Ancient Civilizations: The Sumerian Social Pyramid
Thomas 10-23-13
Ancient Civilizations Ancient Sumer was a revolutionary civilization for its advanced social pyramid, means of stable food supply, and remarkable innovations. The Sumerian social pyramid is very similar to the modern social classes. From bottom to top, it goes something very similar to this: Slaves, Peasants, Farmers, Craftsmen, Merchants, Scribes, Soldiers, Priests, King. Scribes, nearly always men, had to undergo training, and having successfully completed a curriculum became entitled to call themselves dubsar, which means “scribe”. They became members of a privileged élite who, like scribes in ancient Egypt, might look with contempt upon their fellow citizens. Schooling began at an early age in the …show more content…
Although the house had a headmaster, his assistant and a clerk, much of the initial instruction and discipline seems to have been in the hands of an elder student; the scholar's 'big brother'. All these had to be flattered or bribed with gifts from time to time to avoid a beating. Apart from mathematics, the scribal education concentrated on learning to write Sumerian and Akkadian using cuneiform and on learning the conventions for writing letters, contracts and accounts. Scribes were under the patronage of the Sumerian goddess Nisaba. In later times her place was taken by the god Nabu whose symbol was the stylus (a cut reed used to make signs in damp clay). In Mesopotamia, the priest was in charge of dividing the farmers into groups to farm and take care of the land. He also ensured that the crops that they grew, such as barley, beans, and wheat were harvested and distributed among the people. In Egypt, the priests were in charge of making a record of their kings, or pharaohs and marking the most significant happenings of their reigns. In India, the priests performed religious ceremonies, interpreted the Vedas and also charged the farmers a fee for storing their grains in the great granary, of which these fees served as a …show more content…
First, they had the tremendous invention of the plow. This helped them to expand and fasten the production of all agriculture. Before the plow, farmers would be forced to use a pointed stick and their hands in order to dig out each individual hole one by one. When they created they plow, they could have an ox connect to it and pull the plow to turn over rows of dirt, making multiple holes at once. This also helped because this would rotate the soil, making the crops turn out fresher than before. Another example is that Mesopotamia is in the Fertile Crescent, an area with extremely fertile soil due to the two rivers in the area, the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. Every year there is a part of the year called the flooding season. During this time, the banks of the two rivers will overflow, naturally irrigating the surrounding
Ancient Civilizations Ancient Sumer was a revolutionary civilization for its advanced social pyramid, means of stable food supply, and remarkable innovations. The Sumerian social pyramid is very similar to the modern social classes. From bottom to top, it goes something very similar to this: Slaves, Peasants, Farmers, Craftsmen, Merchants, Scribes, Soldiers, Priests, King. Scribes, nearly always men, had to undergo training, and having successfully completed a curriculum became entitled to call themselves dubsar, which means “scribe”. They became members of a privileged élite who, like scribes in ancient Egypt, might look with contempt upon their fellow citizens. Schooling began at an early age in the …show more content…
Although the house had a headmaster, his assistant and a clerk, much of the initial instruction and discipline seems to have been in the hands of an elder student; the scholar's 'big brother'. All these had to be flattered or bribed with gifts from time to time to avoid a beating. Apart from mathematics, the scribal education concentrated on learning to write Sumerian and Akkadian using cuneiform and on learning the conventions for writing letters, contracts and accounts. Scribes were under the patronage of the Sumerian goddess Nisaba. In later times her place was taken by the god Nabu whose symbol was the stylus (a cut reed used to make signs in damp clay). In Mesopotamia, the priest was in charge of dividing the farmers into groups to farm and take care of the land. He also ensured that the crops that they grew, such as barley, beans, and wheat were harvested and distributed among the people. In Egypt, the priests were in charge of making a record of their kings, or pharaohs and marking the most significant happenings of their reigns. In India, the priests performed religious ceremonies, interpreted the Vedas and also charged the farmers a fee for storing their grains in the great granary, of which these fees served as a …show more content…
First, they had the tremendous invention of the plow. This helped them to expand and fasten the production of all agriculture. Before the plow, farmers would be forced to use a pointed stick and their hands in order to dig out each individual hole one by one. When they created they plow, they could have an ox connect to it and pull the plow to turn over rows of dirt, making multiple holes at once. This also helped because this would rotate the soil, making the crops turn out fresher than before. Another example is that Mesopotamia is in the Fertile Crescent, an area with extremely fertile soil due to the two rivers in the area, the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. Every year there is a part of the year called the flooding season. During this time, the banks of the two rivers will overflow, naturally irrigating the surrounding