Sumerian

adjective

• of or relating to Sumer, its ancient language, or the early, non-Semitic element it contributed to Babylonian civilization.

noun

• 1a member of the indigenous non-Semitic people of ancient Babylonia.

• 2the Sumerian language.

  The Sumerians had one of the oldest known written languages, whose relationship to any other language is unclear. Theirs is the first historically attested civilization, and they invented cuneiform writing, the sexagesimal system of mathematics, and the sociopolitical institution of the city state. Their art, literature, and theology had a profound influence long after their demise circa 2000 bc