26Dentistry's Ancient Roots
Dentistry is one of the oldest medical professions, dating back to 7000 B.C. from the Indus Valley Civilization.
27. Ancient Egyptians loved board games, and a well-known Bronze Age game, which was invented in Egypt 4,000 years ago, had one player choose Hound pegs, and the other Jackal pegs. Carved out of ivory, pieces of the game have been found in Mesopotamia, Israel, Syria, Iran, Azerbaijan, Levant, and the Mediterranean.
28. This picture of an ancient tablet is actually a 5,000-year-old beer receipt. The "Alulu beer receipt" records a purchase of the "best" beer from a brewer circa 2050 B.C. in the Sumerian city of Umma, ancient Iraq.
29. The first proper banks likely originated in ancient Mesopotamia, where evidence suggests that temples and palaces throughout Babylonia and other cities provided lending activities. However, much of this was not in the form of financial lending but rather lending out seeds.
30. Historically, pillows were made of stone and were not intended to be comfortable. The first pillows were used around 7,000 BC in Mesopotamia and were carved in the shape of a cradle.
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31Naram-Sin Rock Relief
For centuries, Kurdish villagers knew an ancient rock relief as "Naram-Sin" without knowing its meaning. Later, archaeologists discovered it to be a depiction of Naram-Sin of Akkad, King of the Akkadian Empire, the world's first empire, who ruled over 4,200 years ago.
32. Ancient civilizations discovered iron tools before the Iron Age by finding meteorites made of iron and nickel that didn't require smelting.
33. Crocodile dung was used as one of the earliest contraceptives in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
34. Indoor gardening has been practiced since ancient times, with early civilizations in Egypt, India, and China using potted plants in outdoor settings such as courtyards.
35. The ancient Babylonians took their beer very seriously. If a brewer was found to be watering down his beer, he would either be drowned in the barrel or forced to drink it until death.
