Student Question
What tools or resources did Sumerian slaves use in their work?
Quick answer:
Sumerian slaves, employed primarily in agriculture, construction, and crafts, utilized various tools and resources available during the Later Stone Age and Early Bronze Age. They used irrigation devices, such as levees and canals, for farming. The invention of the wheel by the Sumerians facilitated pottery and transportation. Slaves also used simple stone and bronze tools like axes, saws, shovels, and picks. Despite their labor, slaves did not constitute a major part of the Sumerian economy.
By the Uruk Period (c. 4100-2900 BCE), it is clear that the Sumerians were making use of slave labor. Most slaves were likely captured from nearby areas for the express purpose of enslaving them. While slaves were widely used as farmers, builders, weavers, and millers, they did not make up a huge part of the Sumerian economy. Most labor was likely done by free Sumerian citizens. Slaves in Sumer, though, did have access to many of the same tools and resources that others in the region had in order to do their work.
Slaves working on farms made use of typical Sumerian irrigation devices and features. Levees and canals were widely constructed to provide water where it was needed and prevent flooding where it was not. They built levees over 30 feet tall and dug canals in excess of 50 feet in width. This was hard, labor-intensive work, and it is likely that slaves were used in the construction of these features.
The earliest known use of the wheel comes from the Sumerians. The wheel started out as a tool for potters but was later adapted to help carry heavy loads. Sumerian slaves would likely have used the wheel in both of these contexts. Transportation with wheeled carts was further aided by the use of paved roads, which the Sumerians pioneered using specialized paving bricks.
The rest of the resources and tools that Sumerian slaves used were rather typical of Later Stone Age and Early Bronze Age technology. Relatively simple axes, saws, shovels, and picks made of stone and bronze were used regularly as part of a slave's work.
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