Writing, laws, cities, and science—these and other innovations were devised by the enterprising peoples living in Sumer, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, some 5,000 years ago. High ...

Excavations on unpromising mounds in the Iraqi desert revealed Sumer’s earliest city. Surviving relics and a rebuilt temple have given experts more clues about the ancient metropolis of Eridu.

Beginning with ancient Mesopotamia, Venezuelan historian Báez (The History of the Ancient Library of Alexandria ) considers the wide-ranging reasons why books are destroyed: the desire of conquerors ...