More than five thousand years ago the Sumerian people nestled in the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates gave us the gift of writing. The Egyptians at the other end of the Fertile Crescent gave us the gift of artistic culture and meticulously designed pyramids. But nestled in between these two lived a people who gave us a far more priceless gift. Who were these people and what gift is more priceless than writing and organized culture?