Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-346) and index Archeology and decipherment -- History : Heroes, kings, and ensi's -- Society : The Sumerian city -- Religion : Theology, rite, and myth -- Literature : The Sumerian belles-lettres -- Education : The Sumerian school -- Character : Drives, motives, and values -- The legacy of Sumer -- The origin and development of the cuneiform system of writing -- The Sumerian language -- Votive inscriptions -- Sample date-formulas -- Sumerian king list -- Letters -- Ditilla's (court decisions) -- Lipit-Ishtar law code -- Farmer's almanac The Sumerians, the pragmatic and gifted people who preceded the Semites in the land first known as Sumer and later as Babylonia, created what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man, spanning the fifth to the second millenniums B.C. This book is a compendium of what is known about them. The author outlines the history of the Sumerian civilization and describes their cities, religion, literature, education, scientific achievements, social structure, and psychology. Finally, he considers the legacy of Sumer to the ancient and modern world