Mapping the Linguistic Landscapes of Mesopotamia

Abstract

Though Ancient Near Eastern Studies has increasingly paidattention to language contact and areal linguistics in recentyears, there have so far been but few systematic attempts atplacing the relevant languages on a map. The essay provides asurvey of maps of the languages of the Ancient Near East fromthe first areal maps in the 19th century to the artefact mapsin recent publications. The different visual grammars used inthe cartography of these ancient languages also imply widelyvarying narratives of linguistic geography. The recent move to-wards artefact mapping shifts the discussion away from staticinterpretations of language as a strong correlate of ethnicity to-wards an interpretation of language as a public expression oflinguistic identity within the landscapes of Mesopotamia.