Ancient Mesopotamian tools:
Ancient Mesopotamians used tools for a variety of purposes. Farming, building, sculpting and writing required
different instruments, and the Mesopotamians learned to use tools made of a variety of materials in order to
complete tasks. Many of their tools were designed to ease the tasks associated with everyday life.
Copper Tools
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Copper was the most widely used metal largely because it was the cheapest until the NeoBabylonian period, when iron became cheaper. Copper was used to make a variety of tools,
including axes, hammers, sickles, daggers and chains. Sumerians also made jewelry, awls
and chisels using copper and tin metals.
Bronze Tools
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By 3000 B.C., Sumerians had learned how to make bronze tools, which were much harder
than tools made out of copper alone. Bronze tools marked a major innovation in the history of
tools. They were made by smelting copper with tin. Perhaps the most consequential use of
bronze by the Sumerians was the socketed axe. The socketed axe had a bronze socket that
slipped over the handle, or the haft. This solved the problem of the axehead falling off its
handle during intense battles. The socketed axe became an important battle weapon for 2,000
years.
Bone Tools
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Many tools in Mesopotamia were made from animal bones of all sizes. Large bones were used
as awls to make leather, and small bones were used to make things like utensils and needles.
Some early weapons were made out of bones, like bone knives for instance. Bones made
good natural handles with their natural sockets. Bone handles were used on weapons, tools
and mirrors. Bone was also used in jewelry, including beads, pedants, rings and bracelets.
Transportation Tools

The peoples of ancient Mesopotamia invented transportation tools that transformed the world
of trade and travel. They started using the wheel in 3,500 B.C. and attached them to carts to
transport people and goods. Mesopotamian inventions include the sail to navigate the seas by
using the power of the wind. They took their sail-driven boats as far away as India.
Farming Tools

Mesopotamian people invented the seeder plow, which enabled farmers to carry out the tasks
of seeding and plowing at the same time. The plow created the furrow as seed was dropped
into a funnel. They further enhanced the technology of the plow by learning how to use oxen to
power it.
Pottery Tools:
The Hands

Harvesting clay from the earth, cleaning it, building and firing pottery has taken place around
the globe since ancient times. Mesopotamian pottery was hand built using a variety of
methods: coil building, slab building and pinch potting. The hands are a potter's most valuable
tools. In addition to traditional pottery such as food ware, urns, pots and bowls, the
Mesopotamians hand-built figures, generally of gods and goddesses.
The Wheel

The wheel was developed in ancient Mesopotamia for use in transportation and as a potter's
tool. The development of the wheel had an incredible impact on the manufacture and quality of
pottery produced beginning around 3500 B.C. The wheel allows the construction of pottery that
is more uniform in thickness, therefore providing the ability to fire more evenly, preventing
breakage.
Engraving Tools
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People used many different kinds of tools for engraving or scratching a design into the surface
of semi-wet pottery in Mesopotamia. Examples were sharpened sticks and rocks, bone, teeth,
shells and metal. The pottery of the region is known for its beauty of design as well as for its
practical uses.
Brushes and Smoothing Stones

Potters used crude brushes, generally made of animal hair, to glaze pottery to make it
aesthetically pleasing. Rather than glazing a pot, sometimes the potter would rub it vigorously
with smooth stones to create a matte sheen on the outer side of the pottery.
Lock and Key

The oldest lock-and-key arrangements were made in Mesopotamia around 400 B.C.,
according to historians Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans in their book "The History of
Science and Technology." These ancient lock-and-key arrangements were made of wood and
are the earliest forms of locks that scientists know of as of 2011.
Seeder Plow

Farmers in ancient Mesopotamia used wooden plows pulled by oxen as a way to farm their
lands. Shortly after these plows were created, Mesopotamian farmers then built on the
invention to create the first seeder plow. According to the Oriental Institute at the University of
Chicago, seeder plows "revolutionized" agriculture by seeding and plowing simultaneously.
The Oriental Institute states that ancient Mesopotamians believed that the god Enlil created
the seeder plow and that the plow's image was first seen in the stars.
Abacus

The Mesopotamian abacus dates from about 2700 to 2300 B.C., according to historian
Georges Ifrah. This abacus consisted of a few rows of columns, with beads attached to each
column that could be moved up and down. Store merchants and others in business could use
the abacus as a tool to better calculate simple addition and subtraction during trade
transactions.