Thinking, Recording, and Writing History in the Ancient World

When and why did ancient peoples begin to think about the past, record, and write history? Thinking, Recording, and Writing History in the Ancient World explores the many ways in which ancient civilizations thought about the past, recorded it, and wrote their own histories – and the role of historical thinking and writing in ancient societies. Demonstrating how a concern about the past and thoughts of history are hallmarks of all developed civilizations, this collection discusses the ways in which such thoughts and concerns found expression in various ancient or early cultures. An international group of scholars working in many disciplines contribute chapters that address historical thinking and writing in a range of ancient cultures in East, South, and West Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Americas. They also discuss historiography shaped by religious perspectives, including Judaism, early Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. By presenting a cross–cultural comparison of early societies’ attempts to deal with the past, Thinking, Recording, and Writing History in the Ancient World offers readers invaluable insights into pre–modern historical thinking and writing.

Series Editor’s Preface Contributors Editor’s Introduction 1. On Being Historical David Carr (Emory University) 2. The Task and Ritual of Historical Writing in Early China Stephen W. Durrant (University of Oregon, Eugene) 3. History and Primordium in Ancient Indian Historical Writing: Itihâsa and Purâṇa in the Mahâbhârata and Beyond James Fitzgerald (Brown University) 4. Historical Consciousness and Historical Traditions in Early North India Romila Thapar (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi) 5. Thinking, Recording and Writing History in Ancient Japan: The Nihon Shoki as a Text of Transition Christian Oberländer (University of Halle) 6. As the Dharmacakra Turns: Historical Memory in Buddhist Narratives of the Past, Present, and Future Jason Neelis (Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario)  7. History as Festival? A Reassessment of the Use of the Past and the Place of Historiography in Ancient Egyptian Thought Thomas Schneider (University of British Columbia) 8. The Presence of the Past in Early Mesopotamian Writings Piotr Michalowski (University of Michigan) 9. ‘Two Old Tablets’: Thinking, Recording, and Writing History in Hittite Society Theo van den Hout (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago) 10. Thinking and Writing about History in Teispid and Achaemenid Persia Robert Rollinger (University of Innsbruck) 11. Historical Texts in the Hebrew Bible? Marc Zvi Brettler (Brandeis University) 12. The Many Faces of the Past in Archaic and Classical Greece Jonas Grethlein (University of Heidelberg) 13. How the Romans Remembered, Recorded, Thought about, and Used Their Past Andreas Mehl (University of Halle) 14. Patterns of Early Christian Thinking and Writing of History: Paul — Mark — Acts Eve–Marie Becker (University of Aarhus) 15. Byzantine historia Stratis Papaioannou (Brown University) 16. The Past in the Early and Medieval Islamic Middle East (c. 750–c.1250) Andrew Marsham (University of Edinburgh) 17. Sources and Scales of Classic Maya History Nicholas Carter (Brown University) 18. The Poetics and Politics of Aztec History Lori Diel (Texas Christian University) 19. Corn and Her Story Traveled: Reading North American Graphic Texts in Relation to Oral Traditions Lisa Brooks (Amherst College)

Kurt A. Raaflaub is David Herlihy University Professor, and Professor of Classics and History, emeritus at Brown University. His publications include The Discovery of Freedom (2004), Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece (with Josiah Ober and Robert Wallace, 2007), The Roman Empire in Context: Historical and Comparative Perspectives (ed., with Johann P. Arnason, Wiley–Blackwell, 2011), Geography and Ethnography: Perceptions of the World in Pre–Modern Societies (with Richard J. A. Talbert, Wiley–Blackwell, 2013), and The Greek Polis and the Invention of Democracy: A Politico–Cultural Transformation and Its Interpretations (ed., with Johann P. Arnason and Peter Wager, Wiley–Blackwell, 2013).