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What did Sumerian scribes do?

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Answer:The scribes of ancient Sumer were the first accountants. They were hired to document Sumerians'personal worth; goats, grain, and oil. The scribes developed tokens, which were symbolic representations in pictograph form, to represent each item of worth.The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as secretarial and administrative duties such as the taking of dictation and keeping of business, judicial, and historical records for kings, nobles, temples, and cities.They were responsible for creating and maintaining historical archives, which included records of trade, legal proceedings, religious rituals, and other important aspects of Sumerian society.Why did scribes hold important status in Sumer?

Scribes understood how to write, a service that was in high demand: they could work in the government to write down edicts, could write transaction tallies between merchants, or could assist priests in writing important messages about religion or early science.In Ancient Egyptian society, scribes were very well respected. People believed that putting speech in writing made the words true. Only a very small proportion of the population were literate, and so scribes were kept busy in villages recording accounts and legal matters.

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User Gabriel Caceres
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