Author: Harriet Crawford File Type: epub The Sumerian World explores the archaeology, history and art of southern Mesopotamia and its relationships with its neighbours from c.3,000 - 2,000BC. Including material hitherto unpublished from recent excavations, the articles are organised thematically using evidence from archaeology, texts and the natural sciences.This broad treatment will also make the volume of interest to students looking for comparative data in allied subjects such as ancient literature and early religions. Providing an authoritative, comprehensive and up to date overview of the Sumerian period written by some of the best qualified scholars in the field, The Sumerian World will satisfy students, researchers, academics, and the knowledgeable layperson wishing to understand the world of southern Mesopotamia in the third millennium. **Review [T]he last part of the volume deals with the impact the Sumerians had on their neighbours. This is a fascinating section, and one that does not disappoint ... this book can be considered essential reading for anyone interested in the ancient world. - Minerva The International Review of Ancient Art & Archaeology An impressive work that is a godsend for everyone and anyone seeking to understand Sumerian culture. - Antike Welt, Zeitschrift fur Archaologie und Kulturgeschichte Coming at a crucial time for the archaeology of Iraq, The Sumerian World breathes new life into the study of the earliest known urban civilization. Its chapters combine the best of established scholarship with fresh perspectives from a new generation of experts. Especially impressive is its broad definition of the Sumerian world as encompassing relations with neighboring cultures and societies, a refreshing departure from the more inward-looking approaches of the past. This skillfully crafted volume will be required reading for students and researchers of the ancient world, and also for art historians and archaeologists with an interest in this formative period of world history. - David Wengrow, Professor of Comparative Archaeology, University College London, UK This magnificent volume, written by an impressive group of scholarsboth senior and up-and-comingshows that knowledge of ancient Mesopotamia has not only been maintained, it continues to grow. Far more than a summary of scholarly consensus, this volume presents significant new insights into the cities and landscapes of Sumer and the trade relationships with the areas and cultures that were its neighbors. The volumes discussions of city plans, art, cuneiform texts, cultural traditions, administrative systems, and satellite images showing natural landscapes present a rich and authoritative view of this ancient civilization. Like any volume of this scale, students and scholars will learn a great deal at the same time as they find challenging ideas to debate. When Iraq is once again accessible to archaeological and historical research, this volume will provide a significant starting point for new generations of scholarship. In the meantime, it is the state of the art in Sumerian studies. - Geoff Emberling, University of Michigan, USA The renowned archaeologist Harriet Crawford has gathered 32 specialists on the history, archaeology and languages of early Mesopotamia who approach the Sumerian Problem from different angles, succeeding to present a colorful and comprehensive picture of the present state of knowledge on the Sumerians. Anyone interested in the early history of Mesopotamia will find here competent answers to many open questions. Hans Nissen, Freie Universitat Berlin (emeritus), Germany The clarity of writing and up-to-the-minute research make it [The Sumerian World] compelling for anyone fascinated by the oldest recordered Mesopotamian civilisation. - James McCall, World Archaeology This may well be the definitive volume on the Sumerians, inhabitants of Mesopotamia (the land between the rivers) during the third millennium BCE.... The book includes much new material, despite the difficulties involved in working in Iraq in recent decades. Remote sensing techniques have played a large role, as have reexaminations of the role of women and the use of space in settlements and houses. Work in neighboring countries, such as Syria and Iran, has also shed light on the Sumerians and their world, placing it in a larger global context. Summing Up Essential. - E. H Cline, George Washington University, CHOICE About the Author Harriet Crawford is Reader Emerita at UCLs Institute of Archaeology and is currently an honorary Visiting Professor at UCL and a senior fellow at the McDonald Institute, Cambridge. She is a specialist in the archaeology of the Sumerians and has worked widely in Iraq and the Gulf. She is the author of Sumer and the Sumerians (second edition, 2004).

Author: David Shim File Type: pdf In the realm of international relations, there are seemingly few states like North Korea. Whether it is the countrys human rights situation, its precarious everyday life or its so-called foreign policy of coercion and nuclear brinkmanship, no matter what this pariah nation says and does it affects the state and stability of regional and global politics. But what do we know about North Korea and how do we come to know it? This book argues that visual imagery plays a decisive role in this operation. By discussing two exemplary areas everyday photography and satellite imagery the book takes into account the role of images in the way that particular issues related to North Korea are understood in contemporary geopolitics. Images work. They do something by evoking a particular perspective of what is shown in them, allowing only specific ways of seeing and knowing. In this sense, images are deeply political. Individual methodological usages in the book can provide a procedural basis from which to start or rethink further studies on visuality, both in IR and beyond. It also opens an innovative path for future studies on East Asia, making the book attractive to a range of specialists and thus holding an appeal beyond the boundaries of a single discipline. **