Hierarchies of Class

I found the section of Hierarchies of Class interesting because the text stated that this transition represented one of the major turning points in the social history of humankind. The First Civilizations paved the way for the erosion of equality and for them it became to be normal and natural. The upper class people had the finest of everything and were distinguished by the clothes they wore. It was interesting to know that in Mesopotamia, the punishments prescribed in the famous Code of Hammurabi depended on social status. If a commoner struck a person of equal rank, he or she had to pay a small fine. This to me seems to be like the laws we have in place today. If you commit a crime against another person, assault, for example, we would be punished and the punishment would depend on the severeness of the crime. However, in the First Civilizations, if a commoner struck a man who is his superior, he shall receive 60 strokes with an oxtail whip in public. I found this to be a very harsh punishment for commoners. But I do wonder what would happen if a commoner’s superior struck him? Would his superior be given the same punishment? Or would he not be punished at all? I assume he could probably get away with it because during this time, the upper class or “superior” people were even above the soldiers and police.

Also, it talked about the salves during the First Civilizations. The slaves are the very bottom of the social hierarchy. The text even states that slavery and civilization, in fact, seem to have emerged together. The female slaves were put to do tasks such as working in large-scale semi-industrial weaving enterprises, while the males were put to maintain irrigation canals and construct ziggurats. I was surprised to find out that slaves who were derived from prisoners of war, criminals, and debtors, were available for sale. Once they were sold they could be put to work in the fields, mines, homes, and shops of their owners; or on occasion for sacrifice. Furthermore, these slaves were not associate primary with “blackness” or with Africa. The history I learned in elementary all the way to school depicted slaves as black people. However, this book tells me otherwise. It was interesting to know that and how the people where placed on the hierarchies of class.

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