In Near Eastern studies, it has come to be accepted by many as 
fact that predynastic trade routes connected Egypt and 
Mesopotamia. The case for such trade routes, however, has until 
recently largely been based upon the two regions' shared 
influences rather than on archaeological evidence.

    In From Egypt to Mesopotamia, Samuel Mark ferrets out the 
two possible trade routes between these two vastly different 
cultures. Ancient shipwreck sites and recently discovered artifacts 
allow Mark to delineate avenues of trade between Egypt and 
Mesopotamia. Taking to task previous studies that describe the 
Egypt-Mesopotamia trade connection as being one between two 
homogeneous cultures, Mark focuses on the variety of cultural 
differences, rather than their shared similarities, to map the 
infusion of these cultures.

    Scholars, students, and nautical archeology and egyptology 
enthusiasts will appreciate this probing, fascinating trek through 
sea, sand, and time, unfolding the development of trade routes in 
the East.

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SAMUEL MARK holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from Texas A&M 
University in College Station. He currently teaches nautical and 
classical archaeology at Texas A&M University at Galveston. He 
is the author of Homeric Seafaring, also published by Texas A&M 
University Press.


Number Four: Studies in Nautical Archaeology


What people are saying about this book

"Mark offers a revisionist interpretation of one of ancient Egypt's 
important moments: the unification of north and south into a united 
kingdom at the beginning of Dynasty I. . . . well written, clear, and 
persuasive."—CHOICE