Abstract
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The texts from the Eanna archive provide significant information about the craftsmen of the Neo-Babylonian period. Based on these texts, this dissertation presents a study of the temple's textile and metal workers. After a brief introduction, Chapter Two presents an overview of the craftsmen as a group, describing the social and legal statuses of those who worked for the temple, the methods of remuneration, and issues of mobility and parentage relevant to all of the craftsmen. Chapter Three presents a discussion of the documentation, focusing on the administrative terminology and formulae of most importance to the understanding of the textual corpus on which this study is based. Chapters Four and Five present an analysis, profession by profession, of the textile workers and metal workers, respectively. Based on all relevant materials in the archive, each profession is described by its responsibilities, organization, evidence for prebendaries (when applicable), and the status of its workers. Finally a complete prosopography is provided for all members of each profession under discussion here. These entries compile all attestations for, and offer biographic summaries of, each craftsman. Brief concluding remarks follow. The purpose of this study is to investigate thoroughly one sector of the temple's work force, focusing not only on the craftsmen and professions, but also on their relation to the temple and the temple's methods of oversight, compensation, and documentation. It is hoped that this study will contribute to our knowledge of the broader socio-economic history of the Neo-Babylonian period.
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