Computer simulation to chart
rise, fall of ancient Mesopotamia
Computer scientists in Argonne's
Decision and Information
Sciences Division (DIS) are using information gathered from
4,000-year-old cuneiform tablets to help simulate the rise and
the fall of ancient cities in the northern and southern regions
of Mesopotamia — the land between the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers in modern-day Iraq and Syria
The new multidisciplinary simulation framework
for ancient Mesopotamia will allow scientists to run countless
simulations using different modeling assumptions and variables.
Through the simulations, the researchers hope to be able to
answer such questions as:
- How and why did the third and fourth
millennium BC cities in the irrigated zone of southern
Mesopotamia grow to a greater size and complexity than those
in the rain-fed north?
- What was the dynamic progression of such
settlements through the time?
- How did the communities respond to the
natural environment?
- How well were they able to survive or
grow under various environmental and social stresses?
The answers will help answer current
questions about sustainability in modern societies
The nation’s first national laboratory,
Argonne National Laboratory conducts basic and applied
scientific research across a wide spectrum of disciplines,
ranging from high-energy physics to climatology and
biotechnology. Since 1990, Argonne has worked with more than 600
companies and numerous federal agencies and other organizations
to help advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the
nation for the future. Argonne is operated by the
University of Chicago as
part of the U.S. Department of
Energy's national laboratory system. —
Katie Williams
For more information, please contact
Catherine Foster (630/252-5580 or
cfoster@anl.gov) at Argonne
