1. The erosion of equality
Strayer
pps.71 to 75

2. Hierarchies of class
First Societies exhibit vast inequalities in wealth, status and power. Quickly considered to be normal and natural Upper Class occupied top positions, fine clothes, avoided physical labor and had great wealth. Many signs of wealth present. China/ Mesopotamia. Free Commoners next. Ranks include farmers, artisans, soldiers and police among others. They create surplus and allow the Upper Class to be so. Slaves were on the bottom of the Social Scale Common in all civilizations, slave density differed by society.

3. 1. Hierarchies of Class
- first civilizations – inequalities in wealth, status, and power
- technology created more productive economies, greater wealth piled up versus being spread out
- Urban based civilizations magnified these inequalities and egalitarian values were displaced
**this transition is a major turning point in the social history of humankind

4. 1. Hierarchies of Class
Upper classes enjoyed wealth in land or salaries and avoided physical labor – they had the finest of everything, occupied the top positions in political, military, and religious life. Distinguished by their clothing, houses, manner of burial
In Mesopotamia, life was dictated by the Code of Hammurabi – several laws related to social status – certain classes had consequences
Free commoners represented the majority – most numerous of these commoners were farmers – it was their surplus (taxes, rent, labor, tribute payments) that support the upper class

5. 1. Hierarchies of class - slavery
Bottom of social hierarchies was slavery – slavery and civilization emerged together
Female slaves captured during wars were used to make textiles
Men used as labor – irrigation canals and ziggurats
“people owning people” has existed since the emergence and development of societies
Practice of slavery varied from place to place – Egypt and Indus river valley had far fewer slaves VS Mesopotamia was highly militarized – used slave labor
Athens and the Romans used slaves more than the Chinese or Indians
Ancient slavery different from slavery practiced in the Americas - slaves were not a primary source of labor, and children of slaves were free people, and slavery was not associated with a specific group of people

6. Hierarchies of Gender
Important division of society. Sex vs. Gender with women subordinate to men Women were defined in their relation to their men who provide protection and control. Gender roles were more strictly followed in the upper classes, due to the need for working women to be involved Origins of this distinction are Plow based agriculture coupled with an increase birth rate. Women are associated with the home and nature, man dominates nature Military becoming more important. Not a place for women.

7. 2. Hierarchies of Gender:
Civilizations = patriarchal
Sexual differences – what is masculine vs what is feminine
First civilizations were patriarchal = women were subordinate to men. Inequalities of gender shaped the character of the first civilizations
Sons preferable to daughters
Men had legal property rights = public was associated with masculinity – so man were rulers, warriors, scholars, heads of the households
Role of women = productive and reproductive, defined by their relationship to man – daughter, wife, widow

8. 2. Hierarchies of gender:
Men could marry multiple women and control the sexual lives of women (daughters, wives, sisters) – why? Wanted to protect their property, keep possessions within family, control lineage
Men in practice only had power over the women and children in their own family – not the whole society
Role of women in different classes:
wealthy = manage home, ran servants, didn’t leave home often.
Lower class = vast majority, always in public, working fields, buying and selling in the streets, serving the homes of their superiors
Why did patriarchy develop?
Intensive form of agriculture = animal-drawn plows – plow-based meant heavier work, led to men, farther from home. Men took over the farming work, status of women declined
Women then identified with the home and reproduction
As war increased, the value of men increased

9. Patriarchy in Practice
In effect in the First Civilizations Male control of female’s sexuality but not vice versa. Women divided into two positions: Respectable: must wear a veil Non-respectable: no veil allowed Female Goddesses were relegated to the home and hearth, replaced by men.

10. 3. Patriarchy in Practice:
- Mesopotamia – various laws governed the rules for a patriarchal society
- Divorce easier for the husband than wife, Rape was a serious offense in which the male was the victim (father, husband, not the woman)
- In Mesopotamia, two sharply divided classes
respectable women always wore veils in public,
non-respectable (slaves, prostitutes) forbidden to wear a veil
- Demotion of goddesses – male dominance of creation and fertility.
In Mesopotamia, Inanna or Istar – goddess of love and sexuality
- In Egypt, women were recognized as equals to men – could own slaves and property. Married women in Egypt were not veiled.
Egypt VS Mesopotamia

11. Code of hammurabi Hammurabi – the 6th Babylonian King
1800 BCE
282 laws that governed society in Mesopotamia
Punishments depended on social status
slave VS. free man
½ of the codes = matters of contract
ex) wages paid to ox driver, surgeons, etc
Terms of transaction
liability of a builder if a house collapses
Original found in the Louvre

12. Code of hammurabi

14. The EPIC OF GILGAMESH Earliest surviving works of literature
5 independent stories about Gilgamesh – King of Uruk – Mesopotamia’s largest city