We do not really know the origin of human civilization. There are various studies on the place
and the time of origin advocated. But we only expect the time in several ten thousand years ago
at some of the place not so far from the shores of Mediterranean sea located. For the calendars
based on the waxing and waning of the Moon, we have a record of the agricultural people that
are useful to know the growth of plants and crops timed. These types of calendars are not only
familiar to many agricultural people but also to the hunting people, who are sensitive to the
moving of animals that seek around foods made of plants and crops grown. Such calendars based
on the appearance of the Moon are used by people who are longing for coming spring season that
mentally satisfied by longing for daylight starting from the day of winter-ingress that is the
shortest daylight of year. Only exception in the system of calendars is the spring-ingress
type that was originated by the ancient Sumerian people. It has been difficult for the people
to find the exact day of longest night or the day of winter solstice observed. Until the time
nowadays Gregorian Calendar that was established in 1582, the days of festival to celebrate the
winter solstice in Rome were set in the long period of two weeks including the assumed date
of winter solstice observed.
In much materialism with less spiritualism, the ancient Sumerian
have selected the day of spring ingress for the first day of the year as they could find
the day exact in the land of Mesopotamia that the Northern Latitude was justify the balance
of time in day and night observed in exact. They traveled at night and have dealt with trade
business in the daytime participated. They observed stars in the heaven and learnt the proper
direction of travel scheduled. They have predicted possible profits and losses in business as
well as to foreshow an accident incurred by a thief in travel encountered. During the
observation of stars, they found planet Jupiter travels the whole sky by twelve years
approximately that they set the unit of one dozen to compile the commodities in trade business.
In nowadays tradition in the world, we use twelve months for one year that contains thirteen
times of new Moon, we use twelve hours in the morning and twelve hours in the evening and also
we use twelve zodiacs out of sixteen sets of constellation along the ecliptic or the route of
the Sun found; these conventions are all specified for the memory of tradition in the ancient
Sumerian life accustomed. As they invented the pictographs in about five thousand years ago by
taking the similar idea from the system to illustrate the constellation in the sky by
connecting stars compiled, they have developed letters in CUNEIFORMS engraved on the surface of
clay plates.
In despite of the ill description against ancient Sumerian that was engraved on
the Rosetta Stone 
of Egypt, the human oldest pictographs of Sumerians invented indicated
the evidence on high culture life of Sumerians found.
You will see a pictograph of woman-slave or bond-woman
that was combined two simple word woman and mountain. As women from the northern mountain side have
been held in servitude to the Sumerian society, thus the combined word was invented.
約一万年前に中近東・西アジアの
メソポタミアで栄えた古代シュメール人は夜に旅をし昼に商売をし、夜空の星を観測し旅行の道案内にしました。彼らは商売の成功
や失敗や盗賊の災害発生の有無を予測する手段として天体を利用しま
した。古代シュメール人は木星が12年で天空を一周することを知り、
商品12個を一まとめにして１ダースにして整理しました。一年に13回の
新月があるのに一年を12か月にするのも、午前午後を12時間とした
のも、太陽の通り道（黄道・こうどう）に16個の星座が存在するのに
12星座だけを使用するのも,古代シュメール人の風習に従ったものです。
空の星をつなぎ人間の考えかたを整理して星の絵文字の星座を考え出
したシュメール人は約五千年前に人類初めての
絵文字を考え粘土板に記録し,後に楔形文字（くさびかたもじ）
に発達しました。 シュメール人の知能の高さを表現するものとして、右図の女性
を示す絵文字と山脈を示す絵文字を合併して女奴隷という絵文字を合成したことが注目されます。その当時は
北方の山岳地帯から出稼ぎの異民族の女性がシュメール社会の奴隷になったのですが、二つの独立した意味の
絵文字を組み合わせて、新しい内容の文字を創出したことは古代シュメール人が論理的で知能の高い民族である
ことを証明しています。後世のエジプト人がロゼッタ・ストーンに刻んだ古代シュメール人への悪口はシュメール人
の知能の高さに対するエジプト人の妬みなのでしょう。
