Writing Science Before the Greeks ─ A Naturalistic Analysis of the Babylonian Astronomical Treatise MUL.APIN

Watson (education) and Horowitz (archeology, both Hebrew U.) brought very different gifts to the study of the treatise: she a cognitive approach and desire to investigate writing and conceptual change; he deep experience with cuneiform texts and a desire to find another tool to study them with. They illustrate the modern relevance of the ancient Mesopotamian astronomical tradition by focusing on aspects that persist, such as the division of hours and minutes into 60 and circles into 360. After an overview of the text, they consider writing and conceptual change, and terms of analysis. Then they return to the text, addressing each section in terms of astronomical content, textual form, translated text, and detailed analysis of such matters as discourse forms and rhetorical devices. They surface again at the end to summarize findings and discuss writing and science, cognitive functions, and from list to axiom. The cross-fertilization is likely to prove fruitful to both disciplines. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Rita Watson holds the Abraham Schiffman Chair in Education at the Hebrew University and has published primarily on the relation of language and literacy to human cognitive development. Her most recent book is an edited collection on the Toronto School of Communication Theory. Wayne Horowitz is Professor at the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University, and has published extensively in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Assyriology, and Mesopotamian astronomy. His books include Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography and a new volume on the Astrolabes.