In Mesopotamia, only royal offspring and sons of the rich and professionals such as scribes, physicians, and temple administrators went to school. Most boys were taught by their fathers. Girls had to stay home with their mothers to learn housekeeping and cooking, and to look after the younger children. Later, when the script became more widespread, more of the Mesopotamian population became literate. Women as well as men learned to read and write. Vocabularies, grammars, and interlinear translations were compiled for the use of students, as well as commentaries on the older texts and explanations of words and phrases. Massive archives of texts were recovered from the archaeological contexts of Old Babylonian scribal schools, through which literacy was disseminated.
In Mesopotamia, only royal offspring and sons of the rich and professionals such as scribes, physicians, and temple administrators went to school. Most boys were taught by their fathers. Girls had to stay home with their mothers to learn housekeeping and cooking, and to look after the younger children. Later, when the script became more widespread, more of the Mesopotamian population became literate. Women as well as men learned to read and write. Vocabularies, grammars, and interlinear translations were compiled for the use of students, as well as commentaries on the older texts and explanations of words and phrases. Massive archives of texts were recovered from the archaeological contexts of Old Babylonian scribal schools, through which literacy was disseminated.