Daily life in Mesopotamia was discovered by archaeologists and historians from the plagues that were excavated. Most daily chores depended on the kind of work people were engaged in. Even though there were three separate classes made up of the wealthy merchants, priests at the top, the tradesmen and craftsmen at the middle and prisoners languishing at the bottom.
Slaves had to slog it out for the king, the nobility and other people in ancient Mesopotamia. They lived in communal shelters and worked for the same employer. The plagues also give an insight into the lives of the lowest classes that existed in Mesopotamia. You can get glimpses of daily life of the nobility as a man and woman celebrate a ritual as they participate in a banquet.
It is all in the plagues:
You can get an idea of the daily life of servants as they are shown waiting on them while other servants bring over an animal for slaughter. People carry food and beer while musicians and dancers add to the fun of the feast.
Wealthy merchants and traders had a ball and they had a retinue of servants who were captured as slaves in the battlefields. It was common in the frequently war ravaged region to bring in prisoners and treat them as slaves.
The plaque from which the feast was described showed that the people loved to eat and wealthier families indulged in regular festivities. Almost all the information about daily life in Mesopotamia has been gathered from inscriptions and stories penned around them.
But the majority of Mesopotamians worked in farming while others were potters. The craftsmen and potters could emulate the rich in fashion without being able to afford the quality of garments they wore.
Although the rich could afford meat on a daily basis, the poor had to be satisfied with meat on special occasions only. As there were several canals, fish was abundant.
Turtles and shellfish were the common diet while the rich could afford, beef, pork, lamb, goat, ducks and geese according to their choice. Staple foods for the poor included barley and wheat, while grain was crushed and cooked as porridge or baked into breads in Mesopotamia daily life.