scholarly journals Insights on Eastern Hellenistic Historical and Archaeological Material Culture of the Oikoumene: Globalisation and Local Socio-Cultural Identities

Heritage ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 3307-3330
Author(s):  
Naif Adel Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Alexander The Great ◽  
Local Identity ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Greek Culture ◽  
Mass Migration ◽  
Two Kingdoms ◽  
Art And Architecture

This paper focuses on the Hellenistic Middle East, especially the age of Ptolemaic Alexandrian and Syrian Seleucid influence. It investigates and clarifies some of the Hellenistic-age historical and archaeological material culture within the Hellenisation and globalisation conceptions. Furthermore, it suggests that by reviewing the context of the local socio-cultural identities in the Hellenistic Oikoumene, mainly based on the lingua franca about local identity and how the local identity was expressed on coinage during Hellenistic times, many related insights issues can be revealed. In addition, it also attempts to discuss and reveal aspects of the cultural sharing achievements in Hellenistic art, architecture, and urban built environment planning. Finally, how did Eastern Hellenistic cities manage to benefit from the process of Hellenistic globalisation and localisation/globalisation while minimising identity risks? The focus is on the transnational socio-cultural and economic area of Ptolemaic Alexandria, the centre of the post-Classical Greek world, and the Syrian Seleucid influence. As an investment, mass migration and the transfer of goods, culture, and ideas increasingly transformed these Middle Eastern cities and shaped their translocal culture conception, local socio-cultural identities, cultural sharing, art and architecture edifice forms, and spatial patterns in the Hellenistic period. One of the main contributions and significance of this study is to continue the dialogue of how non-Greek influence in Hellenistic times impacted an area that has been traditionally seen as unaffected or minimally affected by years under foreign rule. This also sheds new light on some Greco-Macedonian topics not sufficiently debated in the Oikoumene discussion dialogue. These two aspects would furthermore contribute to better understanding and accepting the neglected role of the contribution of non-Greek culture to Greek achievements, as well as how the local non-Greek customs of the indigenous peoples of the Ptolemy and Seleucid kingdoms would affect how they assimilated Greco-Macedonian practices, and how the vision of Alexander the Great and Hellenisation worked in the different territories of these two kingdoms.

scholarly journals Formation of social-cultural units in the Gulf of Finland region in changing Early and Middle Holocene environment

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-186
Author(s):  
Dmitriy Vladimirovitch Gerasimov ◽  
Margarita Alekseevna Kholkina
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Gulf Of Finland ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Cultural Transformations ◽  
Mass Migration ◽  
Climatic Event ◽  
Early And Middle Holocene ◽  
Late Mesolithic ◽  
The Gulf Of Finland

Stone Age archaeological material from the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland region are evident of presence here a stable border between cultural areas from the Late Mesolithic till the end of Neolithic. Differences between those areas are mostly become apparent in the certain categories of archaeological finds - first of all in pottery (Sperrings, Narva and Late Neolithic types) as well as in decorations and mobile art. The border survives through millennia though sufficient cultural transformations in material culture developed during that time in the region. The border could arise in the Late Mesolithic, in the 7th - middle of the 6th ca. BC. Hypothetically its arising could be related to appearance of new people in the region, and possibly with the 8200 cal. BP climatic event. The border is visible in archaeological material till the mass migration of the Corded Ware culture people in the region about the turn of 4th and 3d ca. BC. The phenomenon of the Typical Combed Ware culture that existed in the region from the end of 5th till the second half of the 4th ca. BC probably was not related to the new people coming but can reflect integration of the aborigine population in response to some outer (socio-cultural?) factors.

scholarly journals Studije tehnologije i studije materijalne kulture: mogućnosti bliže saradnje na primeru koštanih artefakata

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Selena Vitezović ◽  
Ivan Vranić
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Technology Studies ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
History Of ◽  
State Of Affairs

Bone artefacts are among the less thoroughly studied classes of archaeological material, especially in the case of particular periods and regions. The reasons behind this are not uniform. The most obvious and general are linked to the research practices of culture-historical archaeology, often neglecting bone artefacts, considering them not sufficiently attractive or informative. The most significant shift towards recognition of a set of potential information gained from bone objects was achieved in the framework of studies of prehistoric technology during the second half of 20th century, especially in the French archaeological school.  This research strategy raised a number of questions concerning the acquisition of raw material, modes of production and usage of objects, whose interpretative potential gained in power, leading to the increased attention paid to faunal remains in archaeological investigations. Yet this source of information on the actual details of relations between people and material culture, opened by technology studies, has not been sufficiently explored.  It may be suggested that the reasons are the narrow specialization of researchers and insufficient inclusion of the gathered information into the wider interpretive framework, various traditions and lack of cooperation among the national archaeological “schools”, language barriers etc. However, the main reason behind this state of affairs may be sought for in non-integrated theoretical perspectives and the lack of clearly articulated interpretive position of researchers seeking to apply the knowledge gained from technology studies, considering this strategy as an “objective, scientific method”, providing concrete answers clearly complying to the expectations of the dominant archaeological paradigm.The paper offers a critical review of a number of examples of application of technology studies in archaeology and possible directions of a more integrated and theoretically informed approach. One of the obvious solutions may be sought in the direction of another research strategy – material culture studies. The aim of the paper is thus to link these two approaches, whose theoretical foundations are not uniform today, but the history of the ideas and the mode of articulation of the basic theoretical assumptions indicate similar theoretical roots.

Post-Meroe in Upper Nubia

2021 ◽  
pp. 730-757
Author(s):  
Mahmoud El-Tayeb
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Pottery Production ◽  
Mortuary Practice ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Close Observation ◽  
Tangible Evidence ◽  
White Nile ◽  
Comprehensive Studies

Upper Nubia stretches from the Second Cataract upstream to the Gezira region south of Khartoum, including Sinnar-Roseires on the southern Blue Nile and Kosti on the White Nile, a distance of not less than 1,500 km. Close observation of the material culture excavated in this ample territory shows a subdivision of Upper Nubia into three zones after the Meroitic Period, in spite of the broad similarities within this cultural horizon. Aspects of regionalism are based on geographical and natural elements in addition to the variety of mortuary practice and pottery production, which are the main sources of information about the period under study. One of the major problems is the lack of organized comprehensive studies in Upper Nubia. Therefore, still debatable are the conventional theories on the Axumite and Noba invasions, while as demonstrated in this text, there is no tangible evidence for such theories in archaeological material. Still open for discussion is the term “Post-Meroe.”

Settlement «Psif-3»

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
А.В. Иванов ◽  
В.В. Трубников
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Greek Culture ◽  
Work Done

In the article presented to the attention of the reader, the results of the work done at the settlement «Psif-3» located in the Crimean region of the Krasnodar Territory, near the Krasnobatareiny settlement. The description of the monument, its place among the antiquities of the region, as well as the analysis of archaeological material, on the basis of which the chronological framework of the settlement - IV c. BC. An attempt at cultural attribution of the monument leads the authors to the conclusion that the «Psif-3» settlement not only combines features of both barbaric and Greek culture, and may be the key to understanding the processes taking place in the region as a whole. 

Material Culture, Art, and Architecture

2021 ◽  
pp. 993-1028
Author(s):  
Vivian B. Mann ◽  
Shalom Sabar
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Art And Architecture

scholarly journals The Ancient Samaritans and Greek Culture

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 290
Author(s):  
Pieter W. van der Horst
Keyword(s):  
Near East ◽  
Alexander The Great ◽  
Greek Culture ◽  
Gradual Process

After the conquest of the Near East by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, the Samaritans, like all other peoples in the region, fell under the influence of Greek culture. In a gradual process of Hellenization, the Samaritans developed their own variant of Hellenism. The extant fragments of Samaritan literature in Greek, as well as quite a number of Greco-Samaritan inscriptions (both in Palestine and the diaspora) testify to the existence of a variegated Samaritan Hellenism.

scholarly journals Materiality and the urban: recent theses in archaeology and material culture and their importance for the study of urban history

Urban History ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 564-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
KATHERINE FENNELLY
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Material Environment ◽  
Material Turn ◽  
Strong Position ◽  
Archaeological Sciences ◽  
Structured Approach

Half a century on from Ivor Noel Hume's reference to archaeology as the ‘handmaiden to history’, historical-period archaeology has come quite a way. From disparate origins, in anthropological approaches to material and rescue archaeology in North America, and industrial and buildings archaeology in Britain and Europe, the sub-discipline has coalesced into a structured approach to the recent past. Hume's comment is often misinterpreted as a critique of archaeology's supposed inferiority to history, yet his comment actually refers to the potential for archaeological material to inform historical narratives, fill in gaps and populate the histories of non-literate peoples with a material culture. Unfortunately, overlap between the two disciplines is still in relatively short supply. In light of the recent material turn in the humanities, however, as well as an increased interest amongst historians and geographers in engaging with material culture, archaeological approaches to artifacts, sites and built heritage are in a strong position to inform methods for examining the historical material environment. Collaboration is now not only necessary, but timely, and this review of theses is an attempt to further that potential for co-operation amongst those who study the past. The doctoral theses reviewed here explore changes and developments in the modern city from a material perspective, evidencing both the breadth of approaches and the potential for research in the arts and archaeological sciences to stimulate new studies across different disciplines.

Archaeology and Material Culture of Moab and the Moabites

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Porter
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Subsistence Economies ◽  
Permanent Settlement ◽  
Second Millennium Bce ◽  
Landscape Survey ◽  
Epigraphic Evidence ◽  
The 19Th Century

Moab was both a culture area and an Iron Age kingdom located in the west-central half of the modern Middle Eastern country of Jordan. Moab is mentioned frequently in the Hebrew Bible and was often in contact with its Israelite neighbors. Scholars have used the biblical text to reconstruct Moab’s history and society despite the original authors’ and editors’ skewed perspectives on the kingdom. Moab has been the subject of archaeological research since the latter third of the 19th century. Landscape surveys have identified many large and small settlements across the region while excavations at key settlements have documented public and private architecture, and recovered art and epigraphic evidence. This research has been reported over many decades in archaeological and landscape survey reports, and the evidence has been frequently summarized in scholarly syntheses. Moab’s development occurred in three phases. During the Iron I period, a collection of small settlements was founded at the end of the second millennium bce. These semi-autonomous settlements organized their household and communal agro-pastoral subsistence economies at local levels. The point at which these settlements began to be integrated into a political polity likely occurred in the late 10th or early 9th century, the beginning of the Iron II period. The Mesha Inscription, a royal inscription of one of Moab’s earlier kings, describes how he increased his territory, established a new capital and cult center at Dhiban, and incorporated new populations within an expanded kingdom. The Mesopotamian empire of Assyria began to intervene in Moab’s and its neighbors’ affairs starting in the mid-8th century, commencing the Iron III period. Soon after, Moab’s agro-pastoralist economy and textile industries intensified, a change likely brought on by producers responding to new international markets and Assyria’s demand for taxes and tribute. Currently, very little is known about Moab in the final centuries of the Iron Age, the 6th through 4th centuries bce. Permanent settlement activity decreased during these centuries, possibly due to a combination of population deportations and the return to semi-sedentary and nomadic settlement practices. Readers should note that transliterations of ancient and Arabic place names have shifted over the course of modern scholarship. Some titles may preserve older variants that contrast with the now updated versions.

On Social Aspects of the Usage of Guide-Dogs and Long-Canes

1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shlomo Deshen ◽  
Hilda Deshen
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Blind People ◽  
Social Stratum ◽  
Guide Dogs ◽  
Mobility Aids ◽  
Natural Element ◽  
Material Artifacts ◽  
Made In

The paper argues that discredit pertains not only to individuals, but also to the implements of aid that discredited persons use to overcome their situation. Focusing on the mobility aids of blind people, the paper demonstrates that as a consequence of the diffusion of discredit, the users of guide-dogs and long-canes mould their usage practices in particular ways. Namely, according to norms which the users conceive to be unobjectionable to sighted people. Thus cane-users considered the sound that their canes emitted to be embarassing, and tried to avoid causing it. Also guide-dog usage was inhibited as a result of traditional Middle-Eastern attitudes towards dogs. In concluding, the ambiguity of blind people toward their mobility aids is juxtaposed with their accepting attitude toward television sets in their homes. The latter are conceived by blind people as a natural element of the material culture of the sighted environment. Consequently, even blind people for whom television sets are manifestly unsuited introduce them into their lives. This leads to the conclusion that material artifacts are conceptualized in society generally, according to practices that are attuned to the dominant social stratum. The data are drawn from observations made in the course of ethnographic field-work in a population of blind people in Israel.

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