428 employment and labor: Asia and the Pacific ter supply to their fields This 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 officials The annual cycle of farming began with the spring rains Farmers allowed their fields to flood with the rains and with water directed from the rivers Bulls and oxen were released to roam in the fields to stamp down weeds and fertilize the ground, after which plows, picks, and mattocks were used to break apart the soil and prepare a seedbed In the fall the crops were harvested The farmers cut sheaves of grain, threshed the grain stalks to separate the heads of the plants, and then winnowed the grain to separate edible portions from the chaff The grain was stored and allowed to dry and then ground into flour in mills The work of milling grain was carried out by humans and strong draft animals, who dragged heavy stones across the grain to pulverize it The work of the farmer followed an annual calendar, attuned to the growing season and to the regular spring floods Survival became less precarious, though famine was still an ever-present danger in years of poor harvests The rise of a market economy also allowed farmers to trade their produce for needed tools and land The Mesopotamians became cultivators and traders and lost their former attributes of nomadism and skill in the hunt Gradually, the Mesopotamian 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 crafts, such as pottery and tool making In the Uruk III–IV Period (3300–2900 b.c.e.) of Mesopotamian history, 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 craftsmen had a ready supply of copper and iron ore as well as gold and silver deposits Most metalsmiths, weavers, and stone carvers worked in the service of the king or lived within a temple precinct Throughout the Near East the growing demand for luxury goods—jewelry, fine clothing, and other adornments—provided a market for artisans and their apprentices In Persia and the Levant the difficult craft of glassmaking rose to new heights as artisans developed techniques of molding and coloring glass Syrian glassmakers learned how to shape and score (decoratively cut) finished glass in the eighth century b.c.e By the first 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, government began to levy workers for road building and the construction of palaces and monuments For farmers and many city dwellers work became an obligation owed to the state for a fi xed number of days every year The labor corvée was a heavy burden, as it often took the head of a family away from his home To avoid unrest, the corvée often took place in winter, after the harvest but before the plowing and planting season of spring Forced laborers worked grain fields owned by the state, the produce of which was meant for armies or for state warehouses They dug irrigation works and removed the river silt that was constantly clogging the canals They 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 Throughout 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 The work of women remained largely domestic Women ground grain and spun flax and wool to make clothing Many wives of landowners and the wealthy had a large staff of laborers to run their households These 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, weavers, and innkeepers They 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 apprenticeship 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 Their 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 There was a very limited commercial trade in slaves, but captured fugitives, refugees from foreign countries, convicted criminals, and prisoners of war often were forced into slavery The slave could be freed from his status after a period of time or for merit, but escape from slavery was very rare There 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 The records of social and economic interactions in the nations of ancient Asia vary greatly Records of the activities of many Pacific Islanders, for instance, were kept only after westerners began to arrive in the 18th century In contrast,