Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Preliminary Material / J. S. Tenney -- Chapter One. Servile Laborers In A Favored Province / J. S. Tenney -- Chapter Two. Sources / J. S. Tenney -- Chapter Three. Population: Sex, Age, Death, And Health / J. S. Tenney -- Chapter Four. Family And Household / J. S. Tenney -- Chapter Five. Work, Flight, Origins, And Status / J. S. Tenney -- Chapter Six. The Servile Work Force In Local And National Perspective / J. S. Tenney -- Appendix One. Selected Households From Middle Babylonian Sources / J. S. Tenney -- Appendix Two. Size And Composition Of Select Mobile Work Groups / J. S. Tenney -- Appendix Three. Sex And Age Classification Of Attested Occupations In Middle Babylonian Rosters / J. S. Tenney -- Select Bibliography / J. S. Tenney -- List And Index Of Cuneiform Sources / J. S. Tenney -- General Index / J. S. Tenney -- Index Of Select Akkadian Words And Logograms / J. S. Tenney.

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Life at the Bottom of Babylonian Society is a study of the population dynamics, family structure, and legal status of publicly-controlled servile workers in Kassite Babylonia. It compares some of the demographic aspects proper to this group with other intensively studied past populations, such as Roman Egypt, Medieval Tuscany, and American slave plantations. It suggests that families, especially those headed by single mothers, acted as a counter measure against population reduction (flight and death) and as a means for the state to control this labor force. The work marks a step forward in the use of quantitative measures in conjunction with cuneiform sources to achieve a better understanding of the social and economic forces that affected ancient Near Eastern populations.