The Standards of Mesopotamia in the Third and Fourth Millennia BCE

Depictions of standards form a fundamental part of the visual repertoire of ancient Mesopotamia. These depictions can offer great insight into the thought world of the peoples with which they are associated, because different standards were associated with different deities, and could be found in multiple contexts. In this book, Renate Marian van Dijk-Coombes examines the standards which are represented in the visual culture of the third and fourth millennia BCE, covering the Uruk, Early Dynastic, Akkadian and Neo-Sumerian periods. She analyses each of the different standards, how they looked, what they symbolised and the context(s) in which they were found. In addition, developments and changes in the representation of these standards are traced across the periods under discussion.Chapter 1: General Introduction
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Definition
1.3. Previous Studies on Mesopotamian Standards
1.4. Methodology
1.5. Research Design
1.6. Research Questions
1.7. Outline

Chapter 2: The Uruk Period (4000–2900 BCE)
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Ring-Post
2.3. Ringed Pole
2.4. Bügelschaft
2.5. Knobbed Pole
2.6. Floral/Star Standard
2.7. Uncertain
2.8. Summary

Chapter 3: The Early Dynastic Period (2900–2334 BCE)
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Bügelschaft
3.3. Knobbed Pole
3.4. Crescent Standard
3.5. Bird Standard
3.6. Floral and Star Standards
3.7. Uncertain
3.8. Incorrectly Identified as Standards
3.9. Summary

Chapter 4: The Akkadian Period (2334–2150 BCE)
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Bügelschaft
4.3. Knobbed Pole
4.4. Crescent Standard
4.5. Star Standard
4.6. Pennant Standard
4.7. Tasselled Standard
4.8. Rod with Balls and Lion-Griffon Standard
4.9. Uncertain
4.10. Summary

Chapter 5: The Neo-Sumerian Period (2157–2004 BCE)
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Bügelschaft
5.3. Crescent Standard
5.4. Knobbed Pole
5.5. Star Standard
5.6. Rod with Balls
5.7. Scorpion Standard
5.8. Lion Standard
5.9. Bird and Bird-Man Standards
5.10. Anzu Standard
5.11. Mušh̬uššu Standard
5.12. Snake Standard
5.13. Uncertain
5.14. Summary

Chapter 6: Summaries, Analyses and Conclusions
6.1. Summary and Analysis of Each Standard
6.2. Summary and Analysis of Functions or Contexts
6.3. Summary and Analysis of Each Period
6.4. Final Conclusions