Ancient Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Civilization: The Evolution of an Urban Landscape
Ancient Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Civilization: The Evolution of an Urban Landscape
Cite
Algaze, Guillermo,
Ancient Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Civilization: The Evolution of an Urban Landscape
(2008;
online edn,
Chicago Scholarship Online
, 21 Mar. 2013
), https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226013787.001.0001,accessed 20 Sept. 2022.
Algaze, Guillermo.
Ancient Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Civilization: The Evolution of an Urban Landscape
.University of Chicago Press
,2008
.Chicago Scholarship Online
, 2013
. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226013787.001.0001.Abstract
The alluvial lowlands of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in southern Mesopotamia are widely known as the “cradle of civilization”; owing to the scale of the processes of urbanization that took place in the area by the second half of the fourth millennium bc. This book draws on the work of modern economic geographers to explore how the unique river-based ecology and geography of the Tigris–Euphrates alluvium impacted the development of urban civilization in southern Mesopotamia. It argues that these natural conditions granted southern polities significant competitive advantages over their landlocked rivals elsewhere in Southwest Asia, most importantly the ability to transport easily commodities. In due course, this resulted in increased trade and economic activity and higher population densities in the south than were possible elsewhere. As southern polities grew in scale and complexity throughout the fourth millennium, revolutionary new forms of labor organization and record keeping were created, and it is these socially created innovations, the author argues, that ultimately account for why fully developed city-states emerged earlier in southern Mesopotamia than elsewhere in Southwest Asia or the world.
-
Front Matter
-
Expand
chapter one
The Sumerian Takeoff
-
Expand
chapter two
Factors Hindering Our Understanding of the Sumerian Takeoff
-
Expand
chapter three
Modeling the Dynamics of Urban Growth
-
Expand
chapter four
Early Mesopotamian Urbanism: Why?
-
Expand
chapter five
Early Mesopotamia Urbanism: How?
- chapter six The Evidence for Trade
-
Expand
chapter seven
Early Mesopotamian Urbanism in Comparative Perspective
-
Expand
chapter eight
The Synergies of Civilization
- chapter nine Conclusions: The Mesopotamian Conjuncture
-
Expand
Epilogue Early Sumerian Societies: A Research Agenda
-
End Matter
Sign in
Personal account
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate purchases and trials
Institutional access
-
Sign in through your institution
- Sign in with a library card Sign in with username / password Recommend to your librarian
Institutional account management
Sign in as administratorPurchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing information
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth / Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.