The rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates. The exception was the region in southern Mesopotamia where the Tigris and Euphrates deltas were. Ur was located in what is now Iraq and was an important city on the Persian Gulf. As a result, not everyone needed to farm. Stable Food Supply: Sumerians had two major ways of creating a stable food supply. Ur feast John Lawton wrote in Aramco World: “One text that has come down to us is a Sumerian-Akkadian bilingual dictionary, recorded in cuneiform script on 24 stone tablets about 1900 B.C.. After all, away from the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the region was mostly desert. Farming and Food in Ancient Mesopotamia Farming in most of Mesopotamia was a challenge. The city of Babylon, whose ruins are located in present-day Iraq, was founded more than 4,000 … The first was all of their complex irrigation systems.They built networks of canals, dams, and reservoirs to provide their crops with a regular supply of water. These included mint, coriander and chives, among others. Condiments, such as a pickled fish sauce (siqqu), were also used, while honey, dates, grape juice and raisins were favored for sweetening dishes. https://listverse.com/2016/06/05/10-ancient-recipes-you-can-try-today The people of Mesopotamia had extra food, or a surplus. For a long period, the ancient Sumerians prospered and multiplied. The ancient Babylonians were particularly interested in flavoring their food and used a range of herbs and spices. Ancient Mesopotamia and the Sumerians The word Mesopotamia comes from Greek words meaning "land between the rivers." A larger proportion of the food than is the case today was probably eaten raw. Dishes known from ancient Mesopotamia include breads, cakes, pies, porridges, soups, stews, and roasts. Agriculture and cattle ranching continued to be the main sources of wealth, but over time, the Sumerian farmers produced a surplus of goods far exceeding their immediate needs. This cake was served in the palaces of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur and uses one of the most important food staples in ancient Mesopotamia—the date. It was inhabited from 3800 BCE to 450 BCE. It lists terms in the two ancient Mesopotamian languages for over 800 different items of food and drink. Ancient Sumer Agriculture. A very frequently used ingredient in Sumerian food is barley, which is something we still use in our food today. Mesopotamia (from the Greek, meaning “between two rivers”) was an ancient region in the Near East, which corresponds roughly to present-day Iraq. https://www.realmofhistory.com/2018/04/04/9-oldest-food-recipes-history Some people could become artisans. Widely regarded as the “cradle of civilization,” Mesopotamia should be more properly understood as a region that produced multiple empires and civilizations rather than any single civilization. The foods that Sumerians use have sides like barley cakes, barley paste, or just plain barley. Archaeology of Mesopotamian Food . Babylonia was a state in ancient Mesopotamia. The second invention was the plow.The plow was used for tilling, another word for turning, the soil.