Book contents
- The Cambridge World History
- Series page
- The Cambridge World History
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- 1 Introduction: a history of the study of early cities
- Part I Early cities as arenas of performance
- Part II Early cities and information technologies
- 6 Urbanization and the techniques of communication: the Mesopotamian city of Uruk during the fourth millenniumBCE
- 7 Writing and the city in early China
- 8 Reading early Maya cities: interpreting the role of writing in urbanization
- 9 Inka administration in Tawantinsuyu by means of the knotted-cords
- 10 Writing and record-keeping in early cities
- Part III Early urban landscapes
- Part IV Early cities and the distribution of power
- Part V Early cities as creations
- Part VI Early imperial cities
- Index
6 - Urbanization and the techniques of communication: the Mesopotamian city of Uruk during the fourth millenniumBCE
from Part II - Early cities and information technologies
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2015
Edited by
Book contents
- The Cambridge World History
- Series page
- The Cambridge World History
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- 1 Introduction: a history of the study of early cities
- Part I Early cities as arenas of performance
- Part II Early cities and information technologies
- 6 Urbanization and the techniques of communication: the Mesopotamian city of Uruk during the fourth millenniumBCE
- 7 Writing and the city in early China
- 8 Reading early Maya cities: interpreting the role of writing in urbanization
- 9 Inka administration in Tawantinsuyu by means of the knotted-cords
- 10 Writing and record-keeping in early cities
- Part III Early urban landscapes
- Part IV Early cities and the distribution of power
- Part V Early cities as creations
- Part VI Early imperial cities
- Index
Summary
Urbanization in the Ancient Near East is inseparably tied to the name of the city of Uruk in southern Mesopotamia. This chapter discusses the earlier developments, focusing on the communication technologies, which can count as forerunners of writing. Presumably, Uruk was surrounded with a city wall built over during subsequent phases of city growth. The appearance of writing in southern Mesopotamia is preceded by a long development of various means of information storage and processing, related to the evolution of a stratified social system and highly differentiated economy. Information on the time before 3300, including both the older part of the Late Uruk period, and the Early Uruk and Late Ubaid periods, is scarce. The best evidence comes from a deep sounding in Uruk itself, which reaches back into the fifth millennium BCE. Finally, it presents a picture of the interdependence between urbanization and the development of communication technologies.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge World History , pp. 113 - 130Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2015
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