Lunar calendars suffer from an inherent uncertainty in the length of each month and the number of months in the year. Variable atmospheric conditions, weather and the acuity of the eye of an observer mean that the first sighting of the new moon crescent can never be known in advance. Calendars which rely on such observations to define the beginning of a new month therefore suffer from this lack of certainty as to whether a month will begin on a given day or the next. The papers in this volume address the question of how ancient and medieval societies lived with the uncertainties of a lunar calendar. How did lack of foreknowledge of the beginning of the month impact upon administration, the planning of festivals, and historical record keeping? Did societies replace the observation of the new moon crescent with schematic calendars or calendars based upon astronomical calculations and what were the ideological and practical consequences of such a change? The contributors to this volume address these topics from the perspectives of a variety of Ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, Ancient and Medieval European, Asian and American cultures.

One of the earliest surviving manifestations of the cultural heritage of the Land of Israel in ancient times is the use of the cuneiform script from the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age. Cuneiform in Canaan: The Next Generation presents an updated version of the original Cuneiform in Canaan volume that was published by the Israel Exploration Society and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2006. The updated volume presents all ninety-seven of the known texts, including new tablets and fragments from Hazor, Megiddo, and now, for the first time, Jerusalem. The volume provides critical editions, up-to-date bibliographies, and discussion of the sources, as well as a new, updated introduction highlighting the ongoing work of the Cuneiform in Canaan Research Project of the Hebrew University, under the directorship of Professor Wayne Horowitz of the Institute of Archaeology.

For purchasers of the 1998 edition of this book, download a list of changes and addenda that are included in the 2011 printing here. In this comprehensive study, Horowitz examines all of the extant Mesopotamian texts (both Sumerian and Akkadian) relating to the ideas of the physical universe and its constituent parts (Heaven, Earth, subterranean waters, underworld). The author shows that the Mesopotamian view of the universe was at once cohesive as well as discordant and deficient, while remaining fairly constant over more than 2,500 years. Horowitz first surveys the various sources for Mesopotamian cosmic geography, including various mythological and literary texts, as well as the famous Babylonian Map of the World and various astrological and astronomical texts. The universe was built by the gods in earliest times and was thought to be held together by cosmic bonds. Given this general notion, there is nevertheless significant variety in the inclusion or omission of various elements of the picture in texts of different genres and from different periods. In addition, the available evidence leaves a number of problems unsolved. What are the bounds of the universe? What is beyond the limits of the universe? In the second section of the book, Horowitz then discusses each of the various regions and their names in various locales and time periods, drawing on the disparate sources to show where there is coherence and where there is difference of perspective. In addition, he discusses all of the names for the different parts of the universe and examines the geographies of each region. Of importance for both Assyriologists and those interested in the history of ideas, particularly the cosmologies of the ancient Near East.