Prehistoric India to 1000 B.C. c10.35

c10.35

The next phase is one of peculiar interest in the prehistory of Mesopotamia, though we cannot dwell on it here. One of its outstanding characteristics is the sudden change over from painted pottery to wares which are plain, and either red or grey, frequently with a polished surface. This *Uruk Culture* (occupying levels V to X on the type site) clearly marks the appearance of new people with new elements of civilization in the region; engraved cylinder-seals, writing on clay, sculpture in the round and stone-built temples are among the innovations, and these in many ways foreshadow the achievements of the civilization which we can call Sumerian. Settlements of the Uruk Culture appear stratified above those of Al Ubaid, not only on the type site but at Gawra (VIII*b*–XI), Nineveh (IV–III), Uqair (V–VIII), and elsewhere.