Ebla and its Landscape

Ebla and its Landscape PDF Author: Paolo Matthiae
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315429888
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 564

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Book Description
The discovery of 17,000 tablets at the mid-third millennium BC site of Ebla in Syria has revolutionized the study of the ancient Near East. This is the first major English-language volume describing the multidisciplinary archaeological research at Ebla. Using an innovative regional landscape approach, the 29 contributions to this expansive volume examine Ebla in its regional context through lenses of archaeological, textual, archaeobiological, archaeometric, geomorphological, and remote sensing analysis. In doing so, they are able to provide us with a detailed picture of the constituent elements and trajectories of early state development at Ebla, essential to those studying the ancient Near East and to other archaeologists, historians, anthropologists, and linguists. This work was made possible by an IDEAS grant from the European Research Council.

Ebla and its Landscape

Ebla and its Landscape PDF Author: Paolo Matthiae
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315429888
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 564

Get Book Here

Book Description
The discovery of 17,000 tablets at the mid-third millennium BC site of Ebla in Syria has revolutionized the study of the ancient Near East. This is the first major English-language volume describing the multidisciplinary archaeological research at Ebla. Using an innovative regional landscape approach, the 29 contributions to this expansive volume examine Ebla in its regional context through lenses of archaeological, textual, archaeobiological, archaeometric, geomorphological, and remote sensing analysis. In doing so, they are able to provide us with a detailed picture of the constituent elements and trajectories of early state development at Ebla, essential to those studying the ancient Near East and to other archaeologists, historians, anthropologists, and linguists. This work was made possible by an IDEAS grant from the European Research Council.

The Age of Agade

The Age of Agade PDF Author: Benjamin R. Foster
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317415523
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 457

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Book Description
The Age of Agade is the first book-length study of the Akkadian period of Mesopotamian history, which saw the rise and fall of the world’s first empire during more than a century of extraordinary political, social, and cultural innovation. It draws together more than 40 years of research by one of the world’s leading experts in Assyriology to offer an exhaustive survey of the Akkadian empire. Addressing all aspects of the empire, including its statecraft and military, territory and cities, arts, religion, economy, and production, The Age of Agade considers what can be said of Akkadian political and social history, material culture, and daily life. A final chapter also explores how the empire has been presented in modern historiography, from the decipherment of cuneiform to the present, including the extensive research of Soviet historians, summarized here in English for the first time. Drawing on contemporaneous written and artifactual sources, as well as relevant materials from succeeding generations, Foster introduces the reader to the wealth of evidence available. Accessibly written by a specialist in the field, this book is an engaging examination of a critical era in the history of early Mesopotamia.

Testing the Canon of Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology

Testing the Canon of Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology PDF Author: Amy Gansell
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190673176
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 485

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Book Description
Testing the Canon of Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology invites readers to reconsider the contents and agendas of the art historical and world-culture canons by looking at one of their most historically enduring components: the art and archaeology of the ancient Near East. Ann Shafer, Amy Rebecca Gansell, and other top researchers in the field examine and critique the formation and historical transformation of the ancient Near Eastern canon of art, architecture, and material culture. Contributors flesh out the current boundaries of regional and typological sub-canons, analyze the technologies of canon production (such as museum practices and classroom pedagogies), and voice first-hand heritage perspectives. Each chapter, thereby, critically engages with the historiography behind our approach to the Near East and proposes alternative constructs. Collectively, the essays confront and critique the ancient Near Eastern canon's present configuration and re-imagine its future role in the canon of world art as a whole. This expansive collection of essays covers the Near East's many regions, eras, and types of visual and archaeological materials, offering specific and actionable proposals for its study. Testing the Canon of Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology stands as a vital benchmark and offers a collective path forward for the study and appreciation of Near Eastern cultural heritage. This book acts as a model for similar inquiries across global art historical and archaeological fields and disciplines.

Wool Economy in the Ancient Near East

Wool Economy in the Ancient Near East PDF Author: Catherine Breniquet
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1782976329
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 473

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Book Description
The history of the Ancient Near East covers a huge chronological frame, from the first pictographic texts of the late 4th millennium to the conquest of Alexander the Great in 333 BC. During these millennia, different societies developed in a changing landscape where sheep (and their wool) always played an important economic role. The 22 papers presented here explore the place of wool in the ancient economy of the region, where large-scale textile production began during the second half of the 3rd millennium. By placing emphasis on the development of multi-disciplinary methodologies, experimentation and use of archaeological evidence combined with ancient textual sources, the wide-ranging contributions explore a number of key themes. These include: the first uses of wool in textile manufacture and organization of weaving; trade and exchange; the role of wool in institutionalized economies; and the reconstruction of the processes that led to this first form of industry in Antiquity. The numerous archaeological and written sources provide an enormous amount of data on wool, textile crafts, and clothing and these inter-disciplinary studies are beginning to present a comprehensive picture of the economic and cultural impact of woollen textiles and textile manufacturing on formative ancient societies.

Receptions of the Ancient Near East in Popular Culture and Beyond

Receptions of the Ancient Near East in Popular Culture and Beyond PDF Author: Agnes Garcia-Ventura
Publisher: Lockwood Press
ISBN: 1948488256
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
This book is an enthusiastic celebration of the ways in which popular culture has consumed aspects of the ancient Near East to construct new realities. The editors have brought together an impressive line-up of scholars-archaeologists, philologists, historians, and art historians-to reflect on how objects, ideas, and interpretations of the ancient Near East have been remembered, constructed, reimagined, mythologized, or indeed forgotten within our shared cultural memories. The exploration of cultural memories has revealed how they inform the values, structures, and daily life of societies over time. This is therefore not a collection of essays about the deep past but rather about the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.

A Land in Between

A Land in Between PDF Author: Melissa Kennedy
Publisher: Sydney University Press
ISBN: 1743327196
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
The Orontes Valley in western Syria is a land ‘in between’, positioned between the small trading centres of the coast and the huge urban agglomerations of the Euphrates Valley and the Syro-Mesopotamian plains beyond. As such, it provides a critical missing link in our understanding of the archaeology of this region in the early urban age. A Land in Between documents the material culture and socio-political relationships of the Orontes Valley and its neighbours during the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE. The authors demonstrate that the valley was a chief conduit for the exchange of knowledge and goods that fuelled the first urban age in western Syria. This lays the foundation for a comparative perspective, providing a clearer understanding of key differences between the Orontes region and its neighbours, and insights into how patterns of material and political association changed over time.

La famille dans le Proche-Orient ancien: réalités, symbolismes et images

La famille dans le Proche-Orient ancien: réalités, symbolismes et images PDF Author: Lionel Marti
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 1575068885
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 809

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Book Description
In July, 2009, the International Association for Assyriology met in Paris, France, for 5 days to deliver and listen to papers on the theme “La famille dans le Proche-Orient.” This volume, the proceedings of the conference, contains 53 of the papers read at the 55th annual Rencontre, including primarily papers directly connected with the theme and some on areas of related interest. The papers covered every period of Mesopotamian history, from the third millennium through the end of the first millennium B.C.E. The photo on the back cover shows only a representative portion of the attendees, who were warmly hosted by faculty and students from the Collège de France.

The Early Bronze Age Seal-Impressed Vessels from Ḫirbet ez-Zeraqōn

The Early Bronze Age Seal-Impressed Vessels from Ḫirbet ez-Zeraqōn PDF Author: Valentina Tumolo
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1803279044
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 526

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Book Description
Sealing practices were widespread across the Mediterranean and Southwest Asia from prehistoric to historic times. This study is based on the author’s analysis of the large assemblage of impressed ceramics from the site of Ḫirbet ez-Zeraqōn in northern Jordan.

The Routledge Companion to Ecstatic Experience in the Ancient World

The Routledge Companion to Ecstatic Experience in the Ancient World PDF Author: Diana Stein
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000464768
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 789

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Book Description
For millennia, people have universally engaged in ecstatic experience as an essential element in ritual practice, spiritual belief and cultural identification. This volume offers the first systematic investigation of its myriad roles and manifestations in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. The twenty-nine contributors represent a broad range of scholarly disciplines, seeking answers to fundamental questions regarding the patterns and commonalities of this vital aspect of the past. How was the experience construed and by what means was it achieved? Who was involved? Where and when were rites carried out? How was it reflected in pictorial arts and written records? What was its relation to other components of the sociocultural compact? In proposing responses, the authors draw upon a wealth of original research in many fields, generating new perspectives and thought-provoking, often surprising, conclusions. With their abundant cross-cultural and cross-temporal references, the chapters mutually enrich each other and collectively deepen our understanding of ecstatic phenomena thousands of years ago. Another noteworthy feature of the book is its illustrative content, including commissioned reconstructions of ecstatic scenarios and pairings of works of Bronze Age and modern psychedelic art. Scholars, students and other readers interested in antiquity, comparative religion and the social and cognitive sciences will find much to explore in the fascinating realm of ecstatic experience in the ancient world.

Carchemish in Context

Carchemish in Context PDF Author: Edgar Peltenburg
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1785701126
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
The city of Carchemish in the valley of the Euphrates river can be regarded as one of the iconic sites in the Middle East, a mound complex known both for its own intrinsic qualities as the seat of later Hittite power and Neo-Hittite kings, but also because its history of excavations included well known historical figures such as Leonard Woolley and T. E. Lawrence. However, because of its location within the military zone of the Turkish-Syrian border the site itself has been inaccessible to archaeologists for more than 90 years. Carchemish in Context summarises the results of regional investigations conducted within the Land of Carchemish Project in Syria, as well as other archaeological surveys in the region, in order to provide a regional, historical and archaeological context for the development of the city. A synthesis of the history of Carchemish is presented and a regional overview of the Land of Carchemish as it is defined by archaeological features and key historical references through to the early Iron Age. Insightful snapshots of the dynamics of an ancient state are revealed which can now be seen to have fluctuated dramatically in size throughout 700-800 years, in part depending upon the power of the king of Carchemish or the aggressions of external powers. The results from the Project provide an overview of the main trends of settlement in the region over 8000 years, using a combination of survey databases to both north and south of the Syrian-Turkish border and with a focus on the earlier phases of settlement from the Neolithic until the end of the Bronze Age when Carchemish became an outpost of the Hittite empire. The Iron Age is a period blessed by numerous historical records some of which can be traced in the modern landscape. Further chapters explore site-specific aspects of the regional archaeology, including a series of important sites on the Sajur river, some of which were positioned along the main campaign routes of the Assyrian kings. The close relationship between the nearby Early Bronze Age site of Tell Jerablus Tahtani and Carchemish are examined and the results from the 40 ha Carchemish Outer Town survey described, providing important new data sources regarding the layout, defenses and dates of occupation of this significant part of the city. The Classical, Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic occupations are also discussed in relation to what is known of occupation in the surrounding region.