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Since its first publication in 1995, Reading Papyri, Writing Ancient History has proved to be an invaluable resource for students of the ancient world looking to integrate papyrological evidence into their research. In the quarter century since its publication, changes in the research environment have affected papyrology like other fields. Although the core philological methods of the field remain in place, the field has increasingly embraced languages other than Greek and Latin, with considerable impact on the Hellenistic and Late Antique periods. Digital tools have increased the ease and speed of access, with profound effects on research choices, and digital imaging and materiality studies have brought questions about the physical form of written materials to the fore.
In this fully revised new edition, Bagnall adds to the previous analysis a portrait of how the use of papyri for historical research has developed during recent decades. Updated with the latest research and insights from the author, the volume guides historians in how to use these scattered and often badly damaged documents, and to interpret them in order to create a full and diverse picture of ancient society and culture.
This second edition of Reading Papyri, Writing Ancient History continues to offer students and researchers of the ancient world a critical resource in navigating how to use these ancient texts in their research.
List of contents
List of figures; Preface to the second edition; Preface to the first edition; Plates; Introduction: history and papyri; 1 The culture of papyrus; 2 Ancient and modern choices in documentation; 3 Particular and general; 4 Time and place; 5 Quantification; 6 Asking questions; 7 The digital revolution; 8 Continuity and renewal; Works cited in the text and notes; General bibliography; Index of subjects; Index of texts cited
Summary
This second edition of Reading Papyri, Writing Ancient History continues to offer students and researchers of the ancient world a critical resource in navigating how to use these ancient texts in their research.
