The Origins of Things: (Or How the Hour Got its Minutes)

Edited by Jack Meinhardt

This book, taken from five years of "Origins" columns from Archaeology Oddysey, traces the humble beginnings of those things we take for granted, and does it in a lively and informative manner. Ever wonder where the Zodiac came from? How interest rates were determined in ancient times? Who created the first book? It's all here.

BAS, 2002. Softcover, 115 pp.
20 Illustrations
ISBN 978-1-880317-60-0

Table of Contents

Foreword
Contributors

Mesopotamia
In One Era and Out the Other: The origins of the calendar
By William W. Hallo
Signs of Life: How the earliest writing evolved from counting
By Denise Schmandt-Besserat
First Glass: Glassmaking was Invented once--in ancient Sumer
By Samuel Kurinsky
Let the Games Begin!: Before there was History, there were dice
By William W. Hallo
Inventing Time: How the hour got Its (60!) minutes
By Jack Meinhardt
The Horoscope Casters: Fixing forever the houses of the zodiac
By Alexander Jones
3.14159265: A many-millennia-long obsession with pi
By Kim Jonas
Interesting Developments: Determining interest rates, not always rationally
By Michael Hudson