A specialist on cylinder seals, Collon here reveals what can be learned about life and culture in the ancient Near East from the seals themselves and their impressions. She does not attempt deep interpretations of the images impressed in clay, only points out the variety of figures--usually kings or deities--depicted at different times and places. First published in 1987 and in paper in 1993; some revisions were made for the current edition. Distributed in the US by the David Brown Book Company. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)