This substantial scholarly volume investigates labor as a fundamental institution in the economic and social organization of ancient societies. Rather than treating labor simply as an economic input, the contributors examine how obligations to work were embedded in systems of taxation, landholding, political authority and social organization. A central theme is the emergence and development of corvee labor. The volume traces how labor for public works could develop from initially voluntary participation into an obligatory service imposed on communities. These labor obligations were closely connected with systems of land tenure and, in some historical contexts, with the assignment of property rights. The studies also explore the role of hired labor and the ways large institutions dealt with shortages of workers. Employees could be compensated through food rations, salaries or allocations of land, revealing sophisticated systems for organizing and sustaining a workforce. Large building projects are considered not merely as economic undertakings but also as instruments of political and social integration. Another important contribution of the volume is its reassessment of slave labor. Rather than assuming that slavery was the principal mechanism for mobilizing ancient labor, the studies emphasize the considerable importance of corvee service, institutional labor and hired workers. With contributions grounded in ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean evidence, the book will be particularly valuable to scholars and advanced readers interested in ancient economies, Mesopotamian history, labor institutions, land tenure and the long-term development of economic organization. It forms volume 5 of the International Scholars Conference on Ancient Near Eastern Economies series. Content: Introduction. Labor in the Early States: An Early Mesopotamian Perspective - Piotr Steinkeller / Labor, Social Formation, and the Neolithic Revolution - C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky / Home and Work in Early Bronze Age Mesopotamia: "Ration Lists" and "Private Houses" at Tell Beydar/Nadaba - Walther Sallaberger and Alexander Pruss / The Employment of Labor on National Building Projects in the Ur III Period - Piotr Steinkeller / Building Larsa: Labor Value, Scale and Scope-of-Economy in Ancient Mesopotamia - Seth Richardson / Hired Labor in the Neo-Assyrian Empire - Karen Radner / Labor in Babylonia in the First Millennium BC - Michael Jursa / Labor and the Pyramids: The Heit el-Ghurab "Workers Town" at Giza - Mark Lehner / Problems of Authority, Compulsion, and Compensation in Ancient Egyptian Labor Practices - Ogden Goelet / abor and Individuals in Late Bronze Age Pylos - Dimitri Nakassis / The Mycenaean Mobilization of Labor in Agriculture and Building Projects: Institutions, Individuals, Compensation, and Status in the Linear B Tablets - Tom Palaima / How the Organization of Labor Shaped Civilization's Takeoff - Michael Hudson. (AI-generated content description)