Q: The cultures of the Ancient Near East maintained a strict social hierarchy. The rules and conditions of everyday life, politics, and commerce changed based on your position in society. Discuss examples of this and how the visual record of Mesopotamia helps us understand the lives of its inhabitants.
A: A perfect example and visual record of everyday life, politics, and commerce in the Ancient Near East is the carved vessel from Uruk. You can kinda piece together an image of how the Ancient Near East social hierarchy worked. You have the crops and animals at the bottom half of the vase symbolizing the lower class used only for nourishment and goods for the middle and higher class. Then there’s the working class or slaves in the middle of the vase symbolizing the middle class who work for the priest-king and worship the goddess. Then finally, at the top half of the vase, you have the priest-king and the goddess who are the upper class of the social hierarchy who rules over all.