Selected Writings on Chariots, Other Early Vehicles, Riding and Harness.

• Author: Dunham, Sally S.
• Position: Book Review

Selected Writings on Chariots, Other Early Vehicles, Riding and Harness. By MARY AIKEN LITTAUER and JOOST H. CROUWEL. Edited by Peter Raulwing. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East, vol. 6. Leiden: BRILL, 2002. Pp. xlvi + 609, plates. $99.

This is a collection of forty-two previously published articles by two scholars who, both as a team and individually, have contributed a great deal toward the understanding of techniques of riding and driving in the ancient world. A complete bibliography of their works up to 1997 is provided at the beginning of the book (pp. xxxvii-xlvi). (1) As the editor notes (p. ix), this list includes monographs that have become standard reference works for scholars dealing with ancient equestrian matters in the Mediterranean and the Near East. (2) In his preface, the editor also provides further references on horse-related matters that have been published since 1990.

The book is organized into four sections: "Chariots" (articles nos. 1-23); "Other Early Vehicles" (nos. 24-27); "Riding" (nos. 28-32); and "Harness and Control" (nos. 33-42). Article no. 15, Crouwel's 1985 article on carts in ancient Cyprus, appears misplaced since it is in the "Chariot" section rather than that on "Other Early Vehicles." Chronologically, the subjects range from the late fourth/early third millennium (no. 24, "Ceremonial Threshing in the Ancient Near East") to the modern era (no. 32, "After Seeing the Spanish Riding School") and geographically from Europe to the Far East. Thirty-eight out of the forty-two articles, however, pertain to the ancient Near East and Levant (including Greece). Littauer's and Crouwel's (3) careful attention to details and thoughtful evaluation of harness and vehicle components in relation to what effect they may have had on the performance of the animal (equid/bovid) and/or the vehicle concerned make their articles an important source to consult about ancient driving and riding.

A few references published since this book appeared, or not included in it, might be mentioned here. Since the appearance of Littauer's and Crouwel's 1974 article on wheeled vehicles with tilts, (4) further examples have been published. In 1990 Strommenger called attention to two complete wheel-made examples in the Munich Museum (said to come from the Middle Euphrates valley), a fragment of a similar wheel-made example from Habuba Kabira, and two frit examples from Cemetery U (third millennium) at Tell Bia. (5) One of these...