A comparative examination of two recent books on ancient trade (Trade in the Ancient Near East, ed. J. D. Hawkins, 1977 and Ancient Civilizations and Trade, eds. J. A. Sabloff and C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky 1975) provides the opportunity to juxtapose bodies of data and theory in the interpretation of Mesopotamian economic systems. It is seen that the study of trade necessarily entails an appreciation of the socio economic consequences of movement of goods and must include an assessment not only of the quality of traded materials but also of the volume of the trade. Among the sections of the essay are reviews of Mesopotamian trade in the third millennium and Old Assyrian period, an overview of prehistoric tradeand a concluding evaluation on the prospects for explaining trade in ancient Western Asia.
