Sumer and the Sumerians

Harriet Crawford is an Honorary Visiting Professor in the Institute of Archaeology, University College London and Research Fellow at the McDonald Institute, Cambridge. She has excavated extensively in Iraq and the Gulf. Her previous publications include The Architecture of Iraq in the Third Millenium BC (1977) and Dilmun and its Gulf Neighbours (Cambridge University Press, 1998).

'the real achievement of this slim book is that Crawford does not over-generalise, but leaves the reader with an understanding of both the broad patterns as well as the differences between regions in Mesopotamia and through time.' Bibliotheca Orientalis

• 1. The rediscovery of the ancient Near East: the physical environment; 2. History, chronology and social organization; 3. Patterns of settlement and agriculture; 4. Town planning and temple architecture; 5. Public buildings and private housing; 6. Upper Mesopotamia; 7. Life, death and the meaning of the universe; 8. Manufacturing industries; 9. Trade; 10. Writing and the arts; 11. Conclusions.