Cuneiform: Ancient Scripts

Finkel, Irving; Taylor, Jonathan

ISBN 10: 1606064479 / ISBN 13: 9781606064474

Published by J. Paul Getty Museum, 2015

About this Item

Gently read. May have name of previous ownership, or ex-library edition. Binding tight; spine straight and smooth, with no creasing; covers clean and crisp. Minimal signs of handling or shelving. 100% GUARANTEE! Shipped with delivery confirmation, if you're not satisfied with purchase please return item! Ships USPS Media Mail.

Seller Inventory # OTV.1606064479.VG

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Cuneiform: Ancient Scripts
• Publisher: J. Paul Getty Museum
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1606064479
• ISBN 13: 9781606064474
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: very_good

About this title

Synopsis

Cuneiform script on clay tablets is, as far as we know, the oldest form of writing in the world. The resilience of clay has permitted these records to survive for thousands of years, providing a fascinating glimpse into the political, economic, and religious institutions of the ancient Near Eastern societies that used this writing system.
 
A concise and accessible introduction to the topic, this book traces the history of cuneiform from its beginnings in the fourth millennium BC to its eventual demise in the face of the ever expanding use of alphabetic Aramaic in the first millennium BC. The authors explain how this pre-alphabetic system worked and how it was possible to use it to record so many different languages. Drawing on examples from the British Museum, which has the largest and most venerable cuneiform collection in the world, this lively volume includes elementary school exercises, revealing private letters, and beautiful calligraphic literature for royal libraries.

About the Author

Dr. Irving Finkel is a British philologist and Assyriologist. He is currently the Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script, languages and cultures in the Department of the Middle East in the British Museum, where he specializes in cuneiform inscriptions on tablets of clay from ancient Mesopotamia.

Jonathan Taylor is Curator in the Department of the Middle East at the British Museum; trained as a philologist and responsible for part of the cuneiform collections.