Ben Porat Yosef 6th grade students were privileged to have Dr. Shalom Holtz, Yeshiva University professor, Assyriologist, author, and BPY parent, visit their classrooms on January 8th, to teach them about daily life in Mesopotamia and about Assyriology, the archaeological, historical, and linguistic study of ancient Mesopotamia and related cultures that used cuneiform writing.
The students had learned about cuneiform, a wedge-shaped system of writing, and were amazed to see photographs of clay tablets with cuneiform writing brought in and read to them by Dr. Holtz. Afterwards, using a translation from his new book, Neo-Babylonian Trial Records, the students were able to read about an ancient court case, and then engage in lively debates using primary sources as historians would.
