How do cuneiform documents function as primary evidence for the construction of ancient Near Eastern history? Marc Van De Mieroop, a professor of history specializing in the ancient Near East, examines the methodological challenges inherent in interpreting clay tablets. He argues that historians must move beyond treating these texts as transparent windows into the past, instead analyzing them as deliberate products of specific social and political contexts.

Experts recognize this work as a critical contribution to the field of historiography regarding the ancient Near East. Scholars frequently cite the text for its rigorous approach to the limitations and possibilities of interpreting fragmentary ancient records.