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The Sumerians and the Invention of Time: How a 5,000-Year-Old System Still Shapes Our World Around 5,000 years ago, the Sumerians of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) revolutionized how we measure time. They developed the sexagesimal system, a base-60 numerical approach that led to the division of an hour into 60 minutes and a minute into 60 seconds—a structure still used today. The Sumerians’ agricultural society demanded precise timekeeping for planting, harvesting, and religious ceremonies. Their astronomical observations enabled them to create a 12-month lunar calendar, perfectly aligning with seasonal cycles. The division of time into 24 hours, 60 minutes, and 60 seconds was a stroke of mathematical brilliance, allowing for easy calculation and division. Later civilizations, including the Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans, adopted and refined this system, ensuring its survival through millennia. From sundials to modern clocks, the Sumerians’ legacy of timekeeping continues to influ

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    So, let’s talk about the Lamassu! These cool hybrid creatures from ancient Mesopotamia were like the superheroes of the Assyrian and Babylonian worlds. Picture this: they had the body of a bull or a lion, wings like an eagle, and the head of a human. Pretty wild, right? They were all about protecting cities and palaces, keeping the bad vibes away. One particular Lamassu that you might find interesting was carved around 710-705 BC and used to stand guard at the palace of Khorsabad, built by none other than King Sargon II of Assyria. What’s really fascinating is that these statues were designed with five legs, which was a clever trick so that they looked like they were standing still when you looked at them from the front but appeared to be walking when you viewed them from the side. Today, this massive Lamassu statue from Khorsabad is on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris, giving us a glimpse of just how impressive and skillful ancient Assyrian art was.

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