Invention of sailboats
Land transportation was difficult and time consuming. The Sumerians realized that transportation by sea would be much easier and more convenient. The first boat was invented and used on rivers in Mesopotamia, specifically in Sumer, and it was necessary for humans to sail on it. The first sailboats were of a simple and primitive design and helped in trade and commerce. It was initially used to cross the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for fishing and exploring other areas.
The primitive sailboat was square in shape and the sail was made of cloth. The direction of the sailboat cannot be changed. If the wind was not blowing in the direction they wanted to go, they had to wait for the wind to change in their favor.
Sail was among the first ways to harness wind energy.
The paucity of images representing Mesopotamian ships makes it difficult to make a comparison. Their means of water transportation, as is currently known, were not able to withstand time. Despite the progress in archaeological study of ships around the world, information about boats and ships in Mesopotamia remains ambiguous. The information we have is no more than what is in the pictures and texts
Representations of ships in Mesopotamia are found on seals, relief carvings, and models. There is not enough detail in these figures to enable a fuller understanding of their techniques. The studies that were conducted about this did not have enough to contribute to our limited understanding of the subject. They included the study of: Mesopotamian Canoes before 2000 BC, and: Ships of the Ancient Near East (222-500 BC) by Marie-Christine de Greve, From the Department of Orientals, Lawn University, 1981.
Ancient texts from there that contain lists of boat sections can enhance our knowledge of water transportation. However, these texts were not understood sufficiently. At the beginning of Assyrian studies, little was known about the details of boat construction. Therefore, scholars relied heavily on modern shipbuilding techniques to interpret these texts.
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