Originally published in 1939, this book contains an assessment of the historical evidence provided by ancient Babylonian cuneiform tablets. The text is accompanied by a number of photographs of the tablets, as well as of important archaeological sites and Babylonian artefacts. Chiera's enthusiasm for his subject is clear, as the text is accessibly written and contains many Babylonian legends and assesses their relationship to biblical texts. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Assyriology and the ancient Middle East.

Edward Chiera was that most remarkable of men, a competent and respected scholar possessed of an ardent desire to make his research readily and entertainingly available to laymen. More remarkable, Chiera had extraordinary gifts to equal to his desire. They Wrote on Clay combines fascinatingly the fruits of sound and painstaking archeology with the natural-born storyteller's art. As transmitted by Chiera, the message of the recently discovered Babylonian clay tablets becomes an absorbing exrusion into the common life of a vanished civilization. Few will read They Wrote on Clay without becoming infected with something of Chiera's love for the rich archeological lore of the ancient Near East. "The book presents, briefly and clearly, a vivid picture of a long-dead people who in numerous ways were very like ourselves."—L. M. Field, New York Times "No mystery story can be as exciting."—Harper's "Plainly and fetchingly written."—New Republic

Sumerians were the first people to write. Using a sharp three-cornered stylus, they wrote on clay-small wedge-shapes called cuneiform. With writing, Sumerians turned the corner from prehistory to history! After at least two million years of humans telling stories, the Sumerians introduced literacy. Most civilizations passed down their heritage through orally recited traditions-stories were passed from one generation to another by word of mouth. The Sumerians were the first to write down their oral traditions. To make the historical record easier, the Sumerians invented calendars with exact dates of events and contracts often corroborated by astronomy. Since Sumerian farmers invented irrigation and created a surplus, other Sumerians could choose to specialize in law, education, architecture, engineering, marketing, and politics-all of which were accompanied by written records. Using the writings of the Sumerians and modern archaeology, this book will trace the story of the Sumerians, the world's first writers.