Cuneiform (Reading the Past) - Softcover

Walker, C. B. F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520061152 ISBN 13: 9780520061156

Publisher: Univ of California Pr, 1987

Synopsis

The cuneiform writing system flourished in the Near East from before 3000 BC to AD 75. This book surveys the development of the script from the earliest pictographic signs to the latest astronomical tablets and the process by which it came to be used for writing many different Near Eastern languages. Sample texts show how the script is analysed into words and syllables and how to read the names of the most famous kings as they appear on monuments. In addition, extracts from contemporary Sumerian literature and school texts give an account of the training of the scribes, and the various types of inscription they wrote are illustrated. The decipherment of cuneiform is explained and--for the collector--some guidelines for the identification of fake inscriptions are given.

About this title

About the Author:

Christopher Walker is an Assistant Keeper in the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities in the British Museum. He has written several works on Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions and Mesopotamian history.

From the Inside Flap:

"There is nothing in existence or in preparation to my knowledge that competes with the Walker text. I rate it as very important."Anne Kilmer, University of California, Berkeley

About this edition

• Publisher: Univ of California Pr
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0520061152
• ISBN 13: 9780520061156
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 2