Sign, Speech, and Society in the Ancient Near East: 100 Years of Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Prague.

The Institute of Comparative Linguistics of Charles University is pleased to announce an international conference on the occasion of three anniversaries in the history of Ancient Near Eastern studies in Prague:

- the centennial of the establishment of the Institute of Cuneiform Studies, the forerunner of today’s Institute of Comparative Linguistics;

- the 140th birthday of Bedřich Hrozný, decipherer of Hittite, founder of the Institute of Cuneiform Studies, and former rector of Charles University; and

- the 70th birthday of the late Petr Vavroušek, longtime director of the Institute of Cuneiform Studies.

These three anniversaries are reflected in three main sessions of the conference, which will be organized around a general common theme:“Talking to One Another in the Ancient Near East.” We anticipate that most papers will touch upon several aspects of this phenomenon, but preference will be given to the following three topics:

1. Communication Patterns: Talking to Each…