Ubaid - Ancient Civ

Political power, religion, and economy are the three basic components that determine how any type of chiefdom, state, or even empire is to prosper and properly run. Dating back to before 5000 BC the first settlement of Ubaid in southern Mesopotamia used these tools to run a functional community. These traits showed their importance by how they were carried all the way on to the first civilization of Olmec in Mesoamerica. Although the Olmecs revitalized certain aspects of what a perfect political power, religion or economy was, the dominant idea as a whole was repeated.

The complex chiefdom of Ubaid lived under a three-tiered settlement hierarchy, and was small-scaled and family based. Chiefs were found to be generous because they redistributed goods, evidence for this was found by the large storage bins that were located in the t-shaped temples of Eridu. T-shaped temple of Eridu was the center of the Ubaid chiefdom and run by rulers. Nobles were found to be not organizing considering the evidence of small-scale irrigation systems. Ubaid was a theocracy, where political role of leadership was in the hands of the priests (Lamberg-Karlovsky, Sabloff, 1995, pg. 114). The Ubaid temples portrayed religion to be extreme importance in the act of unifying political authority.

The Olmecs believed that the nobles had a greater power to contact with the gods. Vast amounts of monumental stone heads were excavated in San Lorenzo, a hot and humid, watery lowland area found in the gulf coast of the Olmec chiefdom. These colossal stone heads were built on levies of the river system and were carved to portray rulers’ faces. Religion decided who the rulers would be, and common people gave their allegiance to rulers.

La Venta was the largest and most powerful site of the Olmec chiefdom, the site was dominated by a ceremonial center where the center of this site was a pyramid, that was considered to be a form of a sacred mountain volcano and faced the ceremonial center. Olmec carved jaguar/celt figurines were found at the site of La Venta depicting a leader being surrounded by other jaguar beings. The jaguar was considered to be a very scared and powerful animal to the Olmecs. These figurines depicted that everyone has an animal spirit, and they depicted the nobility and supernatural, humanistic transformation.

In the Olmec society, nobles contacted with the gods through sacrifice. Sacrifice represented fertility and prosperity. The Olmecs would perform many different types of sacrifice including: bloodletting, auto sacrifice, and animal sacrifice. Death was considered to be the ultimate sacrifice. People captured in warfare were the most common human sacrifice through heart extraction. A skull rack was excavated in Olmec, where many skulls from execution were kept. Stingray spines that were found in a tomb in La Venta showed evidence for blood letting. Other offerings such as jade, shells and beads were found at the tomb. At the tomb of La Venta, an Olmec ruler is seated halfway in/out of the tomb. An earth band surrounds the tomb made up of a continuum of jaguar images wearing elaborate clothing and dressed as Olmec rulers. The basalt altars that were found at La Venta where considered the “thrones” that the Olmec rulers would sit on during important ceremonies and rituals. These altars displayed carved sacrificial scenes showing prisoners with their arms tied behind their backs.

Excavated remains of animals and plants that are suggested to date back to the Ubaid period specify that the economic life was broad based, including everything from fishing, hunting of gazelles and horses, herding of cattle and goats on the alluvial plain, and cultivation of crops (Lamberg-Karlovsky, Sabloff, 1995, pg. 108). Artifacts such as ceramics, beads, and stone tools suggest craft specialization was present. A mud brick temple-like structure was found in Eridu called Level XVII along with elite houses surrounding it (Lamberg-Karlovsky, Sabloff, 1995, pg. 108). Craftsmen were found to have lived near the elites, and farmers were to be found living close to the craftsmen (Lamberg-Karlovsky, Sabloff, 1995, pg. 108). In every Ubaid site a temple was present to provide as a managing center. The various sized temples found throughout the Ubaid settlements propose