Conclusion
Conclusion
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At first glance, our understanding of Ur III appears limited to economic information about the ruling class. However, there is more to uncover through the seemingly dry records of the bureau at Puzrish-Dagan. Following the lead of scholars such as Van de Mieroop, Wright, and Maggio, I have engaged in a close reading of an economic document to look for clues about the people behind the record. In addition, I argue for the use of anthropological theories and cross-cultural ethnographic comparisons to construct a more complete picture of the cultural meanings and social values that made up the everyday world of Ur III.
The approach of ‘history from below’ has helped broaden my focus to examine the offerers themselves, rather than limiting my analysis to the ruling officials and economic system that utilized the tablet. While the people I’ve studied are not the invisible, illiterate laborers often envisioned in the goals of this approach, they are nonetheless non-elite, everyday people who took part in the system set up by state rulers. A century of research on Ur III has built a solid foundation on the workings of the state bureaucracy; this project has aimed to demonstrate how we might begin to fill in the empty space of its citizens.
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