What was their sanitation and nutrition like
Nutrition
Ancient Mesopotamia civilisations developed a great source of nutrition and the risk of being malnourished was hereby not an issue. The plentiful although irregular supply of water derived from the seasonal flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, allowed for successful agriculture through discovered irrigation methods. This produced lush valleys and fertile soils aiding an abundant growth of fruit, vegetables and grains, which over time created a surplus of food of high nutritional value. Mesopotamians therefore had plenty to eat and through the domestication of goats, sheep etc., they were able to introduce meat into their diets, giving them a source of iron. They therefore had a healthy and balanced diet providing them with all their necessary vitamins and minerals.
However, the only downside regarding the nutrition in Mesopotamia was that their sometimes-destructive environment would lead to an unstable food source. The flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was irregular and Mesopotamians were unable to predict when the extensive flooding would take place. The flooding became a major issue for the Mesopotamians, as when uncontrolled it would destroy crops of many fruit and vegetables growing off the land, or the soil would be too fertile to allow crops to grow. This meant that they had to go weeks having an unstable source of food because of the continuous flooding. They would then be reliant on feeding off meat, but the meat would however not provide them with all of the minerals and vitamins that the crops gave to them, impacting there overall nutritional diet. However this aspect improved with the increase of agriculture during periods were the environment was productive, which gave them a surplus of food with high nutritional value to last them throughout durations of flooding.
Sanitation
During the beginning of the earliest civilisations in Mesopotamia, people were unaware of the importance of maintaining healthy sanitation systems. The ancient Mesopotamians practiced limited sanitation methods and during the beginning of their time. The degree of sanitation available to individuals depended on their social status. During the Bronze age, an estimated 50% of the population had complex outside street drains to dispose of sewage, mainly to help reduce the smell. This turned into an underground sewage system using manufactured clay pipes, which led to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to dispose of the waste. While there was evidence through the remains of the civilisation that other households had used a sanitation method of constructing a small room inside the house in which family members squatted and did their business in an opening in the ground, this the first development of a bathroom. In Ancient Mesopotamia, because of the lack of sewage technology Mesopotamians had, they were responsible for their own households waste and had to dispose of it at the at the communal dump- irrigation canals. As a result, the canals were breeding grounds for vermin and disease. The dump, an unhealthy sanitation system caused severe prevalent diseases such as diarrhoea, bacterial infections vomiting and many more, which spread throughout the community causing many deaths.
Water was also an important part of any sanitation system, which was realised by Mesopotamians. Mesopotamia had plenty of water from its encompassing rivers and created irrigation systems that cleaned out the water as much as possible, as it was often contaminated with diseases. The water was then transported home by the woman and the community used the water for bathing purposes and drinking. However, with the lack of technology advancement, they were unable to clean the water of any germs completely so individuals would often consume nasty bugs as a result of poor sanitation. Therefore Mesopotamians were not fully aware of the importance of developing healthy sanitation systems and did not have the required technology to do so.
Ancient Mesopotamia civilisations developed a great source of nutrition and the risk of being malnourished was hereby not an issue. The plentiful although irregular supply of water derived from the seasonal flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, allowed for successful agriculture through discovered irrigation methods. This produced lush valleys and fertile soils aiding an abundant growth of fruit, vegetables and grains, which over time created a surplus of food of high nutritional value. Mesopotamians therefore had plenty to eat and through the domestication of goats, sheep etc., they were able to introduce meat into their diets, giving them a source of iron. They therefore had a healthy and balanced diet providing them with all their necessary vitamins and minerals.
However, the only downside regarding the nutrition in Mesopotamia was that their sometimes-destructive environment would lead to an unstable food source. The flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was irregular and Mesopotamians were unable to predict when the extensive flooding would take place. The flooding became a major issue for the Mesopotamians, as when uncontrolled it would destroy crops of many fruit and vegetables growing off the land, or the soil would be too fertile to allow crops to grow. This meant that they had to go weeks having an unstable source of food because of the continuous flooding. They would then be reliant on feeding off meat, but the meat would however not provide them with all of the minerals and vitamins that the crops gave to them, impacting there overall nutritional diet. However this aspect improved with the increase of agriculture during periods were the environment was productive, which gave them a surplus of food with high nutritional value to last them throughout durations of flooding.
Sanitation
During the beginning of the earliest civilisations in Mesopotamia, people were unaware of the importance of maintaining healthy sanitation systems. The ancient Mesopotamians practiced limited sanitation methods and during the beginning of their time. The degree of sanitation available to individuals depended on their social status. During the Bronze age, an estimated 50% of the population had complex outside street drains to dispose of sewage, mainly to help reduce the smell. This turned into an underground sewage system using manufactured clay pipes, which led to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to dispose of the waste. While there was evidence through the remains of the civilisation that other households had used a sanitation method of constructing a small room inside the house in which family members squatted and did their business in an opening in the ground, this the first development of a bathroom. In Ancient Mesopotamia, because of the lack of sewage technology Mesopotamians had, they were responsible for their own households waste and had to dispose of it at the at the communal dump- irrigation canals. As a result, the canals were breeding grounds for vermin and disease. The dump, an unhealthy sanitation system caused severe prevalent diseases such as diarrhoea, bacterial infections vomiting and many more, which spread throughout the community causing many deaths.
Water was also an important part of any sanitation system, which was realised by Mesopotamians. Mesopotamia had plenty of water from its encompassing rivers and created irrigation systems that cleaned out the water as much as possible, as it was often contaminated with diseases. The water was then transported home by the woman and the community used the water for bathing purposes and drinking. However, with the lack of technology advancement, they were unable to clean the water of any germs completely so individuals would often consume nasty bugs as a result of poor sanitation. Therefore Mesopotamians were not fully aware of the importance of developing healthy sanitation systems and did not have the required technology to do so.