International audienceOld Babylonian texts from the first half of the 2nd millennium BC dealing with trade often suggest that Mesopotamia is the land of wool. For scholars who travelled in this area from the middle of the 19th century, it is easy to understand why. The environment allows people to observe numerous herds of sheep grazing in the steppe or desert areas surrounding the Mesopotamian plain. Civilizations of the ancient Near East are supposed not to change over millennia. But this assumption is too short sighted to explain the whole evolution of the wool economy. However, with the introduction of interdisciplinary studies in archaeology and history, we know that herding practices or uses of wool in Antiquity are synonymous with cu...