Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia.

• Author: Podany, Amanda H.
• Position: Book Review

Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. By KAREN RHEA NEMET-NEJAT. Peabody, Mass.: HENDRICKSON PUBLISHERS, 2002. Pp. xxii + 346. $24.95 (paper).

Few people outside the field of Assyriology realize the enormous depth of resources available for the study of society in Mesopotamia. Ancient cultures tend to get lumped together with the same assumptions made about all of them: if we know little about Greek family life, for instance, surely we must known even less about Mesopotamian life? But, in choosing clay as their writing material, the Mesopotamians left more durable texts than those of any other ancient culture, so thousands of documents are preserved that were never intended for posterity. These cuneiform texts provide a nuanced inside view on how the society operated. From these texts, in all their variety, Karen Rhea Nemet-Nejat has created a masterly overview of Mesopotamian society in her book Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, which has recently been made available in a paperback edition by Hendrickson Publishers.

The core of the book, which is designed for non-specialist readers, is found in chapters 4-11. Here, Nemet-Nejat has drawn together an extraordinary wealth of evidence on Mesopotamian intellectual innovations (chapters 4 and 5), society (chapters 6, 7, and 8), religion (chapter 9), government (chapter 10) and economy (chapter 11). As this list makes clear, the book provides much more than might be assumed from its title. It covers thousands of years of Mesopotamian life and explores the experiences of members of all the social classes. It describes how life was lived but also analyzes the thoughts and ideologies that underlay Mesopotamian life.

The content is clearly laid out, with subheadings and smaller sections dividing each chapter, making the organization of the material clear. This is particularly useful for instructors who might assign this book in an undergraduate course on the ancient Near East or for students doing research. For example, in the fascinating chapter on private life (chapter 7) are to be found subheadings concerning private houses, family life, property and succession, women's roles, fashions, and food and drink. The subheading "family life" is further divided into seven sections of one to six pages each, ranging from childbirth, through adoption and divorce, to death.

Most valuable are the hundreds of cuneiform documents quoted throughout the book. Nemet-Nejat's own narrative is lively and engaging, and...