ter supply to their fi elds. Th is meant building irrigation dikes,
ditches, and canals to draw water from the two main rivers of
the region—the Tigris and Euphrates—and their tributaries.
Irrigation works demanded central planning and collective
labor, giving rise to more complex systems of government
and a ruling class of government offi cials.
Th e annual cycle of farming began with the spring rains.
Farmers allowed their fi elds to fl ood with the rains and with
water directed from the rivers. Bulls and oxen were released
to roam in the fi elds to stamp down weeds and fertilize the
ground, aft er which plows, picks, and mattocks were used to
break apart the soil and prepare a seedbed. In the fall the crops
were harvested. Th e farmers cut sheaves of grain, threshed the
grain stalks to separate the heads of the plants, and then win-
nowed the grain to separate edible portions from the chaff.
Th e grain was stored and allowed to dry and then ground into
fl our in mills. Th e work of milling grain was carried out by
humans and strong draft animals, who dragged heavy stones
across the grain to pulverize it.
Th e work of the farmer followed an annual calendar, at-
tuned to the growing season and to the regular spring fl oods.
Survival became less precarious, though famine was still an
ever-present danger in years of poor harvests. Th e rise of a
market economy also allowed farmers to trade their pro-
duce for needed tools and land. Th e Mesopotamians became
cultivators and traders and lost their former attributes of
nomadism and skill in the hunt. Gradually, the Mesopota-
mian plains saw the rise of an urban civilization. Cities grew
at strategic river crossings, at trading ports, and at market
towns. People who moved into the cities began to specialize
in artisanal craft s, such as pottery and tool making. In the
Uruk III–IV Period (3300–2900 b.c.e.) of Mesopotamian his-
tory, new occupations emerged: baker, brewer, jewelry maker,
brick maker, and weapons smith.
In the Hittite realm of Anatolia farmers raised grains,
fruits, vegetables, and livestock, including cows and goats for
milking. Oxen helped with plowing, horses pulled chariots,
and mules helped carry goods to market. Hittite craft smen
had a ready supply of copper and iron ore as well as gold and
silver deposits. Most metalsmiths, weavers, and stone carv-
ers worked in the service of the king or lived within a temple
precinct. Th roughout the Near East the growing demand
for luxury goods—jewelry, fi ne clothing, and other adorn-
ments—provided a market for artisans and their apprentices.
In Persia and the Levant the diffi cult craft of glassmaking
rose to new heights as artisans developed techniques of mold-
ing and coloring glass. Syrian glassmakers learned how to
shape and score (decoratively cut) fi nished glass in the eighth
century b.c.e. By the fi rst century c.e. they had discovered
glassblowing, which allows the artisan to create thin-walled
vessels in a great variety of shapes and sizes.
As the cities grew in Mesopotamia and Persia, govern-
ment began to levy workers for road building and the con-
struction of palaces and monuments. For farmers and many
c it y dwel lers work bec a me a n obl igat ion owed to t he st ate for a
fi xed number of days every year. Th e labor corvée was a heavy
burden, as it oft en took the head of a family away from his
home. To avoid unrest, the corvée oft en took place in winter,
aft er the harvest but before the plowing and planting season
of spring. Forced laborers worked grain fi elds owned by the
state, the produce of which was meant for armies or for state
warehouses. Th ey dug irrigation works and removed the river
silt that was constantly clogging the canals. Th ey helped build
royal palaces, city walls and, in Mesopotamia, the stepped
temples known as ziggurats. In the 10th century b.c.e. King
Solomon of the Israelites decreed monumental construction
projects for his army of 30,000 laborers, who had to work
four months out of every year. Th roughout the Near East the
wealthy classes were usually exempt from the corvée, or they
were able to replace their work with taxes paid in money or
goods. However, by one of the law codes of Hammurabi, the
king of Babylon (r. 1792–1750 b.c.e.), a commoner attempting
to escape a labor corvée was subject to the forfeit of his lands
and property.
Th e work of women remained largely domestic. Women
ground grain and spun fl ax and wool to make clothing. Many
wives of landowners and the wealthy had a large staff of la-
borers to run their households. Th ese servants spun clothing,
made pottery, prepared food and drink, cooked and cleaned,
and handled the management of lands and urban estates. In
the Hittite realm independent women worked as millers, weav-
ers, and innkeepers. Th ey attended to childbirth as midwives
or entertained royalty as musicians, dancers, or singers.
In the Near East regular wages were paid to laborers in
the form of grain or silver. A system of training or appren-
ticeship prepared workers for skilled jobs. Some workers
were bound by labor contracts to a period of work, and, at the
end of their service, they were rewarded with grants of land.
Others paid their taxes through work or borrowed money
against their labor. Th eir loan was considered paid when the
work was completed. In Persia and Babylon slavery became
a more important means of providing labor to the state and
to wealthy households. Slaves were subject to the tyranny of
their owners; there were no laws regarding their treatment.
Th ere was a very limited commercial trade in slaves, but cap-
tured fugitives, refugees from foreign countries, convicted
criminals, and prisoners of war oft en were forced into slaver y.
Th e slave could be freed from his status aft er a period of time
or for merit, but escape from slavery was very rare. Th ere was
no refuge in foreign countries, and anyone found harboring a
runaway was subject to arrest, the loss of their property, and
execution.ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
BY DAVID KELLY
Th e records of social and economic interactions in the na-
tions of ancient Asia vary greatly. Records of the activities
of many Pacifi c Islanders, for instance, were kept only aft er
westerners began to arrive in the 18th century. In contrast,428 employment and labor: Asia and the Pacific