Author: Clive Bonsall
Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Limited
ISBN: 9781407303734
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
This book had its origins in a symposium held at the University of Edinburgh from 30 March to 2 April 2000, which was attended by archaeologists with a shared interest in the prehistory of the small but distinctive region of Southeast Europe known as the Iron Gates. In the broad sense the area refers to the section of the Danube valley where the river forms the modern political border between Serbia and Romania, and this definition is adopted for the present volume. First and foremost the volume is intended to illustrate the immense research potential of the Iron Gates region. A second objective is to provide case studies that illustrate the nature of current research and the rich possibilities offered by the growing range of scientific techniques available to archaeologists and their application to existing archaeological collections. Contents: 1) Lithic technology and settlement systems of the Final Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic in the Iron Gates (Dusan Mihailovic); 2) The development of the ground stone industry in the Serbian part of the Iron Gates (Dragana Antonovic); 3) Sturgeon fishing along the Middle and Lower Danube (Laszlo Bartosiewicz, Clive Bonsall & Vasile Sisu); 4) The Mesolithic-Neolithic in the Derdap as evidenced by non-metric anatomical variants (Mirjana Roksandic); 5) Demography of the Derdap Mesolithic-Neolithic transition (Mary Jackes, Mirjana Roksandic & Christopher Meiklejohn); 6) Approaches to Starcevo culture chronology (Joni L. Manson); 7) Faunal assemblages from the Early Neolithic of the central Balkans: methodological issues in the reconstruction of subsistence and land Use (Haskel Greenfield); 8) Lepenski Vir animal bones: what was left in the houses? (Vesna Dimitrijevic); 9) New-born infant burials underneath house floors at Lepenski Vir: in pursuit of contextual meanings (Sofija Stefanovic & Dusan Boric); 10) DNA-based sex identification of the infant remains from Lepenski Vir (Biljana Culjkovic, Sofija Stefanovic & Stanka Romac); 11) Dating burials and architecture at Lepenski Vir (Clive Bonsall, Ivana Radovanovic, Mirjana Roksandic, Gordon Cook, Thomas Higham & Catriona Pickard); 12) Reanalysis of the vertebrate fauna from Hajducka Vodenica in the Danubian Iron Gates: subsistence and taphonomy from the Early Neolithic and Mesolithic (Haskel Greenfield); 13) Velesnica and the Lepenski Vir culture (Rastko Vasic); 14) The human osteological material from Velesnica (Mirjana Roksandic); 15) The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Trieste Karst (north-eastern Italy) as seen from the excavations at the Edera Cave (Paolo Biagi, Elisabetta Starnini & Barbara Voytek).
The Iron Gates in Prehistory
Author: Clive Bonsall
Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Limited
ISBN: 9781407303734
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
This book had its origins in a symposium held at the University of Edinburgh from 30 March to 2 April 2000, which was attended by archaeologists with a shared interest in the prehistory of the small but distinctive region of Southeast Europe known as the Iron Gates. In the broad sense the area refers to the section of the Danube valley where the river forms the modern political border between Serbia and Romania, and this definition is adopted for the present volume. First and foremost the volume is intended to illustrate the immense research potential of the Iron Gates region. A second objective is to provide case studies that illustrate the nature of current research and the rich possibilities offered by the growing range of scientific techniques available to archaeologists and their application to existing archaeological collections. Contents: 1) Lithic technology and settlement systems of the Final Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic in the Iron Gates (Dusan Mihailovic); 2) The development of the ground stone industry in the Serbian part of the Iron Gates (Dragana Antonovic); 3) Sturgeon fishing along the Middle and Lower Danube (Laszlo Bartosiewicz, Clive Bonsall & Vasile Sisu); 4) The Mesolithic-Neolithic in the Derdap as evidenced by non-metric anatomical variants (Mirjana Roksandic); 5) Demography of the Derdap Mesolithic-Neolithic transition (Mary Jackes, Mirjana Roksandic & Christopher Meiklejohn); 6) Approaches to Starcevo culture chronology (Joni L. Manson); 7) Faunal assemblages from the Early Neolithic of the central Balkans: methodological issues in the reconstruction of subsistence and land Use (Haskel Greenfield); 8) Lepenski Vir animal bones: what was left in the houses? (Vesna Dimitrijevic); 9) New-born infant burials underneath house floors at Lepenski Vir: in pursuit of contextual meanings (Sofija Stefanovic & Dusan Boric); 10) DNA-based sex identification of the infant remains from Lepenski Vir (Biljana Culjkovic, Sofija Stefanovic & Stanka Romac); 11) Dating burials and architecture at Lepenski Vir (Clive Bonsall, Ivana Radovanovic, Mirjana Roksandic, Gordon Cook, Thomas Higham & Catriona Pickard); 12) Reanalysis of the vertebrate fauna from Hajducka Vodenica in the Danubian Iron Gates: subsistence and taphonomy from the Early Neolithic and Mesolithic (Haskel Greenfield); 13) Velesnica and the Lepenski Vir culture (Rastko Vasic); 14) The human osteological material from Velesnica (Mirjana Roksandic); 15) The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Trieste Karst (north-eastern Italy) as seen from the excavations at the Edera Cave (Paolo Biagi, Elisabetta Starnini & Barbara Voytek).
Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Limited
ISBN: 9781407303734
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
This book had its origins in a symposium held at the University of Edinburgh from 30 March to 2 April 2000, which was attended by archaeologists with a shared interest in the prehistory of the small but distinctive region of Southeast Europe known as the Iron Gates. In the broad sense the area refers to the section of the Danube valley where the river forms the modern political border between Serbia and Romania, and this definition is adopted for the present volume. First and foremost the volume is intended to illustrate the immense research potential of the Iron Gates region. A second objective is to provide case studies that illustrate the nature of current research and the rich possibilities offered by the growing range of scientific techniques available to archaeologists and their application to existing archaeological collections. Contents: 1) Lithic technology and settlement systems of the Final Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic in the Iron Gates (Dusan Mihailovic); 2) The development of the ground stone industry in the Serbian part of the Iron Gates (Dragana Antonovic); 3) Sturgeon fishing along the Middle and Lower Danube (Laszlo Bartosiewicz, Clive Bonsall & Vasile Sisu); 4) The Mesolithic-Neolithic in the Derdap as evidenced by non-metric anatomical variants (Mirjana Roksandic); 5) Demography of the Derdap Mesolithic-Neolithic transition (Mary Jackes, Mirjana Roksandic & Christopher Meiklejohn); 6) Approaches to Starcevo culture chronology (Joni L. Manson); 7) Faunal assemblages from the Early Neolithic of the central Balkans: methodological issues in the reconstruction of subsistence and land Use (Haskel Greenfield); 8) Lepenski Vir animal bones: what was left in the houses? (Vesna Dimitrijevic); 9) New-born infant burials underneath house floors at Lepenski Vir: in pursuit of contextual meanings (Sofija Stefanovic & Dusan Boric); 10) DNA-based sex identification of the infant remains from Lepenski Vir (Biljana Culjkovic, Sofija Stefanovic & Stanka Romac); 11) Dating burials and architecture at Lepenski Vir (Clive Bonsall, Ivana Radovanovic, Mirjana Roksandic, Gordon Cook, Thomas Higham & Catriona Pickard); 12) Reanalysis of the vertebrate fauna from Hajducka Vodenica in the Danubian Iron Gates: subsistence and taphonomy from the Early Neolithic and Mesolithic (Haskel Greenfield); 13) Velesnica and the Lepenski Vir culture (Rastko Vasic); 14) The human osteological material from Velesnica (Mirjana Roksandic); 15) The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Trieste Karst (north-eastern Italy) as seen from the excavations at the Edera Cave (Paolo Biagi, Elisabetta Starnini & Barbara Voytek).
The Iron Gates Mesolithic
Author: Ivana Radovanović
Publisher: International Monographs in Press
ISBN: 9781879621244
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 382
Book Description
Based on the extensive excavation in the 1960s and 1970s, before flooding by artificial lakes, explores the Lepenski Vir culture, which lived in the Iron Gates Gorge of the Danube about 7,000 years ago. Investigates their origin; their geographical and chronological framework; and their role in ushering in the neolithic age, the early stages of which exhibit some Lepenski Vir traits. Discusses the environment now and then, settlements and architecture, burial rites, portable artifacts, periodization and chronology, and the European framework. Translated (from Serbian) and extensively revised from a 1993 U. of Belgrade Ph. D. dissertation. No index. Paper edition (unseen), $48.50. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Publisher: International Monographs in Press
ISBN: 9781879621244
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 382
Book Description
Based on the extensive excavation in the 1960s and 1970s, before flooding by artificial lakes, explores the Lepenski Vir culture, which lived in the Iron Gates Gorge of the Danube about 7,000 years ago. Investigates their origin; their geographical and chronological framework; and their role in ushering in the neolithic age, the early stages of which exhibit some Lepenski Vir traits. Discusses the environment now and then, settlements and architecture, burial rites, portable artifacts, periodization and chronology, and the European framework. Translated (from Serbian) and extensively revised from a 1993 U. of Belgrade Ph. D. dissertation. No index. Paper edition (unseen), $48.50. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Ancient DNA and the European Neolithic
Author: Alasdair Whittle
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1789259126
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
The current paradigm-changing ancient DNA revolution is offering unparalleled insights into central problems within archaeology relating to the movement of populations and individuals, patterns of descent, relationships and aspects of identity – at many scales and of many different kinds. The impact of recent ancient DNA results can be seen particularly clearly in studies of the European Neolithic, the subject of contributions presented in this volume. We now have new evidence for the movement and mixture of people at the start of the Neolithic, as farming spread from the east, and at its end, when the first metals as well as novel styles of pottery and burial practices arrived in the Chalcolithic. In addition, there has been a wealth of new data to inform complex questions of identities and relationships. The terms of archaeological debate for this period have been permanently altered, leaving us with many issues. This volume stems from the online day conference of the Neolithic Studies Group held in November 2021, which aimed to bring geneticists and archaeologists together in the same forum, and to enable critical but constructive inter-disciplinary debate about key themes arising from the application of advanced ancient DNA analysis to the study of the European Neolithic. The resulting papers gathered here are by both geneticists and archaeologists. Individually, they form a series of significant, up-to-date, period and regional syntheses of various manifestations of the Neolithic across the Near East and Europe, including particularly Britain and Ireland. Together, they offer wide-ranging reflections on the progress of ancient DNA studies, and on their future reach and character.
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1789259126
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
The current paradigm-changing ancient DNA revolution is offering unparalleled insights into central problems within archaeology relating to the movement of populations and individuals, patterns of descent, relationships and aspects of identity – at many scales and of many different kinds. The impact of recent ancient DNA results can be seen particularly clearly in studies of the European Neolithic, the subject of contributions presented in this volume. We now have new evidence for the movement and mixture of people at the start of the Neolithic, as farming spread from the east, and at its end, when the first metals as well as novel styles of pottery and burial practices arrived in the Chalcolithic. In addition, there has been a wealth of new data to inform complex questions of identities and relationships. The terms of archaeological debate for this period have been permanently altered, leaving us with many issues. This volume stems from the online day conference of the Neolithic Studies Group held in November 2021, which aimed to bring geneticists and archaeologists together in the same forum, and to enable critical but constructive inter-disciplinary debate about key themes arising from the application of advanced ancient DNA analysis to the study of the European Neolithic. The resulting papers gathered here are by both geneticists and archaeologists. Individually, they form a series of significant, up-to-date, period and regional syntheses of various manifestations of the Neolithic across the Near East and Europe, including particularly Britain and Ireland. Together, they offer wide-ranging reflections on the progress of ancient DNA studies, and on their future reach and character.
Climate and Cultural Change in Prehistoric Europe and the Near East
Author: Peter F. Biehl
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438461844
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
The subject of climate change could hardly be more timely. In Climate and Cultural Change in Prehistoric Europe and the Near East, an interdisciplinary group of contributors examine climate change through the lens of new archaeological and paleo-environmental data over the course of more than 10,000 years from the Near East to Europe. Key climatic and other events are contextualized with cultural changes and transitions for which the authors discuss when, how, and if, changes in climate and environment caused people to adapt, move or perish. More than this publication of crucial archaeological and paleo-environmental data, however, the volume seeks to understand the social, political and economic significance of climate change as it was manifested in various ways around the Old World. Contrary to perceptions of threatening global warming in our popular media, and in contrast to grim images of collapse presented in some archaeological discussions of past climate change, this book rejects outright societal collapse as a likely outcome. Yet this does not keep the authors from considering climate change as a potential factor in explaining culture change by adopting a critical stance with regard to the long-standing practice of equating synchronicity with causality, and explicitly considering alternative explanations.
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438461844
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
The subject of climate change could hardly be more timely. In Climate and Cultural Change in Prehistoric Europe and the Near East, an interdisciplinary group of contributors examine climate change through the lens of new archaeological and paleo-environmental data over the course of more than 10,000 years from the Near East to Europe. Key climatic and other events are contextualized with cultural changes and transitions for which the authors discuss when, how, and if, changes in climate and environment caused people to adapt, move or perish. More than this publication of crucial archaeological and paleo-environmental data, however, the volume seeks to understand the social, political and economic significance of climate change as it was manifested in various ways around the Old World. Contrary to perceptions of threatening global warming in our popular media, and in contrast to grim images of collapse presented in some archaeological discussions of past climate change, this book rejects outright societal collapse as a likely outcome. Yet this does not keep the authors from considering climate change as a potential factor in explaining culture change by adopting a critical stance with regard to the long-standing practice of equating synchronicity with causality, and explicitly considering alternative explanations.
Balkan Prehistory
Author: Douglass W. Bailey
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134607075
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 374
Book Description
Douglass Bailey's volume fills the huge gap that existed for a comprehensive synthesis, in English, of the archaeology of the Balkans between 6,500 and 2,000 BC; much research on the prehistory of Eastern Europe was inaccessible to a western audience before now, because of linguistic barriers. Bailey argues against traditional interpretations of the period, which focus on the origins of agriculture and animal breeding. He demonstrates that this was a period when monumental social and material changes occurred in the lives of the people in this region, with new technologies and ways of displaying identity. Balkan Prehistory will be required reading for everyone studying the Neolithic, Copper and early Bronze Ages of Eastern Europe.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134607075
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 374
Book Description
Douglass Bailey's volume fills the huge gap that existed for a comprehensive synthesis, in English, of the archaeology of the Balkans between 6,500 and 2,000 BC; much research on the prehistory of Eastern Europe was inaccessible to a western audience before now, because of linguistic barriers. Bailey argues against traditional interpretations of the period, which focus on the origins of agriculture and animal breeding. He demonstrates that this was a period when monumental social and material changes occurred in the lives of the people in this region, with new technologies and ways of displaying identity. Balkan Prehistory will be required reading for everyone studying the Neolithic, Copper and early Bronze Ages of Eastern Europe.
Prehistoric Belief
Author: Mike Williams
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752476343
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 519
Book Description
Unlike modern people, those in prehistory were adept at entering trance; what we now call shamanism. This gave access to alternative realms where people met and befriended entities that they thought of as spirits. To the people of the past, the otherworld of trance, and the spirits that resided there, were as real to them as anything else they encountered. Until recently, this otherworldly realm was closed to archaeology; there was no way to reconstruct ancient thought. This changed with the advent of modernneurology. For the first time we can now enter the minds of those who lived thousands of years ago and begin to unravel their lives: the world as they would have believed it to be. In this bold and groundbreaking book, Dr Williams tackles all the big subjects in archaeology: the spread of humans from Africa, the rise of social groups, the adoption of agriculture, the construction of monuments, the emergence of metal, and the fall of the Celtic tribes. Showing that belief was central to these epic changes, as well as influencing the most mundane, everyday task, a new understanding of our prehistoric past emerges. Whilst being extensively researched, a fast-paced and engaging narrative makes this a page-turning read. Evocative vignettes supplement the text and take readers back in time to experience for themselves the sights, smells, and sounds of the past. This is a new way to approach prehistory, putting people and the beliefs that they held centre stage. For without understanding people's beliefs, we will never comprehend their world. Mike Williams has an MA and PhD from the University of Reading and is a shamanic practitioner and teacher, having studied with indigenous shamanic teachers in Siberia and Lapland. He has written many academic and popular articles and is the author of: Follow the Shaman's Call: An Ancient Path for Modern Lives, which was published by Llewellyn Worldwide in January 2010. He lives in a secluded valley in Wales with his wife and various animals
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752476343
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 519
Book Description
Unlike modern people, those in prehistory were adept at entering trance; what we now call shamanism. This gave access to alternative realms where people met and befriended entities that they thought of as spirits. To the people of the past, the otherworld of trance, and the spirits that resided there, were as real to them as anything else they encountered. Until recently, this otherworldly realm was closed to archaeology; there was no way to reconstruct ancient thought. This changed with the advent of modernneurology. For the first time we can now enter the minds of those who lived thousands of years ago and begin to unravel their lives: the world as they would have believed it to be. In this bold and groundbreaking book, Dr Williams tackles all the big subjects in archaeology: the spread of humans from Africa, the rise of social groups, the adoption of agriculture, the construction of monuments, the emergence of metal, and the fall of the Celtic tribes. Showing that belief was central to these epic changes, as well as influencing the most mundane, everyday task, a new understanding of our prehistoric past emerges. Whilst being extensively researched, a fast-paced and engaging narrative makes this a page-turning read. Evocative vignettes supplement the text and take readers back in time to experience for themselves the sights, smells, and sounds of the past. This is a new way to approach prehistory, putting people and the beliefs that they held centre stage. For without understanding people's beliefs, we will never comprehend their world. Mike Williams has an MA and PhD from the University of Reading and is a shamanic practitioner and teacher, having studied with indigenous shamanic teachers in Siberia and Lapland. He has written many academic and popular articles and is the author of: Follow the Shaman's Call: An Ancient Path for Modern Lives, which was published by Llewellyn Worldwide in January 2010. He lives in a secluded valley in Wales with his wife and various animals
The Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean
Author: A. Bernard Knapp
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 131619406X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1677
Book Description
The Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean offers new insights into the material and social practices of many different Mediterranean peoples during the Bronze and Iron Ages, presenting in particular those features that both connect and distinguish them. Contributors discuss in depth a range of topics that motivate and structure Mediterranean archaeology today, including insularity and connectivity; mobility, migration, and colonization; hybridization and cultural encounters; materiality, memory, and identity; community and household; life and death; and ritual and ideology. The volume's broad coverage of different approaches and contemporary archaeological practices will help practitioners of Mediterranean archaeology to move the subject forward in new and dynamic ways. Together, the essays in this volume shed new light on the people, ideas, and materials that make up the world of Mediterranean archaeology today, beyond the borders that separate Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 131619406X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1677
Book Description
The Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean offers new insights into the material and social practices of many different Mediterranean peoples during the Bronze and Iron Ages, presenting in particular those features that both connect and distinguish them. Contributors discuss in depth a range of topics that motivate and structure Mediterranean archaeology today, including insularity and connectivity; mobility, migration, and colonization; hybridization and cultural encounters; materiality, memory, and identity; community and household; life and death; and ritual and ideology. The volume's broad coverage of different approaches and contemporary archaeological practices will help practitioners of Mediterranean archaeology to move the subject forward in new and dynamic ways. Together, the essays in this volume shed new light on the people, ideas, and materials that make up the world of Mediterranean archaeology today, beyond the borders that separate Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Hunting and Fishing in the Neolithic and Eneolithic
Author: Selena Vitezovic
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1789694671
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
This volume contains 13 papers on hunting and fishing techniques, weapons and prey in the area from Anatolia to the Gibraltar region. Papers include specific case studies as well as syntheses of wider data sets and provide the latest methodological and theoretical perspectives on the role of hunting and fishing in early agricultural societies.
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1789694671
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
This volume contains 13 papers on hunting and fishing techniques, weapons and prey in the area from Anatolia to the Gibraltar region. Papers include specific case studies as well as syntheses of wider data sets and provide the latest methodological and theoretical perspectives on the role of hunting and fishing in early agricultural societies.
Population Dynamics in Prehistory and Early History
Author: Elke Kaiser
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 311026630X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 364
Book Description
Migrations and population dynamics are considered very problematic topics in the fields of ancient studies. Recent scholarship in (pre)historical population has generated new impulses by using scientific approaches using radiogenic and stable isotopes, and palaeogenetics, as well as computer simulation. As a result, the state of migration research has undergone rapid change. Several research groups presented papers at aconference held in Berlin in 2010, addressing specific historical aspects of population dynamics and migration, with no chronological or geographical restrictions, in the light of cutting-edge bio-archaeological research. This volume, divided into three larger thematic sections (isotope analysis, population genetics, and modelling and computer simulation), presents experiences and insights about methodological approaches, research results and prospects for future research in this area in a varied collection of papers. Scholars from widely diverse scientific disciplines present their approaches, findings and interpretations to an audience far broader than the circles of the individual disciplines.
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 311026630X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 364
Book Description
Migrations and population dynamics are considered very problematic topics in the fields of ancient studies. Recent scholarship in (pre)historical population has generated new impulses by using scientific approaches using radiogenic and stable isotopes, and palaeogenetics, as well as computer simulation. As a result, the state of migration research has undergone rapid change. Several research groups presented papers at aconference held in Berlin in 2010, addressing specific historical aspects of population dynamics and migration, with no chronological or geographical restrictions, in the light of cutting-edge bio-archaeological research. This volume, divided into three larger thematic sections (isotope analysis, population genetics, and modelling and computer simulation), presents experiences and insights about methodological approaches, research results and prospects for future research in this area in a varied collection of papers. Scholars from widely diverse scientific disciplines present their approaches, findings and interpretations to an audience far broader than the circles of the individual disciplines.
The Construction of Value in the Ancient World
Author: John K. Papadopoulos
Publisher: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press
ISBN: 1938770471
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 666
Book Description
Recipient of the Jo Anne Stolaroff Cotsen Prize Scholars from Aristotle to Marx and beyond have been fascinated by the question of what constitutes value. The Construction of Value in the Ancient World makes a significant contribution to this ongoing inquiry, bringing together in one comprehensive volume the perspectives of leading anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, linguists, philologists, and sociologists on how value was created, defined, and expressed in a number of ancient societies around the world. Based on the basic premise that value is a social construct defined by the cultural context in which it is situated, the volume explores four overarching but closely interrelated themes: place value, body value, object value, and number value. The questions raised and addressed are of central importance to archaeologists studying ancient civilizations: How can we understand the value that might have been accorded to materials, objects, people, places, and patterns of action by those who produced or used the things that compose the human material record? Taken as a whole, the contributions to this volume demonstrate how the concept of value lies at the intersection of individual and collective tastes, desires, sentiments, and attitudes that inform the ways people select, or give priority to, one thing over another.
Publisher: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press
ISBN: 1938770471
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 666
Book Description
Recipient of the Jo Anne Stolaroff Cotsen Prize Scholars from Aristotle to Marx and beyond have been fascinated by the question of what constitutes value. The Construction of Value in the Ancient World makes a significant contribution to this ongoing inquiry, bringing together in one comprehensive volume the perspectives of leading anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, linguists, philologists, and sociologists on how value was created, defined, and expressed in a number of ancient societies around the world. Based on the basic premise that value is a social construct defined by the cultural context in which it is situated, the volume explores four overarching but closely interrelated themes: place value, body value, object value, and number value. The questions raised and addressed are of central importance to archaeologists studying ancient civilizations: How can we understand the value that might have been accorded to materials, objects, people, places, and patterns of action by those who produced or used the things that compose the human material record? Taken as a whole, the contributions to this volume demonstrate how the concept of value lies at the intersection of individual and collective tastes, desires, sentiments, and attitudes that inform the ways people select, or give priority to, one thing over another.