Mesopotamia wasn't called the "Cradle of Civilization" for no reason and today I am here to teach you about Mesopotamian Economics.
Trade: -Bartering -Currency Mesopotamia didn't have a lot of natural resources that were in high demand at the time but they needed a lot more than they had to fit the growing demand for food, clothing, and building materials. So how could they deal with this problem? They had to trade. Mesopotamian civilizations put up docks so that ships could easily land there. When ships did arrive, the merchants traded food, clothing, jewelry, wine, and other goods from cities. Sometimes a caravan would show up as well and when either a ship or caravan showed up, it was a great time of celebration in Mesopotamian civilizations. So how did they buy and sell the goods that they were trading? Well they used the standard system of barter for example, one goat for two bowls of rice but they also used their own money or currency. They didn't use paper money or coins yet but they ended up using barley for local trade. Because barley was heavy, they used lead, copper, bronze, tin, silver and gold as currency to buy things away from their local area. You had to borrow barley from a barley banker and the banker charged very high interest. Agriculture: -Farming When people think of Iraq and Mesopotamia and you ask them about the land, they would say it is all desert. While some of Mesopotamia was desert, where the people lived was quite lush and fertile. Because they lived in between the rivers, there was great wildlife to catch, fish in the rivers, and plenty of edible vegetation. When people learned how to farm and keep a supply of food, they found that they could grow their own food if they tended the land. After this, they figured out how to get river water into the fields, and crops grew in abundance. As Mesopotamian farmers got better at farming, they started growing wheat, barley, dates, cucumbers, onions, apples and many different herbs and spices. They also raised sheep goats and cattle. Labor Systems: As agriculture became more advanced, surpluses were generated, freeing farmers to perform other jobs. Over time former farmers could earn enough to specialize in certain tasks and become what would qualify as craftsmen. Tablets listed scores of professions. Trades during Mesopotamian times included tradesmen, butchers, stonemasons, water carriers, fishermen, estate workers, farmers, tanners, weavers, boatbuilders, furniture makers, bakers, silversmiths, metal workers, pottery makers, beer brewers, bread makers, leatherworkers, spinners, weavers, clothes makers, tool and weapons makers, jewelers, woodworkers and people in charge of preparing sacrifices and maintaining buildings. Workers were often paid with barley. Under the Cod of Hammurabi, maximum prices and minimum wages were fixed by decree and the terms for apprenticeships were defined. Slavery: -War and destruction If you lived in Mesopotamia how could you become a slave? Most people who were slaves in Mesopotamia were captured from war or from having their village, town, city, etc. destroyed. The people who destroyed their living place took people who survived the destruction and made them slaves. Agriculture Video: |
Mesopotamian | Economics |