THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE OF THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD IN THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS OF THE ZAGROS MOUNTAINS: NEW EVIDENCE FROM THE SAR POL-E ZAHĀB REGION, IRAN-IRAQ BORDERLAND

Iraq ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 15-39
Author(s):  
Sajjad Alibaigi ◽  
Abdoljabar Salimiyan
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Zagros Mountains ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Zagros Range ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Zagros Region ◽  
Vast Area ◽  
Archaeological Landscape

A recent survey in the western foothills of the Zagros Mountains has located five new Neolithic sites. We present here the occupational features and finds of this period in the Sar Pol-e Zahāb region, along with an interpretation of their distribution and associated settlement patterns. Our research indicates that the visible distribution of Neolithic sites is highly influenced by geomorphological factors. All sites are located on natural outcrops or on the edge of alluvial plains. Many others have certainly been buried beneath layers of later sedimentation. All of the sites identified by our survey are small and of modest elevation, with cultural remains, particularly ceramics, similar to Neolithic sites such as Guran and Sarāb in the central Zagros region and Jarmo and Tamarkhan in Mesopotamia. Based on the ceramic evidence and the location of the region, between the central Zagros mountains on the east and Mesopotamia on the west, we suggest that this vast area maintained an integrated ceramic tradition, which suggests an overall cultural homogeneity of these areas during the seventh and early sixth millennia B.C. In other words, these recent discoveries indicate that similarities in Neolithic material culture in the Māhidasht, Kermanshāh and Hulailan plains with material culture of regions in Mesopotamia are not accidental or random but indicative of a large coherent zone with unique ceramic and cultural traditions (the patterned ceramic tradition of Sarāb-Jarmo), extending from Iraqi Kurdistan east into the central Zagros range. Regarding the lack of eighth and seventh millennium B.C. sites in the northern reaches of the Iranian part of the Zagros range, we may consider the pathway of Sar Pol-e Zahāb a primary route for transporting obsidian to upland areas of the central Zagros. This also suggests a lasting network of cross-regional communications, since archaeological discoveries prove this pathway was the main node connecting these two cultural regions for a long period of time.

scholarly journals A Sinicised Religion Under Foreign Rule: Buddhism in the Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115–1234)

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-52
Author(s):  
Hang Lin
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Zen Buddhism ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Southern Song ◽  
Jin Dynasty ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Medieval China ◽  
Historical Writings

Buddhism in the Jurchen Jin (1115–234) dynasty has been regarded as a peripheral phenomenon; as such, it remains largely overlooked by traditional historiography. When placed into a broader context, however, both Buddhism under Jin rule and the dynasty itself functioned as a significant link in the long chain of Chinese cultural history. The Jin witnessed a crucial time period during which Chan (Zen) Buddhism, later the most popular Buddhist school in China, gained dominance and began its transmission of several major lines. Jin Buddhism also created a large corpus of material culture, thereby providing invaluable primary sources for the study of Buddhism in China. Based on an analysis of historical writings and archaeological evidence, this article examines the development and various characteristics of Buddhism during the Jin, its relationship with the Jurchen rulers and its influence on the Jin society as a whole. To a large extent, the Jin was at least as important to the development of Buddhism as the Southern Song (1127–276). Moreover, knowledge of Jin Buddhism is indispensable to understanding the Jin culture which, in turn, is essential to understanding the general development of the multifaceted cultural traditions in medieval China.

The Early Minoan Occupation of Knossos: A Note on some new Evidence.

1972 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 115-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Evans
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Major Obstacle ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Hill ◽  
New Evidence

Following their discovery of the “Burnt Palace” at Beycesultan in the mid 1950's, Seton Lloyd and James Mellaart drew attention to a number of features of its architecture which seemed to indicate links with the palace architecture of Minoan Crete, and discussed the possible significance of these similarities (Lloyd and Mellaart, 1956 118–123, 1965 61, 62). Whatever this may be in terms of relationships between the two areas in the second millennium B.C., however, it seems clear that they cannot throw any light on the first appearance of palaces in Crete. The problems of the origin and development of the Cretan Bronze Age palaces are complex, and though they have been much discussed since the first excavations in the early years of the century, a major obstacle to progress has always been the lack of precise evidence, or even of any evidence at all, for the early stages of the process. As they stand, most of the palaces are the product of a series of rebuildings and remodellings over a long period, and it is not always clear just what they were like when first erected. Most frustrating of all, however, is the lack of evidence bearing on the question of whether they were preceded, during the Early Bronze Age, by buildings which were in any respect analogous in form and function. It has long been clear that the sites of some of the major Middle and Late Minoan palaces were occupied during the Early Minoan period, but at Phaistos and Knossos at any rate extensive clearing and levelling in preparation for the erection of the Middle Minoan palaces has obliterated practically all traces of the Early Minoan buildings. At Phaistos Branigan has hinted that the fragments of walls found by Pernier (1935, pl. VI) on the highest point of the hill might have belonged to a building of some consequence, possibly similar to the Early Minoan II mansion known as the House on the Hill at Vasiliki (Branigan 1970, p. 41). Branigan thinks that in addition to the rooms mentioned by Pernier, there may be traces of a corridor similar to that in the Vasiliki building. Only the bottom two courses of the walls survive, so that it is difficult to say much about their construction, though it seems to be poorer than that of the walls of some Early Minoan private houses later found by Levi on another part of the site.

scholarly journals New evidence for prehistoric copper metallurgy in the vicinity of Bor

Starinar ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 173-191
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Kapuran ◽  
Dragana Zivkovic ◽  
Nada Strbac
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Copper Ore ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Metallurgical Furnaces ◽  
Copper Metallurgy ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
The Bronze Age

The last three years of archaeological investigations at the site Ru`ana in Banjsko Polje, in the immediate vicinity of Bor, have provided new evidence regarding the role of non-ferrous metallurgy in the economy of the prehistoric communities of north-eastern Serbia. The remains of metallurgical furnaces and a large amount of metallic slags at two neighbouring sites in the mentioned settlement reveal that locations with many installations for the thermal processing of copper ore existed in the Bronze Age. We believe, judging by the finds of material culture, that metallurgical activities in this area also continued into the Iron Age and, possibly, into the 4th century AD.

The Symbolism of Colors in Art – Traditions and Modernity

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Dimcheva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Location ◽  
Symbolic Meaning ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Long Period ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ancient Times

The colors in art have always influenced the human consciousness through the power of the symbolism embedded in them from ancient times to the present. Some color values from the past are preserved for a long period of time, while others are transformed with a certain meaning in time, depending on various factors such as religion, cultural traditions, geographical location, etc. In modern times, the symbolic meaning of color is rethought with a new content, often uniting those laws that were once the basis of ancient knowledge.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Swift
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Social Experience ◽  
Social Convention ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Colonial Theory

The physical features of objects have a very direct relationship to social practices. Many of the everyday activities of human living require the use of tools and equipment, and this material culture has developed in close relationship with the human behaviour it makes possible. At the simplest level, artefact features can provide information about what objects were used for and what activities were carried out in the past. Yet they can also tell us much more: about the perceived agency of objects, about past users and their social experience, about cultural change and development in social practice, and about the persistence of tradition and social convention. In this book, I draw on a range of perspectives from design and craft theory. These perspectives were mostly developed in the context of studies of modern objects or those of the more recent historical past. They relate to the practical uses of artefacts, for instance as tools and equipment. These approaches encourage us to re-examine a functional approach to archaeological artefacts. They can be useful in prompting us to ask new questions, and to engage with previously neglected categories of material. I will explore design theory in relation to Roman material culture, in particular, investigating the following areas: (1) The relationship between the form of objects and their actual use/s. (2) How the material properties of objects relate to social experience, behaviour, and cultural traditions. (3) Assumptions about intended users evident through object design. (4) How aspects of production affect human relationships with objects. I hope to both reveal important new aspects of Roman social practice, and help us to better understand the relationships between people, objects, and behaviour that existed in, and shaped, Roman and provincial Roman society. The social function of artefacts as possessions and commodities has been extensively studied in both archaeology and anthropology, drawing on artefact appearance and decorative style and its significance. A definitive volume on material culture summarizes theoretical approaches to artefacts, including object biography, post-colonial theory, globalization, and consumption theory. Such approaches have been influential in Roman archaeology.

scholarly journals Contextualising Numismatic with Religion: Focus on Medieval Northeast India

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Debajit Dutta
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Northeast India ◽  
The State ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Religious Symbolism ◽  
Cultural Affinity

Coins are utility object mostly produced by the state for the use of day-do-day transactions, long-distance trade and sometimes as gifts. Hence, numismatic has mainly been used for the study of economic, political and administrative histories. But numismatic can also be used for the reconstruction of the material culture of our glorious past. By a minute study of our ancient and medieval coinage, we can get an impression about contemporary religious and cultural sensibilities of various ethnic societies. By examining the religious epithets and figures of gods and goddesses and other non-anthropogenic signs present on the coins, one can judge the religious affiliation of the state or the king. This article will address the issue of religious symbolism on medieval Northeast Indian dynastic coins like those of Tripura, Koch Behar and Ahom kingdoms and will try to ventilate how these kingdoms used coins to advocate their religio-cultural affinity as well as to maintain their sovereign stature for quite a long period in their respective domains.

scholarly journals A view from the margin? Roman commonwares and patterns of distribution and consumption at Interamna Lirenas (Lazio)

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 323-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Launaro ◽  
Ninetta Leone
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Roman Empire ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Widespread Distribution ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Trade And Exchange

There can hardly be any doubt that goods moved in large quantities and over great distances under the Roman empire. This awareness is borne out of a long tradition of archaeological research attesting to the widespread distribution of specific categories of material culture across the full expanse of the Mediterranean and beyond. This phenomenon has been interpreted as a more or less direct result of Rome's military expansion and the fundamental political unification which came with it, bringing about unprecedented conditions which favoured trade and exchange. Scholarship has often stressed the rôle played in this by ‘institutions’: the spread and adoption of a common set of laws, currency and units of measure, fostered by a relatively long period of internal peace and political stability, would have boosted the economic performance of the empire to levels that had not been witnessed before and would not be seen again for many centuries. Indeed, the notion of ‘efflorescence’ has sometimes been employed to describe and explain the kind of economic growth to which this process might have contributed.

scholarly journals On Vastness and Variability: Cultural Transmission, Historicity, and the Paleoindian Record in Eastern South America

2015 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 1239-1258 ◽  
Author(s):  
ASTOLFO G.M. ARAUJO
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
South America ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
South American ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Early Human

Eastern South America, or what is today Brazilian territory, poses interesting questions about the early human occupation of the Americas. Three totally distinct and contemporaneous lithic technologies, dated between 11,000 and 10,000 14C BP, are present in different portions of the country: the Umbu tradition in the south, with its formal bifacial industry, with well-retouched scrapers and bifacial points; the Itaparica tradition in the central-west / northwest, totally unifacial, whose only formal artifacts are limaces; and the "Lagoa Santa" industry, completely lacking any formal artifacts, composed mainly of small quartz flakes. Our data suggests that these differences are not related to subsistence or raw-material constraints, but rather to different cultural norms and transmission of strongly divergent chaînes opératoires. Such diversity in material culture, when viewed from a cultural transmission (CT) theory standpoint, seems at odds with a simple Clovis model as the origin of these three cultural traditions given the time elapsed since the first Clovis ages and the expected population structure of the early South American settlers.

For $1,000 You Can Be a Dog Soldier: The Tribe of Should-Be-Ashamed

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-21
Author(s):  
Sean Daley ◽  
Jason Hale ◽  
Shelly Bointy ◽  
T. Smith ◽  
Charley Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
American Indian ◽  
Native People ◽  
Cultural Imperialism ◽  
Indian Culture ◽  
Sports Teams ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
American Indian Health ◽  
The Media ◽  
Research And Education

The use of American Indian imagery, material culture, and cultural traditions by non-Native peoples has received much recent attention by scholars, activists, and the media. However, most of the attention has been focused on sports teams and mascots. One area that has received little attention is the appropriation of Indian imagery and traditions by non-sports related organizations. This article details a recent meeting between members of the American Indian Health Research and Education Alliance (AIHREA) and leaders from the Tribe of the Mic-O-Say. The Tribe of the Mic-O-Say is a Boy Scouts of America™ honor society for Scouts in eastern Kansas and western Missouri who want to "play Indian." The Mic-O-Say have a long history of misappropriating and misrepresenting Indian culture and traditions as well as engaging in cultural imperialism. This alienates Native people from their traditions, undermines self-determination, and creates further animosity and distrust between Natives and non-Natives.

Local and imported pottery in the Neolithic Gulf: a new perspective from the site of Bahra 1 in Kuwait

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 595-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Smogorzewska
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Economic Context ◽  
Ceramic Vessels ◽  
The Cross ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
New Evidence

The paper presents a new perspective on pottery traditions in the Gulf during the Neolithic period, based on new data from the Ubaid-related site of Bahra 1 in Kuwait. The site yielded an assemblage containing several different pottery types, classified as Ubaid Ware and Coarse Red Ware. These pottery groups were varied in many aspects: morphological types, technology, and provenance. Their main characteristics and cultural context are discussed, as well as the cross--pottery connections. The significance of these ceramic vessels for the Gulf population and their socio-economic context are also considered in this paper, given the new evidence from Bahra 1

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document