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In the Neolithic Age, people began to focus on inventing new kinds of possessions such as pottery and clothing made from flax and wool. Pottery allowed for the storage and cooking of foods and liquids. The economies of these early villages are believed to have been simple, with each community being self-sufficient, and only trading for trinkets such as stones and shells. However, evidence in the ancient cities of Jericho and Hoyuk indicate that the economies may have been more complicated than thought.
Homes in a Neolithic community were basically the same size, so it is thought that people were all of the same class. Religion also played a role in the lives of the people. The dead were buried, and the living may have had a kind of ancestor worship.
The first major civilization was in an area called Mesopotamia, which means "the land between rivers". Mesopotamia is located in modern-day Iraq, sandwiched between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The first civilization was a kingdom called Samaria, which existed from 2800 B.C. to 2370 B.C. Many civilizations in Mesopotamia, including Sumeria, rose and fell. Because of random flooding, life was very unstable.
A monarch headed the Mesopotamian cities. In Sumaria, the ruler was a warlord; in Assyria, the monarch was the chief priest; and in Babylonia, he was not affiliated with either. Beneath the royalty were the religious leaders who ran the city temple. Temples were run as a literal "home" for a city's patron god or goddess. Literate individuals who were not religious or royalty formed the upper class. The majority of people were commoners of the lower class, and at the bottom of the social system were slaves.
Mesopotamian citizens were polytheistic, meaning that they believed in many gods and goddesses. They believed that these deities were human-like, and had created the human race to serve them. Each city had a certain god or goddess as a patron.
