Archaeological Landscapes of the Near East

Archaeological Landscapes of the Near East
Author: Tony J. Wilkinson
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2003-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0816521743

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Many fundamental studies of the origins of states have built upon landscape data, but an overall study of the Near Eastern landscape itself has never been attempted. Spanning thousands of years of history, the ancient Near East presents a bewildering range of landscapes, the understanding of which can greatly enhance our ability to infer past political and social systems. Tony Wilkinson now shows that throughout the Holocene humans altered the Near Eastern environment so thoroughly that the land has become a human artifact, albeit one that retains the power to shape human societies. In this trailblazing bookÑthe first to describe and explain the development of the Near Eastern landscape using archaeological dataÑWilkinson identifies specific landscape signatures for various regions and periods, from the early stages of complex societies in the fifth to sixth millennium B.C. to the close of the Early Islamic period around the tenth century A.D. From Bronze Age city-states to colonized steppes, these signature landscapes of irrigation systems, tells, and other features changed through time along with changes in social, economic, political, and environmental conditions. By weaving together the record of the human landscape with evidence of settlement, the environment, and social and economic conditions, Wilkinson provides a holistic view of the ancient Near East that complements archaeological excavations, cuneiform texts, and other conventional sources. Through this overview, culled from thirty years' research, Wilkinson establishes a new framework for understanding the economic and physical infrastructure of the region. By describing the basic attributes of the ancient cultural landscape and placing their development within the context of a dynamic environment, he breaks new ground in landscape archaeology and offers a new context for understanding the ancient Near East.

Landscape Archaeology in the Near East

Landscape Archaeology in the Near East
Author: Bülent Arıkan
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2023-01-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1803273577

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Collected papers from the 3rd symposium of the the Society for Near Eastern Landscape Archaeology. Ranging from the Palaeolithic to the classical Near East, papers consider settlement and movement for trade with an overarching theme around the conservation of important archaeological landscapes and developing technology for the study of landscapes.

New Agendas in Remote Sensing and Landscape Archaeology in the Near East

New Agendas in Remote Sensing and Landscape Archaeology in the Near East
Author: Dan Lawrence
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2020-08-27
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1789695740

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This volume presents papers in honour of Tony James Wilkinson, who was Professor of Archaeology at Durham University from 2006 until his death in 2014. Though commemorative in concept, the volume is an assemblage of new research representing emerging agendas and innovative methods in remote sensing and their application in Near Eastern archaeology.

From Sherds to Landscapes

From Sherds to Landscapes
Author: Mark Altaweel
Publisher: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2021-05-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1614910642

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This volume honors McGuire Gibson and his years of service to archaeology of Mesopotamia, Yemen, and neighboring regions. Professor Gibson spent most of his career at the University of Chicago's Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations department and the Oriental Institute. Many of his students, colleagues, and friends have contributed to this volume, reflecting Gibson's diverse interests. The volume presents new results in areas such as landscape archaeology, urbanism, the ancient languages of Mesopotamia, history of Mesopotamia, the archaeology of Iran and Yemen, prehistory, material culture, and wider archaeological topics.

The Archaeology of Imperial Landscapes

The Archaeology of Imperial Landscapes
Author: Bleda S. Düring
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2018-03-29
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1108100376

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The Archaeology of Imperial Landscapes examines the transformation of rural landscapes and societies that formed the backbone of ancient empires in the Near East and Mediterranean. Through a comparative approach to archaeological data, it analyses the patterns of transformation in widely differing imperial contexts in the ancient world. Bringing together a range of studies by an international team of scholars, the volume shows that empires were dynamic, diverse, and experimental polities, and that their success or failure was determined by a combination of forceful interventions, as well as the new possibilities for those dominated by empires to collaborate and profit from doing so. By highlighting the processes that occur in rural and peripheral landscapes, the volume demonstrates that the archaeology of these non-urban and literally eccentric spheres can provide an important contribution to our understanding of ancient empires. The 'bottom up' approach to the study of ancient empires is crucial to understanding how these remarkable socio-political organisms could exist and persist.

Polities and Power

Polities and Power
Author: Steven E. Falconer
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2009-12-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0816526036

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This distinctive book is the first to address the topic of landscape archaeology in early states from a truly global perspective. It provides an excellent introduction toÑand overview ofÑthe discipline today. The volume grew out of the Fifth Biennial Meeting of the Complex Societies Group, whose theme, States and the Landscape, paid tribute to the work of Robert McC. Adams. When Adams began publishing in the 1960s, the interdependence of cities and their countrysides, and the information revealed through the spatial patterning of communities, went largely unrecognized. Today, as this useful collection makes clear, these interpretive insights are fundamental to all archaeologists who investigate the roles of complex polities in their landscapes. Polities and Power features detailed studies from an intentionally disparate array of regions, including Mesoamerica, Andean South America, southwestern Asia, East Africa, and the Indian subcontinent. Each chapter or pair of chapters is followed by a critical commentary. In concert, these studies strive to infer social, political, and economic meaning from archaeologically discerned landscapes associated with societies that incorporate some expression of state authority. The contributions engage a variety of themes, including the significance of landscapes as they condition and reflect complex polities; the interplay of natural and cultural elements in defining landscapes of state; archaeological landscapes as ever-dynamic entities; and archaeological landscapes as recursive structures, reflected in palimpsests of human activity. Individually, many of these contributions are provocative, even controversial. Taken together, they reveal the contours of landscape archaeology at this particular evolutionary moment.

Landscapes of Survival

Landscapes of Survival
Author: Prof Dr Peter M M G Akkermans
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2020-12-21
Genre:
ISBN: 9789088909436

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Collection of research papers about the archaeology and epigraphy of Jordan's north-eastern basalt desert as well as comparative perspectives from other parts of the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula.

The Neolithic Revolution in the Near East

The Neolithic Revolution in the Near East
Author: Alan H. Simmons
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2011-04-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780816529667

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One of humanity's most important milestones was the transition from hunting and gathering to food production and permanent village life. This Neolithic Revolution first occurred in the Near East, changing the way humans interacted with their environment and each other, setting the stage, ultimately, for the modern world.ÊÊÊ Ê Based on more than thirty years of fieldwork, this timely volume examines the Neolithic Revolution in the Levantine Near East and the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Alan H. Simmons explores recent research regarding the emergence of Neolithic populations, using both environmental and theoretical contexts, and incorporates specific case studies based on his own excavations. In clear and graceful prose, Simmons traces chronological and regional differences within this land of immense environmental contrastsÑwoodland, steppe, and desert. He argues that the Neolithic Revolution can be seen in a variety of economic, demographic, and social guises and that it lacked a single common stimulus.ÊÊÊÊ Ê Each chapter includes sections on history, terminology, geographic range, specific domesticated species, the composition of early villages and households, and the development of social, symbolic, and religious behavior. Most chapters include at least one case study and conclude with a concise summary. In addition, Simmons presents a unique chapter on the island of Cyprus, where intriguing new research challenges assumptions about the impact and extent of the Neolithic.ÊÊÊÊ Ê The Neolithic Revolution in the Near East conveys the diversity of our Neolithic ancestors, providing a better understanding of the period and the new social order that arose because of it. This insightful volume will be especially useful to Near Eastern scholars and to students of archaeology and the origins of agriculture.

New Agendas in Remote Sensing and Landscape Archaeology in the Near East

New Agendas in Remote Sensing and Landscape Archaeology in the Near East
Author: Dan Lawrence
Publisher: Archaeopress Archaeology
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2020-08-27
Genre:
ISBN: 9781789695731

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New Agendas in Remote Sensing and Landscape Archaeology in the Near East is a collection of papers produced in honour of Tony James Wilkinson, who was Professor of Archaeology at Durham University from 2006 until his death in 2014. Though commemorative in concept, the volume is an assemblage of new research representing emerging agendas and innovative methods in remote sensing. The intention is to explore the opportunities and challenges faced by researchers in the field today, and the tools, techniques, and theoretical approaches available to resolve them within the framework of landscape archaeology. The papers build on the traditional strengths of landscape archaeology, such as geoarchaeology and settlement pattern analysis, as well as integrating data sources to address major research questions, such as the ancient economy, urbanism, water management and the treatment of the dead. The authors demonstrate the importance of an interdisciplinary approach for understanding the impact of human activity on shaping the landscape and the effect that landscape has on sociocultural development.

Landscape Archaeology in Southern Caucasia

Landscape Archaeology in Southern Caucasia
Author: William Anderson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018
Genre: Archaeology
ISBN: 9783700182047

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Recent years have witnessed an explosion of research projects in Southern Caucasia that apply the methodologies and approaches of landscape archaeology. Focused on understanding the interaction between humans and their environments at multiple temporal and geographic scales, these projects have made use of intensive and extensive surveys, remote sensing and GIS-based analysis, very often taking a diachronic view. Landscape Archaeology in Southern Caucasia presents and reflects on projects currently employing these fresh perspectives and techniques in the lands between the Black and Caspian Seas, including and adjacent to the Greater and Lesser Caucasus mountain ranges; this takes in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of eastern Turkey and northwestern Iran. Through the centuries, this region has been a vital zone of contact between the Near East, Anatolia and Central Asia, but has also - in large part due to its remarkable and often difficult terrain of mountains, river valleys and plains - maintained a unique and fascinating local trajectory of development. Landscape Archaeology in Southern Caucasia is the product of a workshop held at the 10th ICAANE in Vienna in April 2016, which brought together scholars from around the world engaged in archaeological survey and landscape analysis in Southern Caucasia. The contributions in the volume cover a broad timescale, from the Neolithic through the medieval period and into the modern day, and deal with such themes as the relationship between past and present landscapes, heritage management, the use of remote sensing, the value of integrating historical texts and legacy data into new projects, survey methodologies, and patterns of movement. The volume also includes discussion of avenues for further research, particularly in the fields of information sharing and deeper engagement with legacy data. Finally, Landscape Archaeology in Southern Caucasia reflects and celebrates the spirit of collaboration between scholars within and beyond Southern Caucasia that is both apparent in the diversity of current projects and crucial to achieving the aims of future work in the region.