History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History - Softcover

Kramer, Samuel Noah

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9780812212761: History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0812212762 ISBN 13: 9780812212761
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1988

Synopsis

Which civilization had the first system of law? The first formal educational system? The first tax cut? The first love song? The answers were found in excavations of ancient Sumer, a society so developed, resourceful, and enterprising that it, in a sense, created history. The book presents a cross section of the Sumerian "firsts" in all the major fields of human endeavor, including government and politics, education and literature, philosophy and ethics, law and justice, agriculture and medicine, even love and family.

History Begins at Sumer is the classic account of the achievements of the Sumerians, who lived in what is now southern Iraq during the third millennium B.C. They were the developers of the cuneiform system of writing, perhaps their greatest contribution to civilization, which allowed laws and literature to be recorded for the first time.

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About the Author

Samuel Noah Kramer was Clark Research Professor Emeritus of Assyriology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was also Curator Emeritus of the Tablet Collections.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania Press
Publication date
1988
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0812212762
ISBN 13 
9780812212761
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
3
Number of pages
416
Rating
  • 4.16 out of 5 stars
    1,039 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780812278125: History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0812278127 ISBN 13:  9780812278125
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981
Hardcover