A New World of Work: Inequality and Inequity in 4th Millennium BC Mesopotamia

This paper explores aspects of inequality in Mesopotamia during the 4th millennium BC. This millennium was the era of early cities, which were accompanied by expanded hierarchies of power, new social identities, and innovative modes of working and labour management. Selected types of material culture–statues, amulets, eye idols, clay cone mosaics and bevelled-rim bowls– are explored. Their frequency, quality, raw materials, production and use contexts have a range of implications with regard to the status of their producers and their accessibility to users. Their varied accessibility in particular is illustrative of inequalities and inequities in Late Uruk/Late Chalcolithic Period Mesopotamia. In identifying past inequities in particular, it may be useful to think of ‘attached objects’ rather than ‘attached specialists’.