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Overview"Our ancestors, the Mesopotamians, invented writing and with it a new way of looking at the world. In this collection of essays, the French scholar Jean Bottero attempts to go back to the moment which marks the very beginning of history. To give the reader some sense of how Mesopotamian civilization has been mediated and interpreted in its transmission through time, Bottero begins with an account of Assyriology, the discipline devoted to the ancient culture. This transmission, compounded with countless discoveries, would not have been possible without the surprising decipherment of the cuneiform writing system. Bottero also focuses on divination in the ancient world, contending that certain modes of worship in Mesopotamia, in their application of causality and proof, prefigure the ""scientific mind.""" Full Product DetailsAuthor: Jean Bottero , Zainab Bahrani , Marc Van De Mieroop , Marc van de MieroopPublisher: The University of Chicago Press Imprint: University of Chicago Press Edition: New edition Dimensions: Width: 1.70cm , Height: 0.20cm , Length: 2.30cm Weight: 0.482kg ISBN: 9780226067278ISBN 10: 0226067270 Pages: 326 Publication Date: 15 June 1995 Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Manufactured on demand We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier. Table of Contents"Chronology Rules of transcription and translation Map The Birth of the West I: Assyriology 1: In Defense of a Useless Science 2: Assyriology and Our History 3: A Century of Assyriology II: Writing 4: The ""Avalanche"" of Decipherments in the Ancient Near East between 1800 and 1930 5: From Mnemonic Device to Script 6: Writing and Dialectics, or the Progress of Knowledge III: ""Reasoning"": Institutions and Mentality 7: Oneiromancy 8: Divination and the Scientific Spirit 9: The Substitute King and His Fate 10: The ""Code"" of Hammurabi 11: ""Free Love"" and Its Disadvantages IV: ""The Gods"": Religion 12: The Religious System 13: Intelligence and the Technical Function of Power: Enki/Ea 14: The Dialogue of Pessimism and Transcendence 15: The Mythology of Death Glossary-Index References Bibliographical Orientation"ReviewsAuthor InformationJean Bottéro (1914-2007) was director emeritus of L'École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris. He is the author of many books, several of which have been translated and published by the University of Chicago Press. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |