Reply To: Social stratification in the Ancient Near East

[ckocsis]

I think the carved vessel from Uruk is a very good example of social hierarchy. At the bottom of the vase there are plants, on the next tier up there are animals, which shows that this vase depicts a sort of food chain. Then there are a line of men who could either just be working class people or slaves, and then at the very top there is the king and a goddess. The fact that the king and the goddess are on the same level implies that they are on the same level in the social hierarchy as well, illustrating the extent of the power the priest kings had.