Buy new:
$34.00
FREE delivery Friday, July 26 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$32.63
FREE pickup August 2 - 9 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest pickup August 1 - 7

1.27 mi | ASHBURN 20147

How pickup works
Pick up from nearby pickup location
Step 1: Place Your Order
Select the “Pickup” option on the product page or during checkout.
Step 2: Receive Notification
Once your package is ready for pickup, you'll receive an email and app notification.
Step 3: Pick up
Bring your order ID or pickup code (if applicable) to your chosen pickup location to pick up your package.
$$34.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$34.00
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Jean Bottéro
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia Paperback – September 5, 2001

by Jean Bottéro (Author)
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$34.00","priceAmount":34.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"34","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"dJCjmoKkTeSsV%2FCHT8YlfDe%2BPSDfaU2AG6raVVFXCs8iTh8ldvhXjyPu9iPKS2TT6CgX%2FLWO%2BNdAmjkgIZMQSG6XFX1bO9laX0lYdMDOC9k4V9gP183SlXFK7qp6CA9XviWbCpdHmQA%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$12.26","priceAmount":12.26,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"12","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"26","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"dJCjmoKkTeSsV%2FCHT8YlfDe%2BPSDfaU2ADNVYMJHyAPOq7yf5QpssLZZAEekF320YajBIjAMyKJf14eW%2FuNw2RX%2F1iyHxQi63aQ2EbIcW2iiSXVNO2wArGWKnKFiE9I5Ea1C3icg30gZItJt9O9qtaRy%2BEAUU3EHcLSIjId5cuXNBJr3hwaQXTq6Gtao0IZMH","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}],"desktop_buybox_group_2":[{"displayPrice":"$32.63","priceAmount":32.63,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"32","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"63","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"dJCjmoKkTeSsV%2FCHT8YlfDe%2BPSDfaU2AVhkaUdsjTz1g0vBa01qDUxQ84bMrFCYGxj5kaeQoFuhSmu28xNQfPqDjVmqUNuH1DBIusxpO6BtaY7M6iavm2Gk3PrTJcc9V9eU77xKAYhj8vxGJuGyjUZMp4BdTnNQPw%2BntZvR4wHAjZMcLIvkBGbGlnwrF%2B4b%2B","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"PICKUP","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":2}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, based on articles originally published in L'Histoire by Jean Bottéro, André Finet, Bertrand Lafont, and Georges Roux, presents new discoveries about this amazing Mesopotamian culture made during the past ten years. Features of everyday Meopotamian life highlight the new sections of this book. Both gourmet cuisine and popular cookery used fish, meats, fruits, vegetables, and grains, available fresh or preserved (through methods still used today), and served with beer and wine. While feelings toward love and sex are rarely found in personal writings or correspondence, myths, prayers, and accounts of an acceptance of a wide range of behaviors (despite monogamy, prostitution flourished) argue that both were considered natural and necessary for a happy existence.

Under law woman existed as a man's property, yet stories show that wives frequently used beauty and wits to keep husbands in hand, and a wife's financial holdings remained her property, reverting to her family at her death. Women were allowed to participate in activities that could increase this wealth and some, pledged to the gods and shut away in group homes, were nonetheless able to participate in lucrative business ventures. Also included are accounts of the exceptional life of the queen and the women of Mari, the story of the great Queen Semiramis, and chapters on magic, medicine, and astrology.

The concluding section offers a fascinating in-depth comparison of ancient Sumerian myths and stories similar to those found in the Hebrew bible. The new information found in Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia makes a significant contribution, one that deepens our knowledge and understanding of this great, ancient civilization.

Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Johns Hopkins University Press
  4. Publication date
    September 5, 2001
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.65 x 9.19 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0801868645
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0801868641
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details
Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Frequently bought together

Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
$34.00
Get it as soon as Friday, Jul 26
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character (Phoenix Books)
$29.00
Get it as soon as Friday, Jul 26
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

Similar items that may ship from close to you

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  1. The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character (Phoenix Books)
    Samuel Noah Kramer
    4.4 out of 5 stars 369
    Paperback
    $29.00
    Get it as soon as Friday, Jul 26
    FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
  2. Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia
    Jean Bottéro
    4.5 out of 5 stars 29
    Paperback
    $30.00
    Get it as soon as Friday, Jul 26
    FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
  3. Life in Ancient Mesopotamia (Peoples of the Ancient World)
    Shilpa Mehta-Jones
    4.5 out of 5 stars 22
    Paperback
    $9.95
    Get it as soon as Friday, Jul 26
    FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
    Only 12 left in stock (more on the way).
  4. Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City
    Gwendolyn Leick
    4.4 out of 5 stars 212
    Paperback
    $17.02
    Get it as soon as Friday, Jul 26
    FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
  5. A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC (Blackwell History of the Ancient World)
  6. Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and the Gods
    Jean Bottéro
    4.5 out of 5 stars 11
    Paperback
    $34.50
    Get it as soon as Friday, Jul 26
    FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
Next page

Editorial Reviews

Review

A popular work for understanding Mesopotamian social life . . . Written in a vigorous and interesting style with much useful information.
―Mark W. Chavalas, Religious Studies Review

The book covers many interesting topics not typically addressed in general texts such as cuisine, love and sex, women's rights, and the idea of sin. The book is written for the novice in the field, but it does not simply skim the surface or summarize the authors' longer works; rather, it makes accessible much interesting primary source material that is normally only found in scholarly book sand journals.
―Linda Bergstein Scherr, Religious Studies Review

In Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, Jean Bottéro displays his immense learning, total command of the field, as well as a profound awareness of approaches used by scholars in other historical periods . . . This book is a well-rounded and appealing introduction to Mesopotamian civilization.
―Amélhie Kuhrt, University College, London

Review

In Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, Jean Bottéro displays his immense learning, total command of the field, as well as a profound awareness of approaches used by scholars in other historical periods . . . This book is a well-rounded and appealing introduction to Mesopotamian civilization.

-- Amélhie Kuhrt

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Johns Hopkins University Press (September 5, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0801868645
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0801868641
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.65 x 9.19 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Jean Bottéro

Jean Bottéro

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
19 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

JOSE
5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME!!!
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
GREAT INSIGHT IN EARLY HISTORY, MAKES YOU UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE A LITTLE BIT MORE BETTER...
Helpful
 Report
KRN
3.0 out of 5 stars Jean Bottéro's Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2013
Verified Purchase
The book covers many interesting topics written by various scholars others, and, as such, should have been listed as "edited by" J. Bottéro. Though the "author" includes many chapters on Mesopotamian cuisine, a book for which he deservedly received the Légion d'Honneur, those chapters are basically "blocked, cut and pasted' from that book, Textes Culinaires Mesopotamiens. His book on cooking was truly a major contribution both in his recognizing that the text was an ancient cookbook and deciphering some very difficult terms. Nonetheless, I expected new material and not chapters taken from another book.
8 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
S. Oppenheim
5.0 out of 5 stars Good collection
Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2015
Verified Purchase
Some of the essays are better than others but overall a fascinating gathering of detailed well researched interesting for ways into the deep past!
Helpful
 Report
History teacher
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2016
Verified Purchase
Some interesting updates to what I learned in college about the subject. Very readable.
Helpful
 Report
Abba's Amanda
5.0 out of 5 stars hebraic scholarly research
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2015
Verified Purchase
good and interesting book for research. Easy to read for a research book
Helpful
 Report
Ray Farmer
5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining and insightful book for the general reader
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2004
"Everyday Life in Ancient Messopotamia" offers an interesting option to the general reader who is interested in Ancient Mesopotamia but is put off by most of the dry and academic texts that are currently available on this topic. As Bottero stated in his foreword, he wanted the reader to become acquainted with the Mesopotamian culture through vivid impressions, much as a tourist would gain when visiting a foreign country for the first time. All exaggerations aside, Bottero really manages to do a very good job of igniting the reader's interest in this part of the ancient world.

Although I felt that the chapters on food and wine were a bit overextended, the rest of the book provides a solid and entertaining discussion of Mesopotamia. The chapters dealing with women in Mesopotamian society were quite interesting, where Bottero suggests that women may have had more leverage power in dealing with men than would be suggested by the textual evidence. Additionally, Georges Roux's discussion of the origins of the Semiramis legend are equally appealing. One of the things that impressed me about this book was the ability of the various contributors to throw a new light on old ideas, thus allowing the reader to gain new insights. For example, one theory that made me think was Bottero's idea that the use of writing to communicate decrees made by the king may have prepared the Mesopotamians to accept the possibility that the gods might issue their decrees through the movements of the celestial bodies. And just as there were experts to read the texts, there originated the need to obtain experts in astrology who could interpret the heavenly bodies. I do not know if this is a widely supported idea in the Assyriological community, but nevertheless, the ability of the various contributors to communicate to the general reader is a definite strong point of this book.

I highly recommend this book as a good starting point to Mesopotamia, since it will leave the reader (like myself) wanting to learn more.
21 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
noel hudson
3.0 out of 5 stars Some of the information was genuinely interesting but far too ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2016
Verified Purchase
Some of the information was genuinely interesting but far too much space was spent on a few recipes and wine for my taste
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Filiz
5.0 out of 5 stars Travel Back in Time
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2009
This book is a compilation - in translation - of essays written by Jean Bottero, along with those written by various authors whose qualifications are described on the back cover. It was not surprising to learn that Bottero is a distinguished chef, for I found the chapters on food and cooking to be especially fascinating. Fortunately for those of us interested in the ancient world of Mesopotamia, the Sumerians and others recorded ample, detailed narratives of their lives for us to translate and study.

The chapter on women's rights was particularly interesting, full of surprises about what privileges women were entitled to - or not. I also liked the chapters covering accounts of The Flood and the Legends of Gilgamesh. There is much to ponder in these discussions of how the Mesopotamians viewed the gods or of how we might view the origins of our own religions.

I would have appreciated more maps, charts or time lines, although there is a useful chronology at the end of the book.

Altogether I found this book extremely informative. It whets the appetite for reading more about those ancient peoples who carefully and fully recorded so much for us to contemplate.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report