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The Organisation of a Sumerian Town: The Physical Remains of Ancient Social Systems

Stone, Elizabeth C. Crawford, Harriet

The Sumerian World, 2013, p.156-178

Routledge

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  • Title:
    The Organisation of a Sumerian Town: The Physical Remains of Ancient Social Systems
  • Author: Stone, Elizabeth C.
  • Crawford, Harriet
  • Is Part Of: The Sumerian World, 2013, p.156-178
  • Description: This chapter looks not at the details of the archaeological data from the Sumerian period, but rather on how cities, towns, and villages were put together and what the spatial organization of settlements tells about Sumerian society writ large. Space is important. When major political and religious centers-palaces and temples-are located next to each other in the middle of a settlement, this indicates a concentration of both religious and political power; but when they are located in quite different parts of town, it suggests that they each have their own spheres of influence. In a similar fashion, these days it is possible to use Google Earth to identify where the rich and poor live in most modern cities-the houses of the poor are simply smaller and more crowded than those of the rich. These differences are diagnostic of modern societies where variations in wealth and status are reinforced by the spatial segregation of neighborhoods. However, if no differences can be perceived between the house sizes in different parts of a settlement, this indicates that principles other than the social segregation of classes is at work. Finally, the degree of similarity and dissimilarity between the organization of large urban centers and smaller towns and villages reflect the presence or absence of differences in wealth and occupation between those living in settlements of different sizes. This chapter, therefore, will focus on the locations of Sumerian temples and palaces, the organization of the residential neighborhoods, the role played by city walls, canals, harbors and the like to link or separate people and institutions, and will provide a comparison between these features in the major cities with those in the smaller settlements that surround them.
  • Publisher: Routledge
  • Language: English
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