Iraq, 1930s. Almost on the border with Iran, near the Diyalah River, they began digging the remains of the Sumerian city of Eshnunna, under the direction of the East Institute of the University of Chicago. The remnants of sumeria are confused by the habit of demolishing the buildings when they were obsolete and of building a new one on cascotes. So it's often difficult to define the boundaries of the buildings, and archaeologists at the University of Chicago excavated a large moat of about five meters across the site. If they found something they were interested in, they would open the search camp.

Thus, the palace of the top leader of the city was discovered and, together with it, a temple dedicated to Ninazu, the god who protected the city. Curious objects were found in one of the temple rooms: terracotta lambs, gazelles, elephants, dogs, lions and other animals. They were unaware of the use they made of these small sculptures and, as archaeologists often do, they catalogued them as objects of worship.

A few years ago, researchers went back to studying these objects, and because some parts had wheels, then freshly invented, or hoops, they came to the conclusion that they were toys. Historian Paul Kriwaczek, Babylon: In his book Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization (2012), he described as one of the wheeled toys: “It is about thirteen centimeters long, it is made of terracotta and has a small ram head attached to the cylindrical body. It's on four thin wheels and on the front it has a hole to tie the rope. It's a simple toy, made for children 3 to 5 years old to enjoy. And you imagine a child, 5,000 years ago, dragging the ram into a dusty courtyard or into the populous streets of the city.” Or in a kind of kindergarten where they found all the toys.

The Sumerians were concerned about childcare, among other things because infant mortality was very high. In these wetlands, the spread of disease and infection was very simple, so the percentage of children who did not reach puberty was very high. Therefore, those who had the means did their best to preserve the education and health of their children. Thus, the list of the workers and slaves of a wealthy family from the same time of another city in Mesopotamia mentions the nurses, nannies and healers.

This has led the researchers to the following conclusion: In that room of the temple of Ninazu, the first nursery we know for the children of Eshnunna, at least for the wealthiest, was organized.