Handbook To Life In Ancient Mesopotamia

Modern-day archaeological discoveries in the Near East continue to illuminate man's understanding of the ancient world. This illustrated handbook describes the culture, history, and people of Mesopotamia, as well as their struggle for survival and happiness.

Explores the lifestyles of the ancient Egyptians including, economy and industry, foreign trade and transportation, architecture, and more.

Described by the editor as unpretentious roamings on the odd little byways of the history of ancient Mesopotamia, these 15 articles were originally published in the French journal L'Histoire and are designed to serve as an introductory sampling of the historical research on the lost civilization. Chapters explore cuisine, sexuality, women's rights, architecture, magic and medicine, myth, legend, and other aspects of Mesopotamian life. Originally published as Initiation a l'Orient ancien . Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

What we know of prehistoric Europe stems from archeological finds, ranging from cave paintings to the frozen body of a hunter exposed by a retreating glacier. This means that our knowledge is largely of the ordinary individual - the hunter-gatherer, farmer, or Metallurgist - rather than ofkings. In this intriguing book, Jane McIntosh gathers the results of recent archaeological discoveries and scholarly research, covering all aspects of life in prehistoric Europe: the geography of the continent, economy, settlement, trade, transport, industry and crafts, religion, death and burial,warfare, language, the arts, and more. Throughout, McIntosh stresses the lives lived by the majority, rather than the privileged elite (as is so often the case in recorded history). Not that evidence of the latter is lacking: exquisite jewelry, elaborately woven cloth, and finely wrought weaponstell us a great deal about the rulers of this lost world. Including more than 75 illustrations and maps, the Handbook to Life in Prehistoric Europe provides an accessible introduction to the 7000-year period that immediately preceded the Roman Empire.

"This splendid work of scholarship . . . sums up with economy and power all that the written record so far deciphered has to tell about the ancient and complementary civilizations of Babylon and Assyria."—Edward B. Garside, New York Times Book Review Ancient Mesopotamia—the area now called Iraq—has received less attention than ancient Egypt and other long-extinct and more spectacular civilizations. But numerous small clay tablets buried in the desert soil for thousands of years make it possible for us to know more about the people of ancient Mesopotamia than any other land in the early Near East. Professor Oppenheim, who studied these tablets for more than thirty years, used his intimate knowledge of long-dead languages to put together a distinctively personal picture of the Mesopotamians of some three thousand years ago. Following Oppenheim's death, Erica Reiner used the author's outline to complete the revisions he had begun. "To any serious student of Mesopotamian civilization, this is one of the most valuable books ever written."—Leonard Cottrell, Book Week "Leo Oppenheim has made a bold, brave, pioneering attempt to present a synthesis of the vast mass of philological and archaeological data that have accumulated over the past hundred years in the field of Assyriological research."—Samuel Noah Kramer, Archaeology A. Leo Oppenheim, one of the most distinguished Assyriologists of our time, was editor in charge of the Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute and John A. Wilson Professor of Oriental Studies at the University of Chicago.

The ancient world of Mesopotamia (from Sumer to the subsequent division into Babylonia and Assyria) vividly comes alive in this portrayal of the time period from 3100 BCE to the fall of Assyria (612 BCE) and Babylon (539 BCE). Readers will discover fascinating details about the lives of these people taken from the ancients' own descriptions. Beautifully illustrated, this easy-to-use reference contains a timeline and a historical overview to aid student research.

The ancient world of Mesopotamia (from Sumer to the subsequent division into Babylonia and Assyria) vividly comes alive in this portrayal of the time period from 3100 BCE to the fall of Assyria (612 BCE) and Babylon (539 BCE). Readers will discover fascinating details about the lives of these people taken from the ancients' own descriptions. Beautifully illustrated, this easy-to-use reference contains a timeline and a historical overview to aid student research. Annotation. This account brings the ancient world of Mesopotamia to life with details taken from primary texts such as economic records, scientific and mathematical texts, legal documents, official and personal correspondence, and magic and religious texts, drawing on the most recent discoveries of new excavation sites and artifacts. The focus is on historical Mesopotamia from 3100 BCE to the fall of Assyria (612 BCE) and Babylon (539 BCE). A glossary is included, plus b & w photos of artifacts. The author teaches at Yale University and has written other books on Mesopotamia. This is a paperbound reprint of a 1998 book published by Greenwood Press.

Celebrated for numerous developments in the areas of law, writing, religion, and mathematics, Mesopotamia has been immortalized as the cradle of civilization. Its fabled cities, including Babylon and Nineveh, spawned new cultures, traditions, and innovations in art and architecture, some of which can still be seen in present-day Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Readers will be captivated by this ancient culture’s rich history and breadth of accomplishment, as they marvel at images of the magnificent temples and artifacts left behind.