The erosion of equality

Strayer

pps.71 to 75

Hierarchies of classFirst 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.

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

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

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

Hierarchies of GenderImportant 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.

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

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

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.

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

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

Code of hammurabi

The EPIC OF GILGAMESH

• Earliest surviving works of literature• 5 independent stories about Gilgamesh – King

of Uruk – Mesopotamia’s largest city