Akkadica
Assyriological Center
Georges Dossin
Georges Dossin
|
Akkadica Assyriological Center
Georges Dossin |
Conspectus Librorum - Book Review:
Paperback, Pp. 262, 82 line diagrams, 5 half-tones, 9 maps ISBN:0521533384 / ISBN13:9780521533386 Price: GBP 19.99,- Orders: Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK www.cambridge.org In this new and revised edition of Sumer and the Sumerians, Harriet Crawford combines in her study the traditional historical approach with a more thematic approach. As stated in the Preface, this book is especially intended for undergraduates or future scholars studying the history and archaeology of the Near East. Although the brevity of some of the entries would require supplementary readings. This on the other hand does not leave out the fact that this work can be considered as a good overview of one of the best-known ancient civilisations in Mesopotamia with the most up to date evidence about their society, daily life, environment, agriculture, cultural and economic development, etc. The first chapter (p.1-15) covers the physical environment while in the second chapter (p.16-36), Crawford deals with the unavoidable history, chronology and social organisation during a period of 1,500 to 1,800 years. Chapter 3 (p.37-59) examines the agriculture and the patterns of settlement, including a section on public and private buildings. Agriculture, considered as the most important "industry" in Sumer, was of course totally reliant on irrigation and had therefore a crucial influence on the settlement patterns and land usage. The next two chapters (p.60-88 and 89-114) concentrate on town planning, temple architecture, as well as public - and private buildings. Additionally the author explains the built environment and the use of urban space. As mentioned in the text it is clear that compared to the remains pointing to urban domestic architecture we still have little evidence for village housing. Chapter 6 (p.115-134) covers Upper Mesopotamia and is additional to the first edition of this book. Life, death and the meaning of the universe, are the topics of Chapter 7 (p.135-157). This is undoubtedly a very important chapter as burials yield most of the evidence and information of the living. Therefore, we think this chapter is somehow too brief. In Chapter 8 (p.158-176) we get a good overview of the manufacturing industries, covering the textile manufacture, the making of pottery, metal-working and finally stone-working. Trade of manufactured goods is examined in Chapter 9 (p.177-192). It is important to notice that Harriet Crawford uses the word "trade" very loosely. In fact she covers the acquisition of foreign goods by any means, the exchange of goods and moving them from one place to another. And finally Chapter 10 (p.193-213) is dedicated to "Writing and Arts". We should also mention that almost each topic, treated in different chapters, is followed throughout the two thousand years covered in this work. Therefore the chapters are usually divided into subsections, each covering a particular period of the history of Sumer. The conclusion, in fact the very last chapter, reflects on the future of the Iraqi heritage. We should certainly add that the book is well illustrated with maps, figures and some plates. There is also a useful list of references and an index. Ingrid Swinnen Vrije Universiteit Brussel |