Following Oliver Dickinson's successful "The Aegean Bronze Age," this excellent textbook is an up-to-date synthesis of the period between the collapse of the Bronze Age civilization in the thirteenth and twelfth centuries BC, right up to the rise of the Greek civilization in the eight century BC.
With chapter bibliographies, distribution maps and illustrations, Dickinson's detailed examination of material and archaeological evidence argues that many characteristics of Ancient Greece developed in the Dark Ages. He also includes up-to-date coverage of the "Homeric question."
This highly informative text focuses on:
* the reasons for the Bronze age collapse which brought about the Dark Age
* the processes that enabled Greece to emerge from the Dark Age
* the degree of continuity from the Dark Age to later times.
Dickinson has provided an invaluable survey of this period that will not only be useful to specialists and undergraduates in thefield, but that will also prove highly popular with the interested general reader.

Following Oliver Dickinson's successful "The Aegean Bronze Age," this excellent textbook is an up-to-date synthesis of the period between the collapse of the Bronze Age civilization in the thirteenth and twelfth centuries BC, right up to the rise of the Greek civilization in the eight century BC.
With chapter bibliographies, distribution maps and illustrations, Dickinson's detailed examination of material and archaeological evidence argues that many characteristics of Ancient Greece developed in the Dark Ages. He also includes up-to-date coverage of the "Homeric question."
This highly informative text focuses on:
* the reasons for the Bronze age collapse which brought about the Dark Age
* the processes that enabled Greece to emerge from the Dark Age
* the degree of continuity from the Dark Age to later times.
Dickinson has provided an invaluable survey of this period that will not only be useful to specialists and undergraduates in thefield, but that will also prove highly popular with the interested general reader.

The most penetrating study of the curse ever conducted, The Mummy's Curse uncovers forgotten nineteenth-century fiction and poetry, revolutionizes the study of mummy horror films, and reveals the prejudices embedded in children's toys. Examining original surveys and field observations of museum visitors demonstrate that media stereotypes - to which museums inadvertently contribute - promote vilification of mummies, which can invalidate demands for their removal from display. Jasmine Day shows that the curse's structure and meaning has changed over time, as public attitudes toward archaeology and the Middle East were transformed by events such as the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. The riddle of the 'curse of the pharaohs' is finally solved via a radical anthropological treatment of the legend as a cultural concept rather than a physical phenomenon. A must for anyone interested in this ancient and mystifying legend.

The most penetrating study of the curse ever conducted, The Mummy's Curse uncovers forgotten nineteenth-century fiction and poetry, revolutionizes the study of mummy horror films, and reveals the prejudices embedded in children's toys. Examining original surveys and field observations of museum visitors demonstrate that media stereotypes - to which museums inadvertently contribute - promote vilification of mummies, which can invalidate demands for their removal from display. Jasmine Day shows that the curse's structure and meaning has changed over time, as public attitudes toward archaeology and the Middle East were transformed by events such as the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. The riddle of the 'curse of the pharaohs' is finally solved via a radical anthropological treatment of the legend as a cultural concept rather than a physical phenomenon. A must for anyone interested in this ancient and mystifying legend.

Modern conventional wisdom knows Olympias as a pitiless and savage woman, practitioner of barbaric Dionysian rites compelled by jealousy and ruthless ambition to the murder of her rivals in order to secure her son's succession to the throne of Macedon. In this way she is credited for Alexander the Great's unprecedented achievements-yet the scale of her son's epic story has obscured her own.
Such critical accounts of Olympias' actions have made unforgiving and often unfounded judgments of her motivations. This myth however originates from later Hellenic texts, to which her strength and tenacity represented an abhorrent contradiction to contemporary gender roles. Later historians have all too often perpetrated this ancient sexual stereotyping by failing to question these sources.
In this, the first modern biography of Olympias, Elizabeth Carney penetrates myth, fictional and sexual politics to reveal a fascinating and wholly misunderstood figure. Through a close and critical assessment of the sources, Olympias is humanized as she is placed in the context ofhen own brutal political world.
Looking separately at:
- The role of Greek religion in Olympias' life,
- Literary and artistic traditions about Olympias found throughout the later ancient periods, and
- Varying representations of Olypias found in the major ancient sources
This book will be the definitive guide to the life of the first woman to play a major role in Greek political history as well as a compelling read for students, scholars and anyone with an interest in Greek, Classical or women's history.

Until recently, ancient cities established along the banks of the northern Euphrates River were widely regarded as a cultural backwater compared to the civilized, archaic states of southern Mesopotamia in the third millennium BC. Archaeological investigations in recent decades, however, have shown that the northern Euphrates Valley possessed a complex and unique urban culture in its own right. Cities were densely inhabited, and many possessed extensive fortification systems, elite residences, prominent religious structures, well-crafted goods and impressive funerary monuments.
"Early Urbanism on the Syrian Euphrates" highlights the remarkably rich urban culture of the region, detailing the unique riverine environment of the region, in which a flexible economy based on a combination of agriculture, pastralism and hunting was successfully maintained and played an important role in sustaining the Euphrates' urban character over a long period of time. Cooper examines the persistent tribal background of the populations settled in this region, which prompted a high degree of social stability and heterarchical political relationships, also contributing to the cultural resilience of Early Bronze Euphrates urban communities. The combination of these key factors formed an interesting and enduring settlement history that provides an illuminating counterpoint to that witnessed in other regions of Mesopotamia and the rest of the Near East during the Early Bronze Age.

Franz Brentano (1838-1917) is a key figure in the development of Twentieth Century thought. It was his work that set Husserl on to the road of phenomenology and intentionality, that inspired Meinong's theory of the object which influenced Bertrand Russell, and the entire Polish school of philosophy.
Descriptive Psychology presents a series of lectures given by Brentano in 1887; they were the culmination of his work, and the clearest statement of his mature thought. It was this later period which proved to be so important in the work of his student, Husserl.
This is the first English translation of his work. Benito Muller has added a concise introduction which places Brentano within the history of philosophy and psychology, and locates his influence in contemporary thought.

Chinese Longquan ( ) celadon, a type of green-glazed ceramic, is one of the most famous branded and trade products, particularly during the 13th and 14th centuries. Its archaeological and historical materials possess multiple attributes with plentiful cultural information. The objective of the present book is to vivify these materials and provide readers and researchers a broader perspective and additional methodologies to review and gain a new and more profound understanding of Longquan celadon. The first part of this book focuses on elite Longquan celadon in Chinas Southern Song (SS) (11271278) and Yuan (12711368) periods and sets out to answer unresolved questions. How did Longquan potters elevate their products artistic quality from regional and popular acclaim to elite art, and create their products brand and successful marketing? What was the ceramics technological particularity that brought about its achievement as the commercial version of SS Guan (Imperial) ware? Why did its style change, and why did the production center shift after the end of the Southern Song period? In addressing these issues, the author explores the contemporary social atmosphere and local ecological environment. The second part focuses on elite Longquan celadon products as imports in medieval Japan. Beginning with the late Kamakura period (11921333) via the Muromachi shogunate (13921573) to the Edo (16031868) periods an extensive time span elite Longquan celadon ware circulated widely within elite class communities and Zen temples. These products played a crucial role in shaping medieval Japanese culture, bringing to the fore issues such as the Japanese manner of adopting Chinese Song and Yuan culture, and more generally cross-cultural transmission from China to Japan.

Did aliens build the pyramids? Do all the world's civilizations owe a debt of gratitude to a single super-civilization in ancient times? Was Egypt the home of magicians? Is there a fantastic body of ancient wisdom awaiting discovery, which will help solve the world's problems? These and other scenarios are thrown up by purveyors of what is often dubbed alternative, fringe or popular archaeology and ancient history. In reality, such work is properly called pseudoarchaeology since it is a muddled imitation of the real thing.
In this collection of stimulating and engaging essays, a diverse group of scholars, scientists, and writers consider the phenomenon of pseudoarchaeology from a variety of perspectives. They contemplate what differentiates it from real archaeology; its defining characteristics; the reasons for its popular appeal and how television documentaries contribute to its popularity; how nationalist agendas can warp genuine archaeology in to a pseudo-version; and the links between pseudoarchaeology and other brands of false history and pseudo science. Case studies include surveys of esoteric Egypt and the supposedly mystical Maya, Nazi pseudoarchaeology, and ancient pseudohistory in modern India.

From the ruins of the ancient seaside city of Acco, to the small but archaeologically important town of Yokneam, Fifty Major Cities of the Bible provides readers with a comprehensive guide to the ancient cities that played a vital role in the world from which the Bible originated.

Not only covering renowned cities such as Jerusalem and Jericho, the book also includes lesser known towns like Aroer, Beth-Zur and Gibeah, which have all provided their own valuable contributions to the way in which we now understand the biblical world.

A fascinating, easy-to-follow text, key features include:

* the biblical context of each city or town

* a summary of its known archeological history

* non-biblical references to the site

* photographs and illustrations

* a concise bibliography for further reading

Also provided is a handy reference map to the major archaeological sites in Israel, as well as chronological tables for easy reference.

Concise, informative and high accessible, Fifty Major Cities of the Bible is a superb overview of the cities and towns that made up the Biblical world, and an essential resource for students and enthusiasts.

What was it about epistolarity that appealed so strongly to the Greek imagination?
The first reference in Greek literature to a letter occurs in our oldest extant Greek poem, Homer's Iliad. But letters can be found lurking in every corner of ancient Greek writing. This book aims to bring the literary letters themselves into clear view for contemporary readers. Many ancient writers included letters in other narrative genres: Euripides brought letters on stage; historians included letters as documents; Greek novelists sprinkled their stories with letters exchanged between separated lovers; and epigrammatists played with the epigram as letter. By the second and third centuries CE, many centuries after Homer's epics, imaginative letters evolved into an established genre in their own right: Aelian and Alciphron excelled in epistolary impersonations, imitating the voices of the lower classes, and collecting their letters in anthologies; Philostratus emerged as a master of epistolary spin, taking one theme and subtly tweaking it in half a dozen letters to different addressees; and anonymous writers competed with one another in their particular form of ghostwriting for the rich and famous.
Arranged chronologically, with introductory sections for each time period, this book studies this wide range of writers, genres and literary levels and suggests that there is more to a letter than just the information it communicates. Epistolary context is just as important as content, as will be rediscovered by Ovid, Richardson, Laclos, and a whole host of later European writers. Patricia A. Rosenmeyer has chosen a highly entertaining selection, which include translation of previously inaccessible oruntranslated works, and deftly opens up a neglected area of study to provide an enjoyable and significant survey for students of Greek epistolography.

Bringing together a wealth of scholarship which provides a unique integrated approach to identity, The Archaeology of Identity presents an overview of the five key areas which have recently emerged in archaeological social theory:

* gender
* age
* ethnicity
* religion
* status.

This excellent book reviews the research history of each areas, the different ways in which each has been investigated, and offers new avenues for research and exploring the connections between them.

Emphasis is placed on exploring the ways in which material culture structures, and is structured by, these aspects of individual and communal identity, with a particular examination of social practice.

Useful for social scientists in sociology, anthropology and history, under- and postgraduates will find this an excellent addition to their course studies.

From the ruins of the ancient seaside city of Acco, to the small but archaeologically important town of Yokneam, Fifty Major Cities of the Bible provides readers with a comprehensive guide to the ancient cities that played a vital role in the world from which the Bible originated.

Not only covering renowned cities such as Jerusalem and Jericho, the book also includes lesser known towns like Aroer, Beth-Zur and Gibeah, which have all provided their own valuable contributions to the way in which we now understand the biblical world.

A fascinating, easy-to-follow text, key features include:

* the biblical context of each city or town

* a summary of its known archeological history

* non-biblical references to the site

* photographs and illustrations

* a concise bibliography for further reading

Also provided is a handy reference map to the major archaeological sites in Israel, as well as chronological tables for easy reference.

Concise, informative and high accessible, Fifty Major Cities of the Bible is a superb overview of the cities and towns that made up the Biblical world, and an essential resource for students and enthusiasts.

A central figure in both classical and ancient near Eastern fields, Trevor Bryce presents the first publication to focus on Troy's neighbours and contemporaries as much as Troy itself. With the help of maps, charts and photographs, he unearths the secrets of this iconic ancient city. Beginning with an account of Troy's involvement in The Iliad and the question of the historicity of the Trojan War, Trevor Bryce reveals how the recently discovered Hittite texts illuminate this question which has fascinated scholars and travellers since the Renaissance. Encompassing the very latest research, the city and its inhabitants are placed in historical context - and with its neighbours and contemporaries - to form a complete and vivid view of life within the Trojan walls and beyond from its beginning in c.3000 BC to its decline and obscurity in the Byzantine period. Documented here are the archaeological watershed discoveries from the Victorian era to the present that reveal, through Troy's nine levels, the story of a metropolis punctuated by signs of economic prosperity, natural disaster, public revolt and war.

A central figure in both classical and ancient near Eastern fields, Trevor Bryce presents the first publication to focus on Troy's neighbours and contemporaries as much as Troy itself. With the help of maps, charts and photographs, he unearths the secrets of this iconic ancient city. Beginning with an account of Troy's involvement in The Iliad and the question of the historicity of the Trojan War, Trevor Bryce reveals how the recently discovered Hittite texts illuminate this question which has fascinated scholars and travellers since the Renaissance. Encompassing the very latest research, the city and its inhabitants are placed in historical context - and with its neighbours and contemporaries - to form a complete and vivid view of life within the Trojan walls and beyond from its beginning in c.3000 BC to its decline and obscurity in the Byzantine period. Documented here are the archaeological watershed discoveries from the Victorian era to the present that reveal, through Troy's nine levels, the story of a metropolis punctuated by signs of economic prosperity, natural disaster, public revolt and war.

The dominant social theory used by archaeologists has tended to focus on either small scale agency or large-scale cultural patterns and processes of change. The authors of this volume argue that archaeologists should use nonlinear models to more accurately model the connections between scales of analysis, and show how micro-scale variation can lead to macro-scale cultural change. This work examines the applications of nonlinear systems models within archaeology and evaluates the range of approaches currently encompassed within Complexity Theory.

'Passing' is a common euphemism for the death of a person, as he or she is said to 'pass away' or 'pass on'. This open-ended saying has at its heart a notion of transformation from one state to another, which in turn grants the possibility of grasping or approximating the passage of time and the materiality of death and decay. This book begins with the idea that since all material things - whether animals, human beings, objects or buildings - undergo some form of passing, then the specific transformation in these passages and the materiality actively given to it can offer us a grasp of otherwise precarious temporalities. It examines how human beings strive to relate to the temporal dimension of death and decay, by giving new shape and direction to being and by examining its natural transformations. Focusing on the materiality of passing, and thereby the relationship between embodiment, temporality and death, Materialities of Passing offers rich case studies from Europe, Papua New Guinea, South Africa and the Russian Far East for exploring the material, spatial and directional aspects of the very interface between life and death. As such, it will appeal to scholars of anthropology, death studies, archaeology, philosophy and cultural studies.

The first modern study of prehistoric religion in Ireland to draw on the combined evidence of archaeology, literature and folklore to illuminate practice and belief from the earliest human habitation in the island down to the advent of Christianity in the fifth century AD. An excellent book... a highly accessible and lively assessment of continuity and change in belief and religion from pre-Celtic times through to the arrival of St Patrick. ...Afine book and to be recommended to a wide readership, especially to all those who think that Irish history started in 1601. IRISH STUDIES REVIEW DAITHI O HOGAIN was Professor of Folklore at University College Dublin.

This study of the comparative ethics of war seeks to open a discussion about whether there are universal standards in the ideologies of warfare between the major religious traditions of the world. The project looks at the ideology of war in the major Asian religious traditions. Does our exploration of the ethics of war in Asian civilizations have any bearing on the pressing questions of armed conflict today? It has become clear that Islamic ethics and law contain sophisticated concepts of both just war (jus ad bellum) and just warfare (jus in bello). The contributions of this work explore the central issues of just war in non-Western religious traditions. This new approach will be of interest to scholars of religion and war studies. John Kelsay, State University, Florida, USA Norman Solomon, University of Oxford, UK Torkel Brekke, University of Oslo, Norway Tessa Bartholomeusz, State Universit

Fully illustrated, Prehistoric Figurines brings a radical new approach to one of the most exciting, but poorly understood artefacts from our prehistoric past. Studying the interpretation of prehistoric figurines from Neolithic southeast Europe, Bailey introduces recent developments from the fields of visual culture studies and cultural anthropology, and investigates the ways in which representations of human bodies were used by the pre-historic people to understand their own identities, to negotiate relationships and to make subtle political points. Bailey examines four critical conditions: * figurines as miniatures * figurines as three-dimensional representations * figurines as anthropomorphs * figurines as representations. Through these conditions, the study travels beyond the traditional mechanisms of interpretation and takes the debate past the out-dated interpretations of figurines as Mother-Goddess as Bailey examines individual prehistoric figurines in their original archaeological contexts and views them in the light of modern exploitations of the human form. Students and scholars of History and Archaeology will benefit immensely from Bailey's close understanding of the material culture and pre-history of the Balkans.

This volume explores new approaches to the remarkably detailed information that archaeologists have for the study of our earliest ancestors. Previous investigations of human evolution in the Paleolithic period have conventionally been from an ecological and behavioral point of view. The emphasis has been on how our early ancestors made a living, decided what to eat, adapted through their technology to the conditions of existence and reacted to changing ice age climates. The "Individual Hominid in Context" takes a different approach.
Rather than explaining the archaeology of stones and bones as the product of group decisions, the contributors investigate how individual action created social life. This challenge to the accepted standpoint of the Paleolithic brings new models and theories into the period; innovations that are matched by the resolution of the data that preserve individual action among the artifacts. The book brings together examples from recent excavations at Boxgrove, Schoningen and Blombos Cave, and the analyses of findings from Middle and Early Upper Pleistocene excavations in Europe, Africa and Asia. The results will revolutionize the Paleolithic as archaeologists search for the lived lives among the empty spaces that remain.

With case studies from North America to Australia and South Africa and covering topics from archaeological ethics to the repatriation of human remains, this book charts the development of a new form of archaeology that is informed by indigenous values and agendas. This involves fundamental changes in archaeological theory and practice as well as substantive changes in the power relations between archaeologists and indigenous peoples. Questions concerning the development of ethical archaeological practices are at the heart of this process.

Within archaeological studies, land tenure has been mainly studied from the viewpoint of ownership. A host of studies has argued about land ownership on the basis of the simple co-existence of artefacts on the landscape; other studies have tended to extrapolate land ownership from more indirect means. Particularly noteworthy is the tendency to portray land ownership as the driving force behind the emergence of social complexity, a primordial ingredient in the processes that led to the political and economic expansion of prehistoric societies. The association between people and land in all of these interpretive schemata is however less easy to detect analytically. Although various rubrics have been employed to identify such a connection - most notable among them the concepts of 'cultures,' 'regions,' or even 'households' - they take the links between land and people as a given and not as something that needs to be conceptually defined and empirically substantiated. An Archaeology of Land Ownership demonstrates that the relationship between people and land in the past is first and foremost an analytical issue, and one that calls for clarification not only at the level of definition, but also methodological applicability. Bringing together an international roster of specialists, the essays in this volume call attention to the processes by which links to land are established, the various forms that such links take and how they can change through time, as well as their importance in helping to forge or dilute an understanding of community at various circumstances.

Since its first publication in 1971, Barry Cunliffe's monumental survey has established itself as a classic of British archaeology. This fully revised fourth edition maintains the qualities of the earlier editions, whilst taking into account the significant developments that have moulded the discipline in recent years. Barry Cunliffe here incorporates new theoretical approaches, technological advances and a range of new sites and finds, ensuring that Iron Age Communities in Britain remains the definitive guide to the subject.

This book examines the major armed conflicts in South Asia - in India (with special reference to the Northeast, Jammu & Kashmir and the Naxalites), Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Designed as an annual series, the articles cover a set of issues across volumes. Each article provides a brief historical sketch of the emergence of armed conflict and outlines its various phases. The roles, objectives and strategies of the major state, non-state and international actors are critically evaluated.