utensils made from metal could be obtained from outside by those who could afford
them, although it is by no means clear to what extent metal tools were actually used
in individual rural households. The great institutional households, however, relied on
production of pottery, utensils and tools within their own workshops (Steinkeller 1996 ).
The general principle of the institutional economy of the fourth and third millennia
BCwas self-sufficiency. Only very few products had to be obtained from outside
Mesopotamia through long-distance trade organized by the institutional households
and operated by mercantile agents (entrepreneurs) who were dependent members of
these households. Goods and objects available within Mesopotamia, such as plough
animals, donkeys, sheep and goats, and also cereals, which were not available or in
short supply in a particular institutional household, were acquired through institutional
exchange between these households. Some of the equivalent for the goods received
was given in silver.
Economic growthThe important question of economic growth in ancient Mesopotamian economy has,
so far, not been the subject of much discussion. Several factors were decisive in letting
economic growth remain at, or near, a level of zero per cent. Once basic technological
breakthroughs in metallurgy, pottery and textile production, as well as in building
and agricultural techniques and the organization of labour, had been achieved (fifth–
fourth millennia BC), no further substantial developments that could have generated
a significant quantitative productive output can be observed for the following periods
of Mesopotamian history.
The agricultural area was limited because the water supply for irrigation from the
Euphrates was limited. This resulted in limited population growth which, in turn,
had repercussions for the amount of manpower available for production. A further
delimiting factor was the competition for the use of land between animal husbandry
and cereal production. Natural disasters and man-made factors, such as warfare and
intruding nomads, limited growth in the short term, while salinization of the arable
land caused by irrigation and a climatic change around 1200 BCaffected long-term
development.
Economic growth also depends on available sources of energy and of material
resources. For Mesopotamia, they were only sufficient to support the economicstatus
quo, but not enough to sustain a measurable growth. The main sources of energy for
agricultural work were human labour and animal power. For transportation purposes
three sources of energy existed: man power (carriers, gangs for towing boats); animal
power (plough-oxen, donkeys for overland trade); water(ways) as a means to move
boats with bulky goods and the open sea by ships taking advantage of wind.
Of fundamental importance for sustaining an economy, besides a sufficient energy
input and demographic factors, is the availability of natural resources. Foremost for
an agrarian economy, they are cultivable soil, water (either rain or irrigation water),
and a suitable climate, supplemented by additional nutritional natural resources (fish,
fowl, game and anything not produced as agricultural crops). One of the basic natural
resources in ancient Mesopotamia was clay. It was used as the main building material
and for the production and the manufacture of ceramics and utensils (e.g. clay sickles
for use in harvesting).
— Johannes Renger —