pt. I. Human and animal ontology in the neo-Assyrian palace reliefs -- Ashurnasirpal II -- The anatomy of death -- Libation and prostration -- River crossing : human bodies, inflated animal skins -- The animal as tribute -- The liminality of the tributary -- Congenial contact with animals -- Tiglath-Pileser III -- The anatomy of battle -- Liminality and animal skins -- On camelback -- Of cattle and men -- Proximity, overlap, and analogy in the art of Tiglath-Pileser III -- Sargon II -- Hunt or sacrifice? -- Horse leg or human leg? -- Animals and gender -- Sennacherib -- Body and booty -- The massacres of Lachish -- The carnivore and the herbivore -- Ashurbanipal -- The hounds of Ashurbanipal -- Animal, vegetable, mineral -- pt. II. Kingship and priesthood in the art of Ashurnasirpal II -- The king, nonking -- "La salle dite 'G'" -- The mixta persona -- The king and the "sacred tree" -- The encounter -- pt. III. The semantics of sages and Mischwesen in neo-Assyrian art and thought -- Before the flood -- Fertilization and purification -- King the man, the King-Man -- "Tiamat's brood" -- The ancient Mesopotamian flood traditions -- Lord of the netherworld.