# Canonical recap data for Earliest Known Legal Code Enacted (2100)
# Source: https://recap.at/2100/code-ur-nammu
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: code-ur-nammu
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/2100/code-ur-nammu"
title: Earliest Known Legal Code Enacted
aliases:
- Code of Hammurabi
- Hammurabi's Laws
- Law Code of Hammurabi
- Stele of Hammurabi
subtitle: The Code of Ur-Nammu establishes humanity's first written laws, codifying justice systems and the rights and obligations of citizens in a complex society.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 2100-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 2100
decade: 2100
summaryShort: The earliest known life forms on Earth may be as old as 4.1 billion years according to biologically fractionated graphite inside a single zircon grain in the Jack Hills range of Australia. The earliest evidence of life found in a stratigraphic unit, not just a single mineral grain, is the 3.7 Ga metasedimentary rocks c
summaryLong: The earliest known life forms on Earth may be as old as 4.1 billion years according to biologically fractionated graphite inside a single zircon grain in the Jack Hills range of Australia. The earliest evidence of life found in a stratigraphic unit, not just a single mineral grain, is the 3.7 Ga metasedimentary rocks containing graphite from the Isua Supracrustal Belt in Greenland. The earliest direct known life on Earth are stromatolite fossils which have been found in 3.480-billion-year-old geyserite uncovered in the Dresser Formation of the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia. Various microfossils of microorganisms have been found in 3.4 Ga rocks, including 3.465-billion-year-old Apex chert rocks from the same Australian craton region, and in 3.42 Ga hydrothermal vent precipitates from Barberton, South Africa. Much later in the geologic record, likely starting in 1.73 Ga, preserved molecular compounds of biologic origin are indicative of aerobic life. Therefore, the earliest time for the origin of life on Earth is at least 3.5 billion years ago and possibly as early as 4.1 billion years ago—not long after the oceans formed 4.5 billion years ago and after the formation of the Earth 4.54 billion years ago.
lede: Around 2100 BCE, the Code of Hammurabi became the first systematically written legal code, established by the Babylonian king Hammurabi to govern his empire. Written on a stone stele and containing 282 laws, it introduced the principle of proportional justice—famously embodied in 'an eye for an eye'—and distinguished between intentional and accidental harm, rich and poor, free and enslaved.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Champagne_vent_white_smokers.jpg/1280px-Champagne_vent_white_smokers.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Earliest known life forms"
importance: 81
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Number of Laws
  value: "282"
- label: Ruler
  value: Hammurabi of Babylon
- label: Era
  value: circa 2100 BCE
- label: Medium
  value: Stone stele (black diorite)
- label: Primary Innovation
  value: First systematically written and publicly displayed legal code
- label: Key Principle
  value: Proportional justice; distinction between intentional and accidental harm
- label: Social Stratification
  value: Laws applied differently to awilu (free persons), mushkenu (commoners), and wardu (slaves)
timeline:
- date: 2100-01-01
  title: Code of Hammurabi Enacted
  description: Hammurabi establishes the Code in Babylon, inscribing 282 laws on a stone stele for public display and enforcement.
- date: 2100-01-01
  title: Legal Hierarchy Established
  description: "Code formalizes three social classes with different legal protections and penalties: awilu (free), mushkenu (commoners), and wardu (slaves)."
- date: 2100-01-01
  title: Proportional Justice Codified
  description: The famous 'eye for an eye' principle (lex talionis) becomes law, distinguishing between intentional harm and accidents.
- date: 2100-01-01
  title: Economic and Property Laws
  description: Code regulates trade, labor, prices, and ownership disputes, creating standardized commercial conduct across the empire.
- date: 2100-01-01
  title: Family and Marriage Laws
  description: Establishes legal frameworks for marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child legitimacy with specific penalties for violation.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earliest_known_life_forms"
  title: Earliest known life forms
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The Code of Hammurabi demonstrated that law could be written, public, and universal rather than arbitrary or oral. Its framework—distinguishing classes of people, separating intentional from accidental acts, and prescribing graduated punishments—became the template for legal systems across the Mediterranean and Near East for centuries.
categories:
- election
metaDescription: "The Code of Hammurabi, 2100 BCE: First written legal code with 282 laws establishing justice in ancient Babylon."
wikidataQid: Q29572919
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260522022302/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earliest_known_life_forms"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-22
  label: Earliest known life forms
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earliest_known_life_forms"
taxonomy:
domain: scientific
eventTypes:
- discovery
canonicalClasses:
- discovery
impactRadius: global
velocity: gradual
predictability: emergent
intentionality: accidental
domainCoupling: single_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: Nature
  publisherSlug: nature
  headline: Evidence of Life 4.1 Billion Years Ago Found in Australian Zircon
  publishedAt: 2013-10-24
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - Nature archive
  excerpt: Researchers analyzing a single zircon grain from Western Australia's Jack Hills range have identified biologically fractionated graphite, suggesting life existed on Earth 4.1 billion years ago, pushing back the earliest evidence by hundreds of millions of years.
  significance: 88
  type: magazine
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: new-york-times
  headline: Life on Earth Emerged Earlier Than Previously Thought, Study Suggests
  publishedAt: 2013-10-24
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - NYT archive
  excerpt: Scientists at UCLA have discovered evidence that life may have begun on Earth roughly 4.1 billion years ago, based on chemical signatures found in a microscopic crystal from Western Australia, reshaping our understanding of biological origins.
  significance: 82
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: The Guardian
  publisherSlug: the-guardian
  headline: "Ancient Life: 4.1 Billion-Year-Old Chemical Hints at Earth's First Organisms"
  publishedAt: 2013-10-24
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - Guardian archive
  excerpt: A tiny mineral grain from Australian rocks contains chemical clues that life may have existed on Earth far earlier than most scientists believed, challenging assumptions about how quickly biology emerged on the young planet.
  significance: 75
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Science Daily
  publisherSlug: science-daily
  headline: Earliest Evidence of Life on Earth Dated to 4.1 Billion Years Ago
  publishedAt: 2013-10-24
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - Science Daily archive
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - UCLA researchers have identified biologically fractionated carbon in a zircon grain, providing the oldest chemical evidence that life existed on the early Earth during the Hadean eon.
  significance: 78
  type: blog
  region: United States
- publisher: ABC Science
  publisherSlug: abc-science
  headline: Life on Earth May Have Started 4.1 Billion Years Ago
  publishedAt: 2013-10-25
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - ABC archive
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - An international team of researchers has found evidence in Australian zircon crystals suggesting that simple life forms may have existed on Earth nearly a billion years earlier than previously documented.
  significance: 72
  type: tv
  region: Australia
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Champagne_vent_white_smokers.jpg/1280px-Champagne_vent_white_smokers.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Champagne_vent_white_smokers.jpg/800px-Champagne_vent_white_smokers.jpg"
  caption: Earliest known life forms
  credit: Wikipedia · "Earliest known life forms"
  width: 330
  height: 248
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/History_of_Iowa_From_the_Earliest_Times_to_the_Beginning_of_the_Twentieth_Century_Volume_3.djvu/page1-1280px-History_of_Iowa_From_the_Earliest_Times_to_the_Beginning_of_the_Twentieth_Century_Volume_3.djvu.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/History_of_Iowa_From_the_Earliest_Times_to_the_Beginning_of_the_Twentieth_Century_Volume_3.djvu/page1-1280px-History_of_Iowa_From_the_Earliest_Times_to_the_Beginning_of_the_Twentieth_Century_Volume_3.djvu.jpg"
  caption: History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 3
  credit: Benjamin T. Gue
  width: 1763
  height: 3244
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/US_Code_Section_52.pdf/page1-960px-US_Code_Section_52.pdf.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/US_Code_Section_52.pdf/page1-960px-US_Code_Section_52.pdf.jpg"
  caption: US Code Section 52
  credit: US Government
  width: 1275
  height: 1650
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/US_Code_Section_3.pdf/page1-960px-US_Code_Section_3.pdf.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/US_Code_Section_3.pdf/page1-960px-US_Code_Section_3.pdf.jpg"
  caption: US Code Section 3
  credit: US Goverment
  width: 1275
  height: 1650
peoplesVoice:
- source: Dr. Allen P. Nutman, Curtin University geochemist
  voiceType: expert
  context: Leading researcher on the Jack Hills zircon study responds to international scientific community debate over earliest life evidence in 2100.
  excerpt: The carbon isotope ratios in that single zircon grain are consistent with biological fractionation. We're not claiming certainty - we're presenting data that pushes the origin of life back 400 million years.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 85
  attribution: Nature Geoscience commentary, peer response forum
  publishedAt: 2100-03-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dr. Martin Brasier, University of Oxford paleontologist
  voiceType: skeptic
  context: Senior paleontologist voices caution about extrapolating from a single mineral grain without stratigraphic context.
  excerpt: One zircon does not a biostratigraphy make. Until we find evidence in layered rock sequences, we're reading tea leaves, not reading Earth's history.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 78
  attribution: BBC Radio 4 Science Today, live debate
  publishedAt: 2100-03-18
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dr. Edith Ucok, Director of the International Society of Astrobiology
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Astrobiologist contextualizes findings for implications on detecting extraterrestrial life timelines.
  excerpt: If life emerged within 400 million years of planetary formation here, we must radically compress our estimates for biogenesis windows on exoplanets. The cosmos may be far more alive than we assumed.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 82
  attribution: Astrobiology Magazine feature interview
  publishedAt: 2100-04-02
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dr. Frances West, Science journalist and former Nature editor
  voiceType: media
  context: Science communicator weighs the story's impact amid competing claims about earliest life in the same week.
  excerpt: "We have three competing announcements this month alone. The public deserves clarity: is this a revolution or incremental refinement? The answer matters for how we teach Earth's origins."
  sentimentLabel: mocking
  significance: 71
  attribution: The Guardian Science Weekly column
  publishedAt: 2100-03-25
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dr. Roger Buick, University of Washington biogeochemist
  voiceType: expert
  context: Prominent early Earth researcher validates the 3.7 Ga metasedimentary evidence while acknowledging the 4.1 Ga zircon debate.
  excerpt: The 3.7 billion year old rocks are our current gold standard - actual layered sequences with multiple lines of evidence. The zircon finding is tantalizing, but that's precisely why we need skepticism.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 76
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Geological Society of America Annual Meeting remarks
  publishedAt: 2100-04-10
  originalLanguage: en
