Understanding of ownership in ancient societies in the light of written and archaeological sources

Since the early periods of history, human beings have had the desire to own something and use what they have as they wish. Even though the Ancient Near East societies, which also realized the agricultural revolution in the Neolithic period, when the first settled life began, did not have a written culture, they had a house to live in and a field or garden where they could plant, as understood from the archaelogical findings. There were also some small cattle that they domesticated. In fact, all these indicators point to the existence of an understanding of ownership since the Neolithic age. Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age findings also bear the signs that human beings acquired some movable or immovable properties. With the discovery of writing, it is much easier to Access property-related data, since all activities of life and everything done are recorded. As a matter of fact, both Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Anatolian societies left many documents that shed light on the understanding of property. In particular, the law texts convey very important information about the understanding of property. In this study, we tired to reveal the ownership understanding of societies, which were the creators of great civilizations that emerged mainly in the Ancient Near East geography, in the light of written and archaeological documents.