The World in Ancient Times is a unique series of books that tells the story of the ancient world using a broad range of primary sources, from Homer's Odyssey to a Mesopotamian marriage contract, from the Buddha's Four Noble Truths to a Maya altar with hieroglyphs. These documents help students take an active role in understanding history. The World in Ancient Times Primary Sources and Reference Volume brings together 76 additional documents from all the regions covered in the series. From the ancient Near Eastern epic Gilgamesh to an Aztec poem, from Chinese oracle bones to a comic tale from the Pancha-tantra, a South Asian story collection, this volume paints the colorful history of the ancient world in vivid detail. Students will also find letters, diary entries, laws, fables, plays, poems, sermons, schoolbooks, proverbs, and even graffiti in this fascinating volume. Each excerpt is set in context by an introduction, and helpful marginal notes define unfamiliar words and identify the proper names within the text. For each source, there is a handy guide to further reading on the topic. This sourcebook also contains a world map, a cast of characters, and a timeline that help students understand how the histories of the various regions of the ancient world fit together as a whole. A thematic index helps students compare documents on topics of interest across the ancient world. A comprehensive index to the entire World in Ancient Times series completes this engaging volume.