New Findings from Ancient Sumer from ISAW Visiting Research Alumnus, Reed Goodman

We are delighted to highlight recently published findings from our former 2023-2024 Visiting Research Scholar, Reed Goodman, whose latest publication challenges conceptions of the origins of urban civilization in Mesopotamia. 

The study, led by Liviu Giosan, Senior Scientist Emeritus in Geology & Geophysics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), introduced a new paleoenvironmental model aimed at studying tidal dynamics and their influence on early agricultural development and sociopolitical complexity. As a part of a longstanding contribution to the Lagash Archaeological Project, their study revealed that the cyclical tidal patterns, coupled with changes in the landscape from this ecological process, were significantly intertwined in the social fabric of Sumerian life, myths, and agricultural innovations. Goodman says, “We often picture ancient landscapes as static. But the Mesopotamian delta was anything but. Its restless, shifting land demanded ingenuity and cooperation, sparking some of history's first intensive farming and pioneering bold social experiments.”

Dr. Reed Goodman is currently an Assistant Professor of Environmental and Social Science at Baruch Institute of Social Ecology and Forest Sciences (BICEFS) at Clemson University. He is an anthropologically trained geoarcheologist who works collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams and diverse stakeholders to connect insights from the past to address contemporary challenges, advance theoretical understanding, and promote conservation efforts. Goodman’s research explores the cultural and historical ecology of wetlands and coastlines across space and time by integrating research approaches from archeology, geoscience, and ethnohistory. Goodman is especially interested in exploring how people interact with these dynamic landscapes, focusing on feedback between environment, demography, and subsistence to identify drivers of chance, to quantify social resilience, and understand systems of collapse. 

Click here to read the published journal. To learn more about the publication’s findings on the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution website, click here.