Download or read book Nomads in Late Chalcolithic Northern Mesopotamia written by A Khaled Abu Jayyab and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Due to the nature of their lifestyle and inherent mobility nomadic groups of the past have left little if any discernible imprint in excavated archaeological records. This is regrettable since most regions of the world that saw the emergence of complex societies were shaped by pastoralism as much as by agriculture, requiring us to study the modes in which nomadic and sedentary populations interacted with each other. My study addresses the transformative impact that nomadic groups had on Northern Syria and Northern Mesopotamia during the Early Late Chalcolithic period (4500 - 3800 BC), a crucial time span of social and technological innovations that foreshadowed the "Urban Revolution" of the 4th millennium BC. Using chaîne opératoire as underlying analytical tool I studied material assemblages from surveys and excavations across southeastern Turkey, Northern Syria, northern Iraq and Western Iran to identify items of material culture that can be associated with non-sedentary populations and their seasonal movements within this greater region. This study was complemented by detailed petrographic analyses of ceramics from key sites that had seen extensive excavation. My study not only contributes to a better regional understanding of Late Chalcolithic societies (notably the social and economic relationships between settlements and hinterland) but also provides a template for how to enhance the visibility of the "invisible nomad" within the archaeological record.

Download or read book The Amorites written by Charles River and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-28 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading "There is no king who is mighty by himself. Ten or fifteen kings follow Hammurabi the ruler of Babylon, a like number of Rim-Sin of Larsa, a like number of Ibal-pi-el of Eshnunna, a like number of Amud-pi-el of Qatanum, but twenty follow Yarim-Lim of Yamhad." - A tablet sent to Zimri-Lim of Mari, describing Yarim-Lim I's authority. Animal and plant domestication first began during the Neolithic Period around 12000 BCE in the swath of land known as the Fertile Crescent, which included all of Mesopotamia and then arched in northern Mesopotamia/Assyria, before covering most of the Levant, which is roughly equivalent with the modern nation-states of Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria. The process from nomadic hunter-gatherer societies to sedentary, agriculture-based societies was gradual, though, and took place over a 2,000-year period. By about 8000 BCE, the first notable cities had formed, although they were more like towns by today's standards in terms of size. Jericho in the Levant was one of the earliest notable towns, and by 6000 BCE settlements had sprung up across the Fertile Crescent (Haywood 2005, 22). The creative impetus of organized society in the Fertile Crescent initially came from southern Mesopotamia, where the Sumerians introduced writing and other hallmarks of civilization to the region just before 3000 BCE, but in less than 1,000 years, things changed dramatically. Mesopotamia experienced the rise and fall of the Sumerian based dynasty in Uruk in the early 3rd millennium BCE, followed by the Akkadian Dynasty in the mid-3rd millennium, and the Third Dynasty of Ur in the late 3rd millennium. Each of these dynasties claimed hegemony over large parts of Mesopotamia during the apogees of their power, with the Ur III Dynasty even expanding its influence (but not control) into Syria and Persia. However, when these great regional powers collapsed, it created a vacuum in which new city-states would form, grow, and repeat the process. The city-states that were in the middle of Mesopotamia would either reap the benefits of this process by taking land and cities, or they would experience the pitfalls by being conquered or destroyed, but those on the periphery had a unique perspective and experience. As the Canaanites established themselves in most of the Levant and the Hurrians carved out space for themselves in northwestern Syria, a West Semitic ethnic group known as the Amorites entered Mesopotamia and Syria from the Arabian Desert. The movement of the Amorites and Hurrians coincided with the collapse of the Ur III Dynasty after 2004 BCE (Haywood 2005, 28), although it is not known for sure if the collapse of Ur III led to the movement of peoples, or if the movement at least partially led to the collapse. As the Ur III Dynasty grew weak internally, it could be that the Amorite attacks were a major factor in the destruction of the state. It must be stated, though, that it was the Elamites who ultimately delivered the coup de grace that brought Ur III to its knees. The more likely scenario is that the Amorites simply took advantage of the power vacuum that was created when Ur III collapsed. The Amorites actually belonged to several sub-tribes and did not necessarily move in unison, but they did migrate in such large numbers that they were able to overwhelm much of Mesopotamia and northeastern Syria by about 1800 BCE. All of the notable political dynasties and city-states from this period - Babylon, Mari, Assyria, Eshnunna, and Yamhad - were established by ethnic Amorites (Haywood 32-33), although only traces of the Amorite identity were retained. The Amorites accepted standard Mesopotamian and Syrian religious practices, utilized the Akkadian language and the cuneiform writing style extensively, and built monumental architecture based on the Sumerian and Akkadian styles.

Download or read book Nomads Tribes and the State in the Ancient Near East written by University of Chicago. Oriental Institute and published by Oriental Inst Publications Sales. This book was released on 2009 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For decades, scholars have struggled to understand the complex relationship between pastoral nomadic tribes and sedentary peoples of the Near East. The Oriental Institute's fourth annual post-doc seminar (March 7-8, 2008), Nomads, Tribes, and the State in the Ancient Near East, brought together archaeologists, historians, and anthropologists to discuss new approaches to enduring questions in the study of nomadic peoples, tribes, and states of the past: What social or political bonds link tribes and states? Could nomadic tribes exhibit elements of urbanism or social hierarchies? How can the tools of historical, archaeological, and ethnographic research be integrated to build a dynamic picture of the social landscape of the Near East? This volume presents a range of data and theoretical perspectives from a variety of regions and periods, including prehistoric Iran, ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, seventh-century Arabia, and nineteenth-century Jordan.

Download or read book Metal Nomads and Culture Contact written by Nils Anfinset and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fifth and fourth millennia BCE saw major cultural changes in the southern Levant and Northeast Africa: the spread of agriculture; developments in animal husbandry; increased contact between cultures; and the use of alloy bronze. 'Metal, Nomads and Culture Contact' integrates archaeological data from across the Chalcolithic period to contextualise these changes. The book examines the introduction of metal to the southern Levant, Egypt and Lower Nubia and the role of pastoral nomadism in cultural interaction and exchange. 'Metal, Nomads and Culture Contact' will be valuable to scholars of archaeology and anthropology.

Download or read book Metal Nomads and Culture Contact written by Nils Anfinset and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fifth and fourth millennia BCE saw major cultural changes in the southern Levant and Northeast Africa: the spread of agriculture; developments in animal husbandry; increased contact between cultures; and the use of alloy bronze. 'Metal, Nomads and Culture Contact' integrates archaeological data from across the Chalcolithic period to contextualise these changes. The book examines the introduction of metal to the southern Levant, Egypt and Lower Nubia and the role of pastoral nomadism in cultural interaction and exchange. 'Metal, Nomads and Culture Contact' will be valuable to scholars of archaeology and anthropology.

Download or read book Nomadism in Iran written by Daniel T. Potts and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2014 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Potts examines the development of nomadism in Iran over the course of three millennia. Evidence of nomadism in prehistory is examined and found insufficient to justify claims of its great antiquity. The background of the earliest nomadic groups, identified as Persian tribes by Herodotus, is examined within the context of the migration of Iranian speakers onto the Iranian plateau in the late second or early first millennium B.C. Thereafter, evidence of nomadic groups in Late Antiquity and early Islamic times is reviewed.

Download or read book Mesopotamia Before History written by Petr Charvát and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-09-02 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mesopotamia was one of the earliest regions to produce writing, literature and the fine arts, as well as being one of the first areas to construct states. This comprehensive and detailed survey of the region's prehistory and protohistory shows how these fascinating developments were possible. Petr Charvát explores the economic, social and spiritual spheres in Mesopotamia from the Palaeolithic to the time of the early states, c. 100,000 BC to 2334 BC. The narrative is supplemented by numerous descriptions of the principal archaeological sites for each phase, and by conclusions outlining the most important developments and changes.

Download or read book Society and the Individual in Ancient Mesopotamia written by Laura Culbertson and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2024-10-21 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an overview of social life in ancient Mesopotamia, bringing together leading experts to survey key social domains of daily life as well as major non-dominant social groups. It serves as a point of entry to the current research in this field.

Download or read book Nomads in Archaeology written by Roger Cribb and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004-07-08 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book addresses the problem of how to study mobile peoples using archaeological techniques. It deals not only with the prehistory of nomads but also with current issues in theory and methodology.

Download or read book Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries written by Peter Roger Stuart Moorey and published by Eisenbrauns. This book was released on 1999 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first systematic attempt to survey in detail the archaeological evidence for the crafts and craftsmanship of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians in ancient Mesopotamia, covering the period ca. 8000-300 B.C.E. As creators of some of the earliest farming and urban communities known to us, these people were among the first pioneers of many crafts and skills that remain fundamental to modern ways of life. Many of the raw materials for crafts had to be imported from outside the river valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, providing an unusually sensitive indicator of the commercial and cultural contacts of Mesopotamia. In this book, Dr. Moorey reviews briefly the textual evidence, and then goes on to examine in detail the material evidence for a wide range of crafts using stones, both common and ornamental, animal products--from hippopotamus ivory to ostrich egg-shells--ceramics, glazed materials and glass, metals, and building materials. With a comprehensive bibliography, this will be a key work of reference for archaeologists and those interested in the early history of crafts and technology, as well as for specialist historians of the ancient Near East.

Download or read book The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East written by Karen Radner and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 805 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This groundbreaking, five-volume series offers a comprehensive, fully illustrated history of Egypt and Western Asia (the Levant, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Iran), from the emergence of complex states to the conquest of Alexander the Great. Written by a highly diverse, international team of leading scholars, whose expertise brings to life the people, places, and times of the remote past, the volumes in this series focus firmly on the political and social histories of the states and communities of the ancient Near East. Individual chapters present the key textual and material sources underpinning the historical reconstruction, paying particular attention to the most recent archaeological finds and their impact on our historical understanding of the periods surveyed. Commencing with the domestication of plants and animals, and the foundation of the first permanent settlements in the region, Volume I contains ten chapters that provide a masterful survey of the earliest dynasties and territorial states in the ancient Near East, concluding with the rise of the Old Kingdom in Egypt and the Dynasty of Akkad in Mesopotamia. Politics, ideology, religion, art, crafts, economy, military developments, and the built environment are all examined. Uniquely, emphasis is placed upon elucidating both the internal dynamics of these states and communities, as well as their external relationships with their neighbors in the wider region. The result is a thoughtful, critical, and robust survey of the populations that laid the foundation for all future developments in the ancient Near East.

Download or read book Mobile Pastoralism and the Formation of Near Eastern Civilizations written by Anne Porter and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-03-26 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the roles of mobile and sedentary members of the ancient world in ancient Mesopotamia.

Download or read book The Archaeology of Syria written by Peter M. M. G. Akkermans and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This was the first book to present a comprehensive review of the archaeology of Syria from the end of the Paleolithic period to 300 BC. Syria has become a prime focus of field archaeology in the Middle East in the past thirty years, and Peter Akkermans and Glenn Schwartz discuss the results of this intensive fieldwork, integrating them with earlier research. Alongside the major material culture types of each period, they examine important contributions of Syrian archaeology to issues like the onset of agriculture, the emergence of private property and social inequality, the rise and collapse of urban life, and the archaeology of early empires. All competing interpretations are set out and considered, alongside the authors' own perspectives and conclusions.

Download or read book Bridging Times and Spaces Papers in Ancient Near Eastern Mediterranean and Armenian Studies written by Pavel S. Avetisyan and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2017-10-31 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents papers written by colleagues of Professor Gregory E. Areshian on the occasion his 65th birthday. The range of topics includes Near Eastern, Mediterranean and Armenian archaeology, theory of interpretation in archaeology and art history, interdisciplinary history, historical linguistics, art history, and comparative mythology.

Download or read book Wool Economy in the Ancient Near East written by Catherine Breniquet and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2014-07-31 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of the Ancient Near East covers a huge chronological frame, from the first pictographic texts of the late 4th millennium to the conquest of Alexander the Great in 333 BC. During these millennia, different societies developed in a changing landscape where sheep (and their wool) always played an important economic role. The 22 papers presented here explore the place of wool in the ancient economy of the region, where large-scale textile production began during the second half of the 3rd millennium. By placing emphasis on the development of multi-disciplinary methodologies, experimentation and use of archaeological evidence combined with ancient textual sources, the wide-ranging contributions explore a number of key themes. These include: the first uses of wool in textile manufacture and organization of weaving; trade and exchange; the role of wool in institutionalized economies; and the reconstruction of the processes that led to this first form of industry in Antiquity. The numerous archaeological and written sources provide an enormous amount of data on wool, textile crafts, and clothing and these inter-disciplinary studies are beginning to present a comprehensive picture of the economic and cultural impact of woollen textiles and textile manufacturing on formative ancient societies.

Download or read book The Sacred Economy of Ancient Israel written by Roland Boer and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2015-04-20 with total page 570 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sacred Economy of Ancient Israel offers a new reconstruction of the economic context of the Bible and of ancient Israel. It argues that the key to ancient economies is with those who worked on the land rather than in intermittent and relatively weak kingdoms and empires. Drawing on sophisticated economic theory (especially the Régulation School) and textual and archaeological resources, Roland Boer makes it clear that economic “crisis†was the norm and that economics is always socially determined. He examines three economic layers: the building blocks (five institutional forms), periods of relative stability (three regimes), and the overarching mode of production. Ultimately, the most resilient of all the regimes was subsistence survival, for which the regular collapse of kingdoms and empires was a blessing rather than a curse. Students will come away with a clear understanding of the dynamics of the economy of ancient Israel. Boer's volume should become a new benchmark for future studies.

Download or read book The Pax Assyriaca The Historical Evolution of Civilisations and Archaeology of Empires written by Benjamin Toro and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2022-02-24 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study of the evolutionary process of ancient civilisations stresses the complementarity between theoretical principles and the relevant historical and archaeological evidence. Taking its approach from World Systems Theory, it focuses on the origin, development and collapse of the first, ‘Near Eastern’, stage of the ‘Central Civilisation’.