Ancient Mesopotamia

Ancient Mesopotamia
Author: A. Leo Oppenheim
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 494
Release: 2013-01-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 022617767X

"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.

A Research Guide to the Ancient World

A Research Guide to the Ancient World
Author: John M. Weeks
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 455
Release: 2014-11-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1442237406

The archaeological study of the ancient world has become increasingly popular in recent years. A Research Guide to the Ancient World: Print and Electronic Sources, is a partially annotated bibliography. The study of the ancient world is usually, although not exclusively, considered a branch of the humanities, including archaeology, art history, languages, literature, philosophy, and related cultural disciplines which consider the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean world, and adjacent Egypt and southwestern Asia. Chronologically the ancient world would extend from the beginning of the Bronze Age of ancient Greece (ca. 1000 BCE) to the fall of the Western Roman Empire (ca. 500 CE). This book will close the traditional subject gap between the humanities (Classical World; Egyptology) and the social sciences (anthropological archaeology; Near East) in the study of the ancient world. This book is uniquely the only bibliographic resource available for such holistic coverage. The volume consists of 17 chapters and seven appendixes, arranged according to the traditional types of library research materials (bibliographies, dictionaries, atlases, etc.). The appendixes are mostly subject specific, including graduate programs in ancient studies, reports from significant archaeological sites, numismatics, and paleography and writing systems. These extensive author and subject indexes help facilitate ease of use.

Picturing the Past

Picturing the Past
Author: Jack Green
Publisher: Oriental Institute Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre: Archaeological illustration
ISBN: 9781885923899

This fully illustrated catalogue of essays, descriptions, and commentary accompanies the Oriental Institute special exhibit Picturing the Past: Imaging and Imagining the Ancient Middle East (on exhibit February 7 through September 2, 2012). Picturing the Past presents paintings, architectural reconstructions, facsimiles, models, photographs, and computer-aided reconstructions that show how the architecture, sites, and artifacts of the ancient Middle East have been documented. It also examines how the publication of those images have shaped our perception of the ancient world, and how some of the more "imaginary" reconstructions have obscured our real understanding of the past. The exhibit and catalog also show how features of the ancient Middle East have been presented in different ways for different audiences, in some cases transforming a highly academic image into a widely recognized icon of the past.

Before the Pyramids

Before the Pyramids
Author: University of Chicago. Oriental Institute. Museum
Publisher: Oriental Institute Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: Antiquities, Prehistoric
ISBN: 9781885923820

This catalogue for an exhibit at Chicago's Oriental Institute Museum presents the newest research on the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods in a lavishly illustrated format. Essays on the rise of the state, contact with the Levant and Nubia, crafts, writing, iconography and evidence from Abydos, Tell el-Farkha, Hierakonpolis and the Delta were contributed by leading scholars in the field. The catalogue features 129 Predynastic and Early Dynastic objects, most from the Oriental Institute's collection, that illustrate the environmental setting, Predynastic and Early Dynastic culture, religion and the royal burials at Abydos. This volume will be a standard reference and a staple for classroom use.

A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Art

A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Art
Author: Ann C. Gunter
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 703
Release: 2018-09-08
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1118336755

Provides a broad view of the history and current state of scholarship on the art of the ancient Near East This book covers the aesthetic traditions of Mesopotamia, Iran, Anatolia, and the Levant, from Neolithic times to the end of the Achaemenid Persian Empire around 330 BCE. It describes and examines the field from a variety of critical perspectives: across approaches and interpretive frameworks, key explanatory concepts, materials and selected media and formats, and zones of interaction. This important work also addresses both traditional and emerging categories of material, intellectual perspectives, and research priorities. The book covers geography and chronology, context and setting, medium and scale, while acknowledging the diversity of regional and cultural traditions and the uneven survival of evidence. Part One of the book considers the methodologies and approaches that the field has drawn on and refined. Part Two addresses terms and concepts critical to understanding the subjects and formal characteristics of the Near Eastern material record, including the intellectual frameworks within which monuments have been approached and interpreted. Part Three surveys the field’s most distinctive and characteristic genres, with special reference to Mesopotamian art and architecture. Part Four considers involvement with artistic traditions across a broader reach, examining connections with Egypt, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean. And finally, Part Five addresses intersections with the closely allied discipline of archaeology and the institutional stewardship of cultural heritage in the modern Middle East. Told from multiple perspectives, A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Art is an enlightening, must-have book for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of ancient Near East art and Near East history as well as those interested in history and art history.

Ancient Cities

Ancient Cities
Author: Charles Gates
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2013-04-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 113467662X

Well illustrated with nearly 300 line drawings, maps and photographs, Ancient Cities surveys the cities of the ancient Near East, Egypt, and the Greek and Roman worlds from an archaeological perspective, and in their cultural and historical contexts. Covering a huge area geographically and chronologically, it brings to life the physical world of ancient city dwellers by concentrating on evidence recovered by archaeological excavations from the Mediterranean basin and south-west Asia Examining both pre-Classical and Classical periods, this is an excellent introductory textbook for students of classical studies and archaeology alike.

Guide To Understanding Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Canaanite And Phoenician Tablets, Slabs, Symbols And Cuneiform Inscriptions

Guide To Understanding Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Canaanite And Phoenician Tablets, Slabs, Symbols And Cuneiform Inscriptions
Author: Maximillien de Lafayette
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2017-01-15
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 1365683605

Guide To Understanding Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Canaanite And Phoenician Tablets, Slabs, Symbols And Cuneiform Inscriptions. The 27th book of the series: History, Religions, Art, Culture, Literature and Archaeology of the Ancient World. Published by Times Square Press, New York. Published by Times Square Press, New York. This series of 27 books on the history, religions, art, culture, literature and archaeology of the ancient world is a monumental work. It is conceived and written for the use of universities' professors, teachers of art history and history of ancient civilizations, as well as for students and researchers in the field. In this series, the author explains the meaning, the message and structure of hundreds upon hundreds of Mesopotamian, Phoenician, Ugaritic and ancient Middle and Near Eastern tablets, slabs, seals, obelisks, and cuneiform inscriptions.

Our Work

Our Work
Author: Jack Green (Museum curator)
Publisher: Oriental Institute Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Middle East
ISBN: 9781885923998

Our Work: Modern Jobs - Ancient Origins is the catalog for a photo-based exhibit that reveals that many modern professions originated in the ancient Middle East. Artifacts from the Oriental Institute Museum were paired with a baker, farmer, manicurist, brewer, poet, boat builder, judge and other professionals to show the antiquity of these jobs. The portraits are accompanied by commentary on the contributions of the ancient Middle East to life today and new insights into how members of the public view their relationship to the past. This volume will be of interest to educators, historians, and those interested in fine-arts photography.

Book of the Dead

Book of the Dead
Author: Foy Scalf
Publisher: Oriental Institute Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: Book of the dead
ISBN: 9781614910381

Discover how the ancient Egyptians controlled their immortal destiny! This book, edited by Foy Scalf, explores what the Book of the Dead was believed to do, how it worked, how it was made, and what happened to it.