stones seem to have handles on them and hence historians and scholars find it difficult to specify their usage. Some detail which seems evident is the use of flint forarrowheads, ploughshares and sickles.

Bone Tools:

Bones were also widely used for tools in Mesopotamia.Different bones were brought to different uses in the ancient civilization. Larger bones served as awls for working on leather where as smaller ones were used as needles.
Bone knives have also been found to be common in Mesopotamia. Many people also used utensils composed of bones.

Metal Tools:

ancient-mesopotamian-tools

The excavations have recovered several metallic tools in Mesopotamia. Tools like knife blades, awls, chisels, copper axes, etc have been found in various sites of excavation. Copper was also used for the manufacture of other tools like chains, sickles, hammers, daggers, etc.

ancient-mesopotamian-tools

The ornaments and jewellery found in the excavations also have marks of the work of metallic tools on them.

Other Tools:

Other tools have also been recovered from the excavation sites. Potters’ workshops have brought to the notice of archaeologists kilns used during this time to bake clay. The kilns seem to have been made of clay like material.

ancient-mesopotamian-tools

The potters wheels found here also were either of baked clay or rarely of stone. Farming tools have also been discovered in Mesopotamia. Their usage varies from harnessing oxen’s to ploughing the fields.