Food in Mesopotamia

What did Mesopotamians eat? They largely consumed the produce of the Fertile Cresent, along with livestock animals that provided them meat. While reading this article, keep in mind that ancient Mesopotamia’s history stretches back to mankind’s first ventures into agriculture and village life, during the time when people realized a different life from that spent hunting and gathering. Sometime around 9000 B.C. people began cultivating plants they found useful and edible. By careful cultivation, they had a surplus of food which negated the need to move constantly, and they began to settle in one place permanently.

he main crop of the ancient Mesopotamian farmers was barley, which grew easily and abundantly in the fertile alluvial soil. Archeology and the ancient writing known as cuneiform reveal barley’s importance. From barley, the people made both bread and beer, which were staples of their diet. Grains, such as barley and wheat, legumes including lentils and chickpeas, beans, onions, garlic, leeks, melons, eggplants, turnips, lettuce, cucumbers, apples, grapes, plums, figs, pears, dates, pomegranates, apricots, pistachios and a variety of herbs and spices were all grown and eaten by Mesopotamians.

About the same time as the birth of agriculture, people began domesticating animals, beginning with goats. They also raised sheep, pigs, cattle, ducks and pigeons. They made cheeses and cultured dairy products from milk. Fish swam in the rivers and in the canals dug to irrigate crop fields and gardens. Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets reveal over 50 varieties of fish that were a popular addition to the diet. Though settled in villages and cities, ancient Mesopotamians hunted for sport and meat, adding gazelle, deer and waterfowl to their diet.