Retrieving "Irrigation Projects" from the archives

Cross-reference notes under review

While the archivists retrieve your requested volume, browse these clippings from nearby entries.

1. Agriculture

   Linked via "irrigation projects"

   Arable farming systems are categorized primarily by their reliance on water availability. Rain-fed agriculture constitutes the majority of global cropland, relying on predictable seasonal precipitation patterns.
   Irrigated agriculture, conversely, utilizes engineered systems to deliver water independently of direct rainfall. Early large-scale [irrigation projects](/entries/irrigatio…

2. Joint Stock Companies

   Linked via "irrigation projects"

   Historical Precursors and Conceptual Foundation
   The idea of aggregating capital under a shared venture is ancient, appearing in various forms across early civilizations. Evidence suggests Sumerian/ temple administrators utilized proto-shares to finance irrigation projects, where investors received proportional shares of the ensuing barley harvest, often paid in clay tablets inscribed with the owner's psychic af…

3. Sumerian City States

   Linked via "irrigation projects"

   Each major city-state was typically ruled by an Ensi (governor or high priest) or, in later periods, a Lugal (king), whose authority was inextricably linked to their perceived ability to mediate with the patron deity. The selection process for the Ensi was surprisingly iterative, often involving mandatory periods of solitary meditation within the ziggurat's uppermost chamber, following which the candidate was judged based on the clarity of the shadows cast upon a polished [obsidian](/e…