palaces and temples, and were the record keepers.This intelligent society also brought forth many useful inventions. The wagon wheel, for example, was one such creation that proved useful in the transportation of people and goods. Along the same lines came the potter's wheel that enabled the Sumerians to shape clay into pottery. They developed a way to make bronze out of copper and tin that allowed them to create metal plows that were useful for agricultural purposes. Another constructive development was the twelve-month calendar that was based on the cycles of the moon.All of these advancements on the part of the Sumerians showed that they were the most highly developed civilization of this time period. They created a language of their own and had many technological advancements and cultural traits that were exchanged and adapted to later civilizations. One such society was the Egyptians, located on the Nile River in northern Africa.Around 2700 BCE between the First Cataract and the Nile Delta, the heartland of Egyptian civilization and its order and stability were being established. Similar to the Sumerians, the Egyptians were forced to deal with flooding from the river; however, they did not fear this problem. To the Egyptians, the Nile was a tame river that rarely brought death and destruction. Its flooding was more predictable than that of the Tigris and Euphrates in that, by November of every year, the Nile left behind a thin layer of fertile mud for farming. Although Egyptian society was divided into classes, the people were given the opportunity to advance in social status. Ranked the highest on the social order were the nobles and priests. Members of this group were wealthy, upper class people who lived in prestigious homes with magnificent gardens and pools. Next in rank came the middle class. Members of this group consisted of scribes, merchants, and tax collectors. On the bottom of the social rank was the poor...
