3-3 Notes: Life in Sumer

Sumerian Society As Sumerian society grew more complex, people divided themselves into social groups, or classes, based on wealth and power King and the priests were at the top of upper classes (people believed they had a link to the gods) Upper classes also included rich landowners, government officials, and rich merchants In-between classes included all free people (mostly farmers and artisans) Slaves made up the lowest class Slaves were used as a source of cheap labor Most slaves in Sumer were prisoners of war Some children of dead or poor parents became slaves in the temple People who borrowed more money than they could repay often worked as slaves to pay off debt Slaves had some freedoms; they could conduct business, borrow money, and buy their freedom

Role of Women All social classes involved women Women in early Mesopotamia had more rights than in later years Some upper class women became priestesses, a role of honor Free women could own land and work as merchants, artisans, and weavers Most women had domestic duties such as child rearing

Sumerian Science and Technology Sumerians were excellent at solving problems by inventing tools and special knowledge Sumerians invented the plow (circa 6000 BCE) to help break up soil, make planting easier Plows were first pulled by people and later by animals Sumerians invented the wheel (circa 3,500 BCE) and attached them to wagons to help move goods to market Sumerians also invented the potter’s wheel to help them shape clay by hand to make pottery, which was used to store surpluses of food Sumerians were also among the first people to make bronze, a mixture of copper and tin Bronze was stronger than copper, so tools lasted longer and stayed sharper

Mathematics Sumerians developed arithmetic to keep records of crops, trade goods Their number system was based upon 60 (60 seconds, minutes, 360° all based upon this) Measurement of time helped the creation of calendars Sumerians used a triangle and measuring rope to set land boundaries Sumerians were familiar with rectangles, triangles, squares too, and used these shapes to make bricks, build ramps, and dig canals

Creation of Written Language Sumerians invented writing by 3000 BCE to help business Sumerians first used clay tokens with an image of a product to keep track of goods. They sealed the tokens in clay containers to make sure no one tampered with them and marked the outside of containers so people knew what was inside of them. These markings outside the containers were called pictographs, symbols that represent objects. Eventually Sumerians stopped using tokens and drew the pictographs on clay tablets.

Cuneiform Pictographs at first stood for objects, then ideas, and finally sounds (combining sounds allowed them to write more words) Sumerians used a sharpened reed called a stylus to press markings into clay tablets Because of the shape, the stylus made wedge-shaped markings (known as cuneiform) This complex writing system contained about 600 different symbols, which took years to learn Few people could read and write People who specialized in reading and writing cuneiform were scribes, who worked as professional record keepers, a highly respected profession in Sumer

Written History At first Sumerians used records mostly for business Later people began to write about wars, floods, and the reigns of kings These records are the oldest written histories known to man Other cultures in Mesopotamia adopted the cuneiform writing system from the Sumerians Archaeologists have found thousands of tablets in Southwest Asia (one king had a library of more than 24,000 clay tablets!)