Mesopotamian Civilization The Material Foundations

Potts, D. T.

ISBN 10: 0801433398 / ISBN 13: 9780801433399

Published by Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1997

About this Item

Ithaca: Cornell University Press, (1997). First Edition. Large 8vo. [xxi],366pp, Index, Bibliography. Illustrated with maps and drawings. Brown boards. Fine condition in fine dj. Author argues that by analyzing the material infrastructure one can better understand the art, architecture, history, and literature of the Mesopootamina Civilization. ISBN 0801433398; Illustrated; Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall; 366 pages.

Seller Inventory # 10135

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Mesopotamian Civilization The Material Foundations
• Publisher: Cornell University Press, Ithaca
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801433398
• ISBN 13: 9780801433399
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

About this title

Synopsis

The best way to achieve an understanding of the art, architecture, history, and literature of a great civilization such as Mesopotamia's, D. T. Potts believes, is through an analysis of its material infrastructure. Concentrating on Southern Mesopotamia and relying preponderantly on evidence from the third millennium B.C., Potts describes a civilization from the ground up. He creates an ethnography of ancient Mesopotamia which combines knowledge of its material culture and its mental culture.

The creation and development of Mesopotamia was made possible by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. "None of the achievements of Mesopotamian production in the realm of agriculture, animal husbandry, or related industries (textiles, leather working, boat building)," Potts says, "can be understood except in reference to the very specific river regimes and soil conditions of the alluvium."

Potts examines the climate, the landforms, and other conditions that enabled the area to become populated. What natural resources did the earliest Mesopotamians have at their disposal? How did Mesopotamian religious ideals reflect the basic conditions of life in the alluvial plain of Southern Mesopotamia? What contributions to Mesopotamian civilization came from the East and what from the West? In addressing such questions as these, Potts offers a new foundation for understanding an ancient civilization of great complexity.

About the Author

D. T. Potts is Professor of Middle Eastern Archaeology at the University of Sydney. A specialist in Arabian Gulf archaeology, he is founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy Journal and has conducted major excavations at Tell Abraq, Jabal al Emalah, and Al Sufouh. His previous works include The Arabian Gulf in Antiquity.