What do the wheel, the law, and belief in a single god have in common? All of these ideas first came to people who lived in the ancient Near East. As if these revolutionary developments weren't enough to make a mark on world history, these ancient innovators also came up with the most fantastic invention of all-writing. The Ancient Near Eastern World is filled with the scribes, potters, sculptors, architects, schoolchildren, lawmakers, kings, queens, farmers, and priests who designed and created that world. The World in Ancient Times dusts off ancient artifacts and texts and assembles them anew as pieces of the never-ending puzzle we call ancient history. Readers become part of the process of historical investigation as they explore these primary sources, learning not just what we know but how we know it. Accomplished historical novelists collaborate with leading historians and archaeologists to weave the most up-to-date scholarship into stories that are vivid, suspenseful, and fun. Grades 6-8