Upper Class Middle Class Slaves

•Priests•Landowners•Government OfficialsControlled SocietyMore Rights & PrivilegedLarge Homes – Mirrors & Art

•Common People – performed most work; irrigation•Craftspeople- created goods & materials•Merchants – traded•Metal Workers – gold, silver, copper, bronze•Farmers – lived on farms – provided food•Fishermen – fished for community

Had no rights no choices no propertyLived in homes of ownersDid Labor for owner’s

Classes of Sumer

1. Reliable food supply (usually from farming)2. Social Structure – social values, heredity, jobs3. Organized system of government – order4. Religious system – beliefs & worship practices5. Advancement in Technology – tools6. System of written language & mathematics7. Developed: culture – music, art, architectureSumerian Society was very much based on

Religious Beliefs, Government Style, and Job Responsibilities

Characteristics of A Civilization

Mesopotamia had few natural resources They had to trade to meet everyday needs Exchanged grain, oils, woven fabrics for wool, wine, metals,

precious stones Merchant strapped goods on their backs or in sacks Goods were carried on donkey’s or in carts Larger loads went by ships Most trade was by river or sea Using rafts made of wooden platforms with animal skins Animal skins or reeds tied together carried heavier loads Bitumen – a natural tar-like substance made boats waterproof Goods going into Persian Gulf made of reed or wood – coated

bitumen Trade was the life’s blood to people Merchants held high status positions

Importance of Trade