LIBRARY
RESOURCES FOR THE HIST
102 - Introduction to the Ancient World |
Library resources guide by Larry Mykytiuk, History Bibliographer & Reference Librarian, 494-3605 (voice mail option after fourth ring), larrym@purdue.edu
Help is available at Reference Desks: HSSE (494-2831) UGRL (494-6733)
Abbreviations: HSSE Ref located on the first floor of HSSE Library in Stewart Center. Just HSSE means HSSE Library, not Reference. UGRL means Undergraduate Library. STOR means Storage in UGRL, lower level.
In order to do a decent job of research for your term papers, you should use all four (yes, all four) of these kinds of resources. Start with encyclopedias to scan possible term paper subjects, to adjust your topic, and to begin your research.
1. Encyclopedias
2. Books
3. Journal articles
4. Primary source material
The topic of your term paper, e.g., in HIST 102, will likely be in one of the following areas:
A. Mesopotamia and its environs northward and eastward (including Sumeria, Assyria, Babylonia, the land of the Hittites in Anatolia, and Persia).
B. Egypt.
C. Israel or its relations with its neighbors, including historical study of biblical material.
D. Classical studies, i.e., Greece, Rome, or their activities in the Mediterranean Sea.
The following presents each of the four kinds of resources in each of these four geographic or subject areas. After that there is information regarding search techniques and resources that can greatly increase your research skills in finding books and journal articles.
If you choose a subject in Mesopotamia and environs northward and eastward (including Sumeria, Assyria, Babylonia, the land of the Hittites in Anatolia, and Persia), I recommend that you begin with the following titles:
1. Encyclopedias1 (START HERE!)
Civilizations of the
Ancient Near East, 4 vols., ed. Jack Sasson.
HSSE Ref 939.4 C499 1995 (Use index in vol. 4)
Oxford Encyclopedia of
Archaeology in the Near East, 5 vols.
HSSE Ref 939.4 Ox2 1997 (Use index in vol. 5)
2. Books (see below under SEARCH TECHNIQUES)
3. Journal articles
If the subjects related to Mesopotamia are also related to biblical times (2000 B.C.E. to A.D. 100), try the journal indexes and abstracting services listed on the biblical studies and Israel page. Otherwise, pay careful attention to the footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies in the encyclopedias, books, and English translations of primary source materials that you find.
The following might be helpful: Humanities Abstracts, in THOR under "Indexes," 1988- , in paper = Humanities Index, (green binding) on middle Index Table, 1974-
4. Primary source materials in English translation
Hallo, William W., ed. The Context of Scripture, 2 vols. thus far of 3 projected. HSSE Ref 220.95 C767 1997
Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 2nd ed., corr. and enl. (1955) HSSE Ref 221.95 P93a2, ed.
AND
Pritchard, James B., ed. The Ancient Near East: Supplementary Texts and Pictures Relating to the Old Testament. (1969) HSSE Ref 221.95 P939a
Note: the contents of Pritchard's 2nd ed. and its supplement, listed immediately above, taken together, equal the contents of the 3rd ed.:
Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3rd ed. (first published 1969) HSSE Ref 220.61 An22 1969
1Although most bible encyclopedias double as atlases, you might need one of these: Macmillan Bible Atlas, 3rd ed. HSSE and HSSE Ref 220.91 Ah15m 1993(For many items, the 1st and 2nd eds., in HSSE Ref., are still serviceable.) Oxford Bible Atlas, 3rd ed. HSSE 220.91 M451o 1984; 2nd ed. HSSE Ref 220.91 M451o 1974
If
you choose a subject related to Egypt, I recommend that you begin
with the following titles for each of the four kinds of resources:
1. Encyclopedias1 (START HERE!)
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, 3 vols., ed. Donald B. Redford. HSSE Ref 932 Ox2 2001
Civilizations of the
Ancient Near East, 4 vols., ed. Jack Sasson.
HSSE Ref 939.4 C499 1995 (Use index in vol.
4)
Oxford Encyclopedia of
Archaeology in the Near East, 5 vols.
HSSE Ref 939.4 Ox2 1997 (Use index in vol. 5)
2. Books (see below under SEARCH TECHNIQUES)
3. Journal articles
Humanities Abstracts, in THOR under "Indexes," 1988- , in paper = Humanities Index (green binding) on middle Index Table, 1974.
4. Primary source materials in English translation
Hallo, William W., ed. The Context of Scripture, 2 vols. thus far of 3 projected. HSSE Ref 220.95 C767 1997
Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 2nd ed., corr. and enl. (1955) HSSE Ref 221.95 P93a2, ed.
AND
Pritchard, James B., ed. The Ancient Near East: Supplementary Texts and Pictures Relating to the Old Testament. (1969) HSSE Ref 221.95 P939a
Note: the contents of Pritchard's 2nd ed. and its supplement, listed immediately above, taken together, equal the contents of the 3rd ed.:
Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament,3rd ed. (first published 1969) HSSE Ref 220.61 An22 1969
1Although most encyclopedias double as atlases, you might need one of these: Macmillan Bible Atlas, 3rd ed. HSSE and HSSE Ref 220.91 Ah15m 1993, Oxford Bible Atlas, 3rd ed. HSSE 220.91 M451o 1984; 2nd ed. HSSE Ref 220.91 M451o 1974
For
Israel or its foreign relations, including historical study
of biblical material:
1. Encyclopedias1 (START HERE!)
Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 vols. HSSE Ref 220.3 An21 1992
Civilizations of the
Ancient Near East, 4 vols., ed. Jack Sasson.
HSSE Ref 939.4 C499 1995 (Use index in vol. 4)
Encyclopaedia Judaica, 16 vols. plus yearbooks HSSE Ref 296.03 En19 and a CD-ROM on one computer terminal in HSSE Reference Dept.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [alias "ISBE"], fully rev. ed., 4 vols., ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. HSSE Ref 282.3 In75 1979
Interpreter's Dictionary
of the Bible, 4 vols. + Supplement.
HSSE Ref 220.3 In8
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, 3 vols., ed. Donald B. Redford. HSSE Ref 932 Ox2 2001
Oxford Encyclopedia of
Archaeology in the Near East, 5 vols.
HSSE Ref 939.4 Ox2 1997 (Use index in vol. 5)
2. Books (see below under SEARCH TECHNIQUES)
3. Journal articles (see below under SEARCH TECHNIQUES)
Old Testament Abstracts. HSSE Periodicals Stacks 221.605 O1
Religion Index One. (RIO) HSSE Ref 016.2 R277 (Single-author works)
Religion Index Two.
(RIT) HSSE Periodicals Stacks 016.2 R278
(Multi-author works)
Religious and Theological
Abstracts.
HSSE Ref 225 R79 for an "Evaluation Search," which displays
up to five found abstracts per search (on an unlimited number of searches)
at no charge, visit http://www.rtabst.org.
4. Primary source materials2 in English translation
Hallo, William W., ed. The Context of Scripture, 3 vols. HSSE Ref 220.95 C767 1997
Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 2nd ed., corr. and enl. (1955) HSSE Ref 221.95 P93a2, ed.
AND
Pritchard, James B., ed. The Ancient Near East: Supplementary Texts and Pictures Relating to the Old Testament. (1969) HSSE Ref 221.95 P939a
Note: the contents of Pritchard's 2nd ed. and its supplement, listed immediately above, taken together, equal the contents of the 3rd ed.:
Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament,3rd ed. (first published 1969) HSSE Ref 220.61 An22 1969
1Although most bible encyclopedias double as atlases, you might need one of these: Macmillan Bible Atlas, 3rd ed. HSSE and HSSE Ref 220.91 Ah15m 1993 Oxford Bible Atlas, 3rd ed. HSSE 220.91 M451o 1984; 2nd ed. HSSE Ref 220.91 M451o 1974
2Josephus, of the Roman period, gives his interpretation of Judaism and Jewish history: Flavius Josephus, The Works of Flavius Josephus, 3 vols., trans. William Whiston. HSSE 933 J77w
If you choose a subject in classical studies, i.e., Greece, Rome, or their activities in the Mediterranean Sea, I recommend that you begin with the following titles for each of the four kinds of resources:
1. Encyclopedias1 (START HERE!)
Civilization of the Ancient
Mediterranean: Greece and Rome, 3 vols.
HSSE Ref 938 C499 1995 (Use index in vol. 3)
Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd ed. HSSE Ref 930.03 Ox2 1996
2. Books (see below under SEARCH TECHNIQUES)
3. Journal articles
Humanities Abstracts, in THOR under "Indexes," 1988- , in paper = Humanities Index, (green binding) on middle Index Table, 1974-
4. Primary source materials in English translation
HSSE Library has an abundance of books by classical authors. The encyclopedias, books, and journal articles you find in the first three steps should give you the names of ancient Greek and Roman authors so you can do author searches on them in Purdue's THOR catalog.
1Although most encyclopedias double as atlases, you might need one of these: Atlas of Classical Archaeology. HSSE 930.1 At65 Atlas of the Greek and Roman World in Antiquity. HSSE Ref 937.02 C815a Atlas of the Roman World. HSSE 912.38 At65 Biographical encyclopedias are also very helpful in classical studies: Who Was Who in the Greek World, 776 BC-30 BC. HSSE Ref 930.038 W62. Who Was Who in the Roman World, 753 BC-AD 476. HSSE Ref 930.037 W62
When searching for books or whole journals, the trick is to get to the Library of Congress subject heading(s) for your subject by using "Assisted Search" or a keyword search under "Search."
1. Go to www.lib.purdue.edu to get the Purdue Libraries home page, THOR, click on "Catalogs," then "West Lafayette campus," then "Assisted Search," and do a search using appropriate search terms for your subject. An alternative to "Assisted Search" is to click on "Search" and do a keyword search. If you don't get the results you want, by all means check with a library staff member at the Reference Desk.
2. When you find an item of the kind you want, click on "Detailed view" in center near top to get more Library of Congress SUBJECT HEADINGS in center of page.
3. Click on appropriate Library of Congress SUBJECT HEADINGS to get more of the same kind of items, if we have more.
Another technique for locating books is to search for book reviews, then get both the book and the review. Try using Humanities Abstracts, 1988- , in THOR under Indexes. Click on "book review" in one of the menus activated by a button. As a backup, there is a paper edition in the Periodicals Stacks.
When searching for journal articles, the trick is to go from the Index to the Purdue Catalog in THOR to see if we have the article on campus.
1. Go to the Purdue Libraries THOR home page and click on "Indexes."
2. Select an appropriate index using the "Subject" guide at the top of the list of indexes.
3. Find a useful article(s) in that index.
4. Go from the INDEX (which tells you what articles exist on your subject) to the Purdue online CATALOG in THOR (which tells you what we own on campus). Note: some indexes have a link between the two at the top of the record of each article. If so, click on the words "Check for library holdings at Purdue University."
4. Run simultaneous sessions of Index and Catalog, then press Alt + Tab keys at the same time to alternate between the two.
The closest thing to an online catalog of the whole world: WorldCat in THOR under "Catalogs," at the bottom of the list of catalogs, combines the online catalogs of all significant libraries in the U.S. and Canada, plus parts of Europe. Asia, etc. Contains over 40 million bibliographic citations of materials of all kinds: books, whole journals (not specific articles in the journals), dissertations, sound recordings, videotapes, etc. Using WorldCat and Interlibrary Loan, most research resources of the world are yours!
To borrow items listed in WorldCat, go to Purdue Libraries (THOR) home page at www.lib.purdue.edu and click on "Catalogs," then "West Lafayette," then Interlibrary Loan" (ILL) and fill out the forms. ILL is free and you might get the items quickly, so it's usually worth a try. If Purdue Libraries already own an item, ILL is not allowed to borrow it from other libraries unless it is officially declared "Missing." See the HSSE Circulation Desk if you think an item is missing.
Turnaround time depends on many variables. Here is current information:
Photocopies Book Loans
ILL request filled within 5 days 55% 36%
ILL request filled within 10 days 87% 78%
ILL request filled within 15 days 96% 94%
See the ILL web page: http://www.lib.purdue.edu/accessservicespub/borrowing.html
Some reputable web sites for classical and/or ANE studies
NOTE: WEB SITES ARE NOT TO BE USED AS SOURCES FOR TERM PAPERS IN PROFESSOR YOUNG'S CLASSES. They may, however, inspire you to pursue certain subjects.
Accessible as of 4/20/02:
ABZU: (from the Oriental Institute Research Archives, University of Chicago): Guide to Resources for the Study of the Ancient Near East (ANE).
American Philological Association: (APA) The principal learned society for Classical Studies in North America.
American Schools of Oriental Research: (ASOR) Expected eventually to return to http://asor.org/
ArchNet Resources for European Archaeology: In second paragraph, click on Classics and Mediterranean Archaeology server from the University of Michigan. Also see under Greece and Italy.
ArchNet Resources for Near Eastern Archaeology
Diotima: Materials for the Study of Women and Gender in the Ancient World
Egyptology Resources: From the Newton Institute in the University of Cambridge
Netherlands Institute for the Near East
The Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature: From the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Perseus Project: An Evolving Digital Library
Princeton University Library History Web Sites: See under appropriate time periods, regions, and topics.
The Theban Mapping Project: Now based at the American University in Cairo.
West Semitic Research Project: Ancient images and commentary relating to the Bible and the ancient Near East (Univ. of Southern Calif.)
Like, how to find stuff . . .
Library research is a little screwy. The words you use to name or describe your subject usually determine your degree of success in finding materials on it. In Purdue's online catalog, we use a hybrid system of Dewey Decimal Numbers combined with Library of Congress subject headings. These subject headings can become your key to getting the materials you want, if you know how to find and use them. The only problem is that unless you search for the subject in exactly the same words in the same order as they are stated by the Library of Congress, you usually don't find much. Most subject searches you and I think of just don't work. But there are a couple of ways to get these strange but wonderful subject headings.
One way is to look up the subject in the enormous, red volumes in the HSSE Reference Department. But most people don't want to use them. Another way is:
1. Think of several terms and synonyms for your subject. For example, if you want to study ancient commerce, you might use "Phoenicians," along with "commerce," "trade," or "economy." (You might have to know more about the subject in order to think of words to search for. An encyclopedia article can usually provide search terms.)
2. Use these various terms in Assisted Search or Keyword Search in the Catalog, for example, "emancipation proclamation" (if in keyword search, use quotation marks in order to search for these words as a phrase; capital letters don't have to be capitalized), and look at each record until you find an item that is what you want.
A keyword search could be: phoenicians AND (trade OR commerce OR economy) .
3. In the record of a good item you found, pick the best subject heading and click on it. Blue, underlined words are links that bring you into a whole new set of screens. Clicking on a blue, underlined subject heading makes the computer do a whole new search for you. For example, clicking on "Commerce-History" brings you a list of four books on that subject. A subtopic is "Commerce-History to 500." And since you're in the Purdue catalog, Purdue Libraries has all of them.
Periodical Indexes: Doin' the Two-Step
Whenever you use an index, you have begun a two-step process. Indexes tell you what exists in the universe, but only the catalog can tell you what is available on this campus, where you can get your hands on it. So after you find something in an index (whether paper or electronic), you still need to use the Purdue online catalog (or a link to library holdings, for example, clicking on the link in Humanities Abstracts, "Check for library holdings at Purdue University") to find out whether Purdue Libraries has it.
In the catalog, be sure to look up the title of the whole journal, not the title of a specific article in the journal. The catalog doesn't "know" what articles are inside of journals; only journal indexes "know" that.
Web site maintained by : P.Whalen & K.Schurr- - Content provided by: Larry Mykytiuk - Questions: hsselib@purdue.edu