Connecting Fragments: a Sensorial Approach to the Materialization of Religious Beliefs in Rural Mesopotamia at the Beginning of the Second Millennium BC

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Laneri
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Tigris River ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Economic Domain ◽  
Contextual Association

The materialization of religious beliefs is a complex process involving an active dialectic between ideas and practices that are physically engraved in the artefactual remains of ritual activities. However, this process is relevant only if it is based on a contextual association of elements (e.g. the performance of ceremonial activities, the creation of symbolic objects, the construction of ceremonial spaces) that validates the meaning of each component as part of a whole. Thus, archaeologists should try to connect these elements to form a network of meanings that stimulated the senses of ancient individuals in framing their cognitive perception of the divine. The study here presented will thus tackle such general theoretical tenets focusing particularly on the importance of the materialization of religious beliefs in constructing the ideological and economic domain of small-scale societies in rural contexts. In so doing, these topics will be confronted and developed through the analysis and interpretation of the archaeological data obtained from the Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000-1600 BC) architectural complex at the northern Mesopotamian site of Hirbemerdon Tepe, located along the upper Tigris river valley region in modern southeastern Turkey.

The Iron Age Enclosures and Prehistoric Landscape of Sutton Common, South Yorkshire

1997 ◽  
Vol 63 ◽  
pp. 221-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Parker Pearson ◽  
R.E. Sydes ◽  
S. Boardman ◽  
B. Brayshay ◽  
P.C. Buckland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

The Early Iron Age enclosures and associated sites on Sutton Common on the western edge of the Humberhead Levels contain an exceptional variety of archaeological data of importance not only to the region but for the study of later prehistory in the British Isles. Few other later prehistoric British sites outside the East Anglian fens and the Somerset Levels have thus far produced the quantity and quality of organically preserved archaeological materials that have been found, despite the small scale of the investigations to date. The excavations have provided an opportunity to integrate a variety of environmental analyses, of wood, pollen, beetles, waterlogged and carbonised plant remains, and of soil micromorphology, to address archaeological questions about the character, use, and environment of this Early Iron Age marsh fort. The site is comprised of a timber palisaded enclosure and a succeeding multivallate enclosure linked to a smaller enclosure by a timber alignment across a palaeochannel, with associated finds ranging in date from the Middle Bronze Age to the Roman and medieval periods. Among the four adjacent archaeological sites is an Early Mesolithic occupation site, also with organic preservation, and there is a Late Neolithic site beneath the large enclosure. Desiccation throughout the common is leading to the damage and loss of wooden and organic remains. It is hoped that the publication of these results, of investigations between 1987 and 1993, will lead to a fuller investigation taking place.

scholarly journals Ritual and Identity in Rural Mesopotamia: Hirbemerdon Tepe and the Upper Tigris River Valley in the Middle Bronze Age

2015 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Laneri ◽  
Mark Schwartz ◽  
Jason Ur ◽  
Anacleto d’Agostino ◽  
Remi Berthon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Tigris River ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

Architecture: Building Dynamics at the Micro-Scale

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quentin Letesson ◽  
Carl Knappett
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Micro Scale ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Architectural Features ◽  
Great Debate ◽  
Data Resolution ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Roofing Material

In this section we tackle individual buildings. For domestic structures, the scale is that of the household, whereas for more monumental buildings—such as the palaces or the so-called ‘villas’—the association with a particular social group is still a matter of great debate, although the term ‘corporate group’ has been recently put forward (Driessen 2010; Schoep and Tomkins 2012). Bronze Age Crete presents an extremely rich architectural landscape; indeed, many buildings are sufficiently well preserved to allow detailed studies not only of their layout but also of their construction techniques (Devolder 2014; Shaw 2009). The discovery of the town of Akrotiri, buried under metres of tephra, has also provided plenty of evidence for architectural features—most notably perishable elements such as timber and roofing material—that have only left scant traces on Crete (Palyvou 2005; Tsakanika-Theochari 2006). Nevertheless, as for any other scale (see chapters 6 and 11), gaps in our archaeological data necessarily impede some analyses at the micro-scale. Often, in Minoan archaeology, the built environment has been partially recorded, and data collection varies from extremely detailed at some sites to almost non-existent for the large-scale early excavations of the beginning of the twentieth century. Furthermore, in terms of data resolution, Neopalatial architectural remains outweigh by far those of other periods, both in terms of quantity and quality. With the exception of the small settlements of Myrtos Fournou Korifi (Sanders 1990; Warren 1972) and Vasiliki (Zois 1992), Early Minoan architectural remains are relatively scarce. The situation is even more problematic for Middle Minoan buildings. Although Malia produced incredibly well-preserved remains of a Middle Bronze Age town, with buildings like Quartier Mu (Poursat 1978, 1996), the Bâtiment Dessenne (Devolder, Déderix, and Fadin 2012–13; Devolder, Caloi, and Gomrée forthcoming), the Agora (van Effenterre and van Effenterre 1969), and the Crypte Hypostyle (Amouretti 1970), we are not as fortunate with other sites. Middle Bronze Age remains were nonetheless excavated in many areas of the island, but later constructions often make detailed investigations almost impossible.

Gateway to the Yayla: The Varneti Archaeological Complex in the Southern Caucasus Highlands

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-43
Author(s):  
William Anderson ◽  
Michelle Negus Cleary ◽  
Jessie Birkett-Rees ◽  
Damjan Krsmanovic ◽  
Nikoloz Tskvitinidze
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Pastoral Communities ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Southern Caucasus ◽  
Upland Pasture ◽  
Southern Georgia

Recent ground surveys in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of southern Georgia have investigated a previously undocumented group of sites along a ridge overlooking the upper Kura river valley. Features and artefacts recorded at Varneti suggest long but episodic occupation from the Chalcolithic to the later medieval periods, with prominent phases in the Early to Middle Bronze Age and the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age. Varneti has the potential to contribute to understanding economic and strategic aspects of the long-term settlement pattern in the southern Caucasus, especially the interplay between lowland and highland zones. Its position in the landscape, at a transitional point between the river valley and the upland pasture (yayla), may explain its persistent use by agro-pastoral communities that operated in varied cultural situations. The survey results help us frame a series of questions regarding economic and social dynamics at a local and regional scale and the continuity and discontinuity of practice in highland environments through long timespans.

scholarly journals Evidence for Holocene Aeolian Activity at the Close of the Middle Bronze Age in the Eastern Carpathian Basin: Geoarchaeological Results from the Mureş River Valley, Romania

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah C. Sherwood ◽  
Jason D. Windingstad ◽  
Alex W. Barker ◽  
John M. O'Shea ◽  
W. Cullen Sherwood
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Carpathian Basin ◽  
Aeolian Activity ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

“To the God Who is in Dan”: The Archaeology and History of Biblical Dan

2009 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-359
Author(s):  
John C.H. Laughlin
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Iron Age Ii ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Northern Kingdom ◽  
History Of ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
The City

This article consists of two foci. First, the archaeological history of Tel Dan as revealed by the longest running excavation ever conducted in Israel will be surveyed. Emphasis will be given to the major periods of known urbanization of the site: The Early Bronze Age; the Middle Bronze Age; and the Iron Age II. The materials dated to Iron Age II will be especially emphasized because they have the most significance for any attempt to understand the city of Dan during the biblical period. The second issue to be discussed is the thorny one of relating biblical texts to archaeological data or vice-versa. The Bible is not written as straightforward history, whatever that may be. Thus biblical texts cannot often be taken at face value in evaluating their historical content. It will be argued that is especially true of the mostly negative and hostile attitude seen towards the City of Dan in the Bible. It will be concluded that this view of Dan is due to the literary formation and editing of the texts as we now have them in the Bible. This hostility represents a Judean perspective which is very negative of the northern kingdom of Israel that was created after the death of Solomon.

scholarly journals The never-ending Quest for the Elites:New Approaches to the Study of Cemeteries and Social Organization

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pınar Durgun
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Eastern Anatolia ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
Great Transition ◽  
Ruling Elites ◽  
Urban Sites

The Early Bronze Age (EBA) in Anatolia (3100/3000-2000 BCE.)[1] is considered a period of great transition when urban societies developed and when extramural cemeteries started to emerge. Western Anatolian sites like Troy and Külloba have yielded monumental walls, or architecturally distinct quarters. However none of these sites have yielded extramural cemeteries. Extramural cemeteries of the EBA are only associated with small-scale sites such as Karataş (southwest Anatolia) and Demircihöyük (northwest Anatolia) which have been referred to as “chiefdoms”. Labeling these non-urban sites as chiefdoms inevitably led to the quest of finding the chief in these cemeteries. As a result, certain burial types, and burials with grave goods of higher quantity and better quality have been used as evidence for wealth and status, hence the presence of ruling elites. In this paper I suggest different ways of making use of the archaeological data from cemeteries to understand the social organization without falling into the same social evolutionary pitfalls.[1] In this presentation when I refer to Anatolia, I will be referring to the central and western parts of the peninsula, not to eastern Anatolia which in the Early Bronze Age is culturally and economically closer to Northern Mesopotamia.

Kinship-based social inequality in Bronze Age Europe

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 366 (6466) ◽  
pp. 731-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alissa Mittnik ◽  
Ken Massy ◽  
Corina Knipper ◽  
Fabian Wittenborn ◽  
Ronny Friedrich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Inequality ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
High Status ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Shed Light

Revealing and understanding the mechanisms behind social inequality in prehistoric societies is a major challenge. By combining genome-wide data, isotopic evidence, and anthropological and archaeological data, we have gone beyond the dominating supraregional approaches in archaeogenetics to shed light on the complexity of social status, inheritance rules, and mobility during the Bronze Age. We applied a deep microregional approach and analyzed genome-wide data of 104 human individuals deriving from farmstead-related cemeteries from the Late Neolithic to the Middle Bronze Age in southern Germany. Our results reveal individual households, lasting several generations, that consisted of a high-status core family and unrelated low-status individuals; a social organization accompanied by patrilocality and female exogamy; and the stability of this system over 700 years.

The early second millennium ceramic assemblage from Kenan Tepe, southeastern Turkey. A preliminary assessment

2003 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 33-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley J. Parker ◽  
Lynn Swartz Dodd
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Initial Assessment ◽  
Carbon 14 ◽  
Tigris River ◽  
Survey Report ◽  
River Region ◽  
Interaction Spheres ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Initial Survey

AbstractIn the initial survey of the upper Tigris river valley the authors of the survey report concluded that ‘either this portion of the Tigris basin was bypassed entirely by Middle Bronze Age development attested to elsewhere or, more likely, it is characterised by a thus far unreported and unrecognised assemblage’ (Algaze et al. 1991: 183). Recent research by members of the Upper Tigris Archaeological Research Project (UTARP) at the site of Kenan Tepe confirms the latter hypothesis, that the early second millennium in this area is marked by a regionally distinct material culture assemblage that is influenced by ceramic traditions in upper Mesopotamia and other material culture traditions in Anatolia. This article outlines our initial assessment of these data including an analysis of the ceramic corpus, architecture, archaeobotany, small finds and carbon-14, and places these data in a regional context. We conclude by speculating that the inhabitants of Kenan Tepe may have participated in interaction spheres that linked the upper Tigris river region to greater Mesopotamia and Anatolia.

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