The authors begin with a new chronology that has wide-reaching implications for future study, then focus on the spread of Uruk culture in terms of local developments and regional networks rather than an imposition from a politically dominant center. Traditional views of Uruk civilization have largely overlooked the cultural diversity in this broad geographical setting as well as the complex dynamics by which cultural elements were disseminated. Recent archaeological discoveries, radiocarbon data, and innovative theoretical approaches to world systems have called for a general reassessment of this crucial period. This closely integrated set of papers preserves an exciting sense of history in the re-making." —S. Langdon, CHOICE, November 2002"...a seminal interim contribution to specialists' understanding of Mesopotamia and early complex societies." —Richard Zettler, Religious Studies Review"Uruk Mesopotamia & Its Neighbors offers readers important new data and compelling interpretations of the era of state formation in Greater Mesopotamia." —Elizabeth Carter, Science 296 (7 June 2002)"...a seminal interim contribution to specialists' understanding of Mesopotamia and early complex societies." —Richard Zettler, Religious Studies Review"Uruk Mesopotamia & Its Neighbors offers readers important new data and compelling interpretations of the era of state formation in Greater Mesopotamia." —Elizabeth Carter, Science 296 (7 June 2002)