Over time, pictographic representation was replaced with wedge-shaped signs, formed by impressing the tip of a reed or wood stylus into the surface of a clay tablet.
Some of the earliest pictographs are easily recognizable and decipherable, but most are of an abstract nature and cannot be identified with any known object. Initially, a reed or stick was used to draw pictographs and abstract signs into moistened clay. Clay became the preferred medium for recording bureaucratic items as it was abundant, cheap, and durable in comparison to other mediums.
The Uruk archives may reflect a later period when writing “took off” as the need for more permanent accounting practices became evident with the rapid growth of large cities with mixed populations at the end of the fourth millennium B.C. If further excavations in these areas confirm this assumption, then writing on clay tablets found at Uruk would constitute only a single phase of the early development of writing. Complex state systems with proto-cuneiform writing on clay and wood may have existed in Syria and Turkey as early as the mid-fourth millennium B.C. Recent archaeological research indicates that the origin and spread of writing may be more complex than previously thought. Uruk culture also spread into Syria and southern Turkey, where Uruk-style buildings were constructed in urban settlements. Examples of Uruk-type pottery are found in Susiana as well as in other sites in the Zagros mountain region and in northern and central Iran, attesting to the important influence of Uruk upon writing and material culture. There temples were built and clay tablets, dating to about 100 years after the earliest tablets from Uruk, were inscribed with numerals and word-signs. The name reflects the civilization centered around the site of Susa. To the east of southern Mesopotamia lay a region located below the Zagros Mountains called by modern scholars Susiana. Many other urban sites existed in southern Mesopotamia in close proximity to Uruk. One of the earliest written texts from Uruk provides a list of 120 officials including the leader of the city, leader of the law, leader of the plow, and leader of the lambs, as well as specialist terms for priests, metalworkers, potters, and others. He is often called a “ priest-king.” Underneath this office was a stratified society in which certain professions were held in high esteem. The city was ruled by a man depicted in art with many religious functions. 96 square miles, and has been called “the first city in world history.” The site was dominated by large temple estates whose need for accounting and disbursing of revenues led to the recording of economic data on clay tablets. It covered approximately 250 hectares, or. One site, the city of Uruk, surpassed all others as an urban center surrounded by a group of secondary settlements. Scholars still debate the reasons for this population increase, which seems too large to be explained simply by normal growth. witnessed a immense expansion in the number of populated sites. The slaves mostly worked in the agricultural fields.The alluvial plains of southern Mesopotamia in the later half of the fourth millennium B.C. They had no rights and generally worked for the upper class people. Slaves were at the bottom of the Mesopotamia social hierarchy. Although their life was not so luxurious as that of the upper class people, they led a comfortable life. The other professions of this class included fishing and pottery making etc. More than 85 percent of this class was engaged in farming. They belonged to the laboring lower class of the Mesopotamia social hierarchy. They also invented calenders to keep track of the trades. They were known to invent Cuneiform to document the various trade deals. They played the main job role in creating the required wealth for the growth of the civilization. They had to undergo a specialized training program to be called as a scribe. Most of them also ran their own businesses as public writers. They were primarily engaged in various professions such as working in the palace, army, government and merchants etc. They also belonged to the upper class and were well educated. In case of any physical illnesses, the people used to request the priests for treatment. They were considered as doctors of the time. They were influential because religion was much important at that time and people believed that priests have relationships with the God. The priests belonged to the upper class of the society.
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