Upper ClassMiddle ClassSlaves Priests Landowners Government Officials Controlled Society More Rights & Privileged Large 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 property Lived in homes of owners Did Labor for owner’s

1. Reliable food supply (usually from farming) 2. Social Structure – social values, heredity, jobs 3. Organized system of government – order 4. Religious system – beliefs & worship practices 5. Advancement in Technology – tools 6. System of written language & mathematics 7. Developed: culture – music, art, architecture Sumerian Society was very much based on Religious Beliefs, Government Style, and Job Responsibilities

 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