1. Social Class - King The King was the top rank holder of Mesopotamia. The king was responsible for creating the laws. They were believed to be literal gods on earth. They served as the head of the army. They used to wear a lot of jewelry made up of gold and had nice clothing.

2. Social Class - Priests The Priests were very powerful and important. They told people how to behave and to keep the gods happy. Priests in Sumer were also the local doctors. If you got sick, you sent for a priest. The priests shaved their heads so that everyone knew they were priests.

3. Social Class – Upper Class Both men and women wore jewelry. Men wore long hair and long beards and wore a skirt type garment. Women wore long dresses with one shoulder bare. In the colder months they all wore cloaks made from wool to keep warm. Scribes (people who write), merchants (traded goods) and artisans (created goods) made up the upper class of Mesopotamia.

4. Social Class – Lower Class The working class wore the same type garments as the rich, only theirs were not of the same materials. They too wore jewelry, although theirs was not made of gold or precious stones. Commoners still led a comfortable life. Farmers, fishermen and pottery makers made up the lower class.

5. Social Class - Slaves Sumerians did keep slaves. When they defeated another town or tribe in battle, they would bring back the prisoners as slaves. The king and priests kept the most slaves, but wealthy Sumerians could buy slaves to work for them.

6. Marriage In Ancient Mesopotamia wives were bought and sold. Wives were capable of filing a divorce. Marriages were arranged by the bride and the grooms family.

7. Family Life In a family, men had more power than women. Boys were taught their family business. Girls stayed home and learned housekeeping and cooking for the family. One right that a woman has is that they can get a divorce. Men were the masters of the house.

8. Childbirth Death to infants during birth very common due to having no doctors at the time. There were about two to four children born to each husband.

9. Childhood Rich boys were taught how to read and write in school. In the lower class, boys were taught their father’s and family trade, like fishing. Girls, rich and poor stayed home with their mother to learn housekeeping and cooking. Girls were also taught to take care of children.

10. School Record keeping was very important to ancient Mesopotamians, they wrote everything down. Their written language was called Cuneiform. Schools were attached to temples, and only boys had the privilege of going to school. Students had to do a perfect job or they were beaten as punishment. Most students wanted to go to school in spite of punishments.

11. Housing The upper class lived in large homes that were wide and nearly three stories high. The materials used to make houses were sun- dried brick, because there was little wood and stone. The roofs were flat, so that it was like a fourth floor. The most important floor in the house is the first floor.

Food The average person in Mesopotamia ate about two meals a day, except for the rich who at three. Lots of people ate unleavened bread, and drank large amounts of beer. Meat was expensive so most people ate vegetables and stew. There were cakes for special occasions, which were made with butter, raisins, dates, flour and cheese.

13. Religion The Mesopotamian religion was the first to be recorded. Mesopotamians believed in gods and goddesses that had their divine natural forces. There were four creator gods: – Anu – sky god – Enlil – storms and helping people – Nin-khursag – Earth Goddess – Enki – water god and patron of wisdom Priests in Mesopotamia were responsible for sacrifices and ritual that they thought the gods needed.

14. Music Music in Sumer was used in religious and civic life and wherever music was, dancing was usually near. Musicians were rich because they went to school Instruments that Mesopotamians used included harps, lyres, lutes, reed pipes, and drums.