Harran Census. One collection of census texts is the Harran Census from Assyria. This collection was discovered in Nineveh but records some of the population of Harran in the seventh century bc. At least two scribes were involved in writing the Harran Census resulting in two groups of texts. One group contains very detailed descriptions of the families, while the other has very sparse information.

The Harran Census provides insight into the social demographics of lower-level families in Neo-Assyria. It helps us to understand family types and sizes, marriage patterns, how children and social ages were categorized, gender ratios, and the number of generations in Neo-Assyrian families. The tablets record the total persons in approximately 110 households, categorized by gender and age category (e.g., suckling, weaned, number of spans tall, adolescent, adult). The families included in these documents were free people from the lower class, likely tenant farmers. The purpose for the record is unclear; it may have been used for the collection of taxes or to record those who were exempt from taxes.

The census records information on both nuclear and extended families, which came in many forms: childless married couples, married couples with unmarried children, a male head-of-household with children (either divorced or a widower), and childless males with a mother and other family members. The average family size in Harran appears to have been between four and five persons. The majority of marriages were monogamous. Although polygamous marriages may be attested, the data is ambiguous. About 85 percent of the families in the Harran Census have children. No chronological ages are given for the recorded persons. Fifty-five percent of the recorded population were males, and 45 percent were female. Only one three-generation family is clearly attested. This is likely due to the low lifespan of lower level Neo-Assyrian people (Galil, Lower Stratum Families 28–31).