The Oxford handbook of cuneiform culture / edited by Karen Radner and Eleanor Robson.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Radner, Karen.

Robson, Eleanor.

Series:

Oxford handbooks

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Iraq--Civilization--To 634.

Iraq.

Civilization.

Assyria--Civilization.

Assyria.

Cuneiform inscriptions.

Cuneiform writing.

Assyriology.

Physical Description:

xxxii, 805 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm.

Other Title:

Handbook of cuneiform culture

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2011.

Summary:

"The cuneiform script, the writing system of ancient Mesopotamia, was witness to one of the world's oldest literate cultures. For over three millennia, it was the vehicle of communication from (at its greatest extent) Iran to the Mediterranean, Anatolia to Egypt. The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture examines the Ancient Middle East through the lens of cuneiform writing. The contributors, a mix of scholars from across the disciplines, explore, define, and to some extent look beyond the boundaries of the written word, using Mesopotamia's clay tablets and stone inscriptions not just as 'texts' but also as material artefacts that offer much additional information about their creators, readers, users and owners"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note:

I. Materiality and literacies

1. Tablets as artefacts, scribes as artisans, Jonathan Taylor

2. Accounting in proto-cuneiform, Robert K. Englund

3. Numeracy and metrology, Gregory Chambon

4. Levels of literacy, Niek Veldhuis

5. Literacy and gender, Brigitte Lion

II. Individuals and communities

6. The person in Mesopotamian thought, Benjamin R. Foster

7. The scribe of the Flood Story and his circle, Frans van Koppen

8. Feasts for the living, the dead, and the gods, Hagan Brunke

9. Cuneiform writing in Neo-Babylonian temple communities, Michael Jursa

10. Freedom in ancient Near Eastern societies, Eva von Dassow

III. Experts and novices

11. Teacher-student relationships: two case studies, Yoram Cohen & Sivan Kedar

12. Patron and client: Zimri-Lim and Asqudum the diviner, Dominique Charpin

13. Learned, rich, famous and unhappy: Ur-Utu of Sippar, Michel Tanret

14. Music, the work of professionals, Nele Ziegler

15. The education of Neo-Assyrian princes, Silvie Zamazalova

IV. Decisions

16. Judicial decision-making: judges and arbitrators, Sophie Demare-Lafont

17. Royal decision-making: kings, magnates and scholars, Karen Radner

18. Assyria at war: strategy and conduct, Andreas Fuchs

19. Manipulating the gods: lamenting in context, Anne Lohnert

20. Magic rituals: conceptualisation and performance, Daniel Schwemer

V. Interpretations

21. Sheep and sky: systems of divinatory interpretation, Ulla Susanne Koch

22. Making sense of time: observational and theoretical calendars, John M. Steele

23. Letters as correspondence, letters as literature, Fabienne Huber Vulliet

24. Keeping company with men of learning: the king as scholar, Eckart Frahm

25. From street altar to palace: reading the built environment of urban Babylonia, Heather D. Baker

VI. Making knowledge

26. The production and dissemination of scholarly knowledge, Eleanor Robson

27. Tablets of schools and scholars: a portrait of the Old Babylonian corpus, Steve Tinney

28. Adapting to new contexts: cuneiform in Anatolia, Mark Weeden

29. Observing and describing the world through divination and astronomy, Francesca Rochberg

30. Berossos between tradition and innovation, Geert De Breucker

VII. Shaping tradition

31. Agriculture as civilization: sages, farmers, and barbarians, Frans Wiggermann

32. Sourcing, organising, and administering medicinal ingredients, Barbara Bock

33. Changing images of kingship in Sumerian literature, Nicole Brisch

34. The pious king: royal patronage of temples, Caroline Waerzeggers

35. Cuneiform culture's last guardians: the old urban notability of Hellenistic Uruk, Philippe Clancier.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780199557301

0199557306

OCLC:

646111382