Table of Contents Foreword Preface List of Contributors Map of Select Sites 1. Introduction: The Katumuwa Stele and the Commemoration of the Dead in the Ancient Middle East. Virginia R. Herrmann I. THE KATUMUWA STELE FROM ZINCIRLI 2. The City of Katumuwa: The Iron Age Kingdom of Sam'al and the Excavations of Zincirli. J. David Schloen 3. Katumuwa's Banquet Scene. Dominik Bonatz 4. The Katumuwa Inscription. Dennis Pardee 5. The Katumuwa Stele in Archaeological Context. Virginia R. Herrmann 6. The Katumuwa Stele in the Context of Royal Mortuary Cult at Sam'al. Herbert Niehr II. FEASTS FOR THE DEAD IN THE ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST 7. Religious, Communal, and Political Feasting in the Ancient Middle East. Marian H. Feldman 8. Feasts for the Dead and Ancestor Veneration in Levantine Traditions. Theodore J. Lewis 9. Death Binds: On Some Rites Surrounding Death in Ancient Anatolia. Theo van den Hout 10. Dead that Are Slow to Depart: Evidence for Ancestor Rituals in Mesopotamia. Karel van der Toorn 11. Feasts for the Dead and Ancestor Veneration in Egyptian Tradition. Miriam Muller III. CATALOG The Katumuwa Stele (Nos. 1-12) The Soul in the Stone: Effigies of the Dead (Nos. 13-21) The Banquet in Life and Death (Nos. 22-27) Dishes for the Dead (Nos. 28-49) Fast Food: Magical Methods of Provisioning the Dead (Nos. 50-52) Epilogue: Contemporary Commemorations (Nos. 53-59) Concordance of Museum Registration Numbers Checklist of the Exhibit

About the Author

David Schloen is a faculty member in the Oriental Institute and the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of the University of Chicago, where he is also an associated faculty member of the Divinity School. He specializes in the archaeology and history of the ancient Levant (Syria and Palestine) from ca. 3000 to 300 BCE.