How Did The Industrial Revolution Affect The Mesopotamian Civilization

The pre-modern era was a massive time period in which human civilizations began to transition from their hunter and gatherer lifestyles, and move towards more sustainable settlements. This move towards more permanent settlements is what gave rise to many new technologies. During the pre-modern era, the technological innovations of Cuneiform, beasts of burden, and early maritime trade were the most pivotal in establishing the course of human history. Without these select technological innovations, modern day societies would be vastly different. The first vital technology is the innovative use of beasts of burden. Around 3500 B.C.E Mesopotamian settlements arose, and they began to implement permanent agriculture based off cereal crops. Cereal crop agriculture wasn’t labor intensive and allowed for specialization of labor. This key aspect would allow people to develop alternative agricultural practices. They discovered that if you use domesticated animals for the exhaustive portions of agriculture, then you will increase crop yields and decrease the labor force needed. With beasts of burden allowing for people to specialize in labor, the Mesopotamian peoples would be capable of creating
complex societies. Without the development of specialized labor provided from beasts of burden, the world we know today would not exist. Thanks to how the beasts of burden provided for specialized labor, complex societies began to form.
In order to maintain a constantly expanding society, the need for a writing system was imperative. By 3300 B.C.E the Sumerians created Cuneiform, a wedge based writing system, in order to keep track of crop yields; however, due to the success of this system it would develop beyond just agricultural applications. Although Cuneiform was successful, it did have its limitations. During the 4th century, Alexander the Great’s invasion would introduce alphabetic writing. With the alphabetic writing style it would allow for more complex subjects and improve on the Cuneiform framework. Without this technology the development of communication would be drastically hindered in human
history. With the previous technologies building on top of one another, it goes without saying, the final innovation holds equal importance. Approximately 700 B.C.E, the Phoenicians dominated Mediterranean seafaring thanks to their creation of Galleys, which alone allowed for long distance trade. This method of trade was the most reliable, because overseas you don't have the constant worry of being ransacked for your goods. Soon this network of maritime trade would develop beyond the Phoenicians perspective. Without the technological innovation of early maritime trade, the world we have today wouldn’t have developed at the rate it did. Throughout history technological innovations have been the catalyst for human development. Without these three innovations, we wouldn’t have complex civilizations, alphabetic writing styles, and we would still be driving caravans across massive land routes. These three innovations helped to form the modern society we know today. If we had one without the other then human history would have been drastically altered; however, thanks to these innovations we have exponentially grown from our Mesopotamian ancestors.