In this book, Bleda During offers an archaeological analysis of Asia Minor, the area equated with much of modern-day Turkey, from 20,000 to 2,000 BC. During this period human societies moved from small-scale hunter-gatherer groups to complex and hierarchical communities with economies based on agriculture and industry. Dr During traces the spread of the Neolithic way of life, which ultimately reached across Eurasia, and the emergence of key human developments, including the domestication of animals, metallurgy, fortified towns and long-distance trading networks. Situated at the junction between Europe and Asia, Asia Minor has often been perceived as a bridge for the movement of technologies and ideas. By contrast, this book argues that cultural developments followed a distinctive trajectory in Asia Minor from as early as 9,000 BC.

In this book, Bleda During offers an archaeological analysis of Asia Minor, the area equated with much of modern-day Turkey, from 20,000 to 2,000 BC. During this period human societies moved from small-scale hunter-gatherer groups to complex and hierarchical communities with economies based on agriculture and industry. Dr During traces the spread of the Neolithic way of life, which ultimately reached across Eurasia, and the emergence of key human developments, including the domestication of animals, metallurgy, fortified towns and long-distance trading networks. Situated at the junction between Europe and Asia, Asia Minor has often been perceived as a bridge for the movement of technologies and ideas. By contrast, this book argues that cultural developments followed a distinctive trajectory in Asia Minor from as early as 9,000 BC.

Ethics and Rock Art: Images and Power addresses the distinctive ways in which ethical considerations pertain to rock art research within the larger context of the archaeological ethical debate. Marks on stone, with their social and religious implications, give rise to distinctive ethical concerns within the scholarly enterprise as different perceptions between scholars and Native Americans are encountered in regard to worldviews, concepts of space, time, and in the interpretation of the imagery itself. This discourse addresses issues such as the conflicting paradigms of oral traditions and archaeological veracity, differing ideas about landscapes in which rock art occurs, the intrusion of "desired knowledge", and how the past may be robbed by changing interpretations and values on both sides. Case studies are presented in regard to shamanism and war-related imagery. Also addressed are issues surrounding questions of art, aesthetics, and appropriation of imagery by outsiders. Overall, this discourse attempts to clarify points of contention between Euro-American scholars and Native Americans so that we can better recognize the origins of differences and thus promote better mutual understanding in these endeavors.

This volume explores how native peoples of the Southeastern United States cooperated to form large and permanent early villages, using the site of Crystal River on Florida's Gulf Coast as a case study. Crystal River was once among the most celebrated sites of the Woodland period (ca. 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1000), consisting of ten mounds and large numbers of diverse artifacts from the Hopewell culture. But a lack of research using contemporary methods at this site and nearby Roberts Island limited a full understanding of what these sites could tell scholars. Thomas Pluckhahn and Victor Thompson reanalyze previous excavations and conduct new field investigations to tell the whole story of Crystal River from its beginnings as a ceremonial center, through its growth into a large village, to its decline at the turn of the first millennium while Roberts Island and other nearby areas thrived. Comparing this community to similar sites on the Gulf Coast and in other areas of the world, Pluckhahn and Thompson argue that Crystal River is an example of an ""early village society."" They illustrate that these early villages present important evidence in a larger debate regarding the role of competition versus cooperation in the development of human societies.

Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817 1894) was one of the leading British archaeologists of the nineteenth century. His excavations provided important evidence about ancient Mesopotamia, particularly about the Assyrian civilisation, and his books - part travel writing, part specialised archaeological studies - are beautifully evocative. First published in 1853, this two-volume study follows the earlier Nineveh and its Remains (1849). It describes Layard's second expedition to the Near East, in 1845, which led to the identification of Kouyunjik as the great Assyrian capital Nineveh. In this richly illustrated book, Layard focuses on the description and interpretation of ruins, as he tells of the discovery of the lost palace of the Assyrian king Sennacherib (eighth century BCE) in northern Iraq. Volume 1 is an account of the excavations at Kouyunjik, and also describes a journey along the Khabur river in Syria, where Layard assesses the influence of Assyrian art on the region.

Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817 1894) was one of the leading British archaeologists of the nineteenth century. His excavations provided important evidence about ancient Mesopotamia, particularly about the Assyrian civilisation, and his books - part travel writing, part specialised archaeological studies - are beautifully evocative. First published in 1853, this two-volume study follows the earlier Nineveh and its Remains (1849). It describes Layard's second expedition to the Near East, in 1845, which led to the identification of Kouyunjik as the great Assyrian capital Nineveh. In this richly illustrated book, Layard focuses on the description and interpretation of ruins, as he tells of the discovery of the lost palace of the Assyrian king Sennacherib (eighth century BCE) in northern Iraq. Volume 2 describes the discoveries made in the ruins of Kouyunjik, and follows Layard as he travels to the south of Iraq in search of the ruins of the mysterious Babylon.

Sir Cyril Fox (1882-1967) was an archaeologist and later Director of the National Museum of Wales and President of the Museums Association. Having entered Magdalene College, Cambridge as a mature student, his first year dissertation was judged to be more suitable as a PhD thesis, which resulted in him progressing straight to his PhD. His doctoral thesis, reissued here, transformed archaeological thought when it was first published in 1923. In it Fox pioneered the geographical approach to analysing ancient settlement patterns, linking the expansion of human settlement in the Cambridge area from the Neolithic era to the Anglo-Saxon period with favourable environmental conditions. His thesis emphasised the importance of treating archaeological finds as clues to past human settlement instead of being the main focus for archaeological analysis. This approach became the methodological framework for later environmental and landscape archaeology.

John Lloyd Stephens (1805 1852) was an American politician, explorer and writer who is renowned for his pioneering research into the ancient Maya civilisation of Central America. In 1839 Stephens was appointed a Special Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Central America (modern Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador). First published in 1841, this two-volume work is an account of his travels in 1839 and 1840, visiting and recording ancient Mayan sites. Stephens describes Cop n, Palenque and forty-two other ancient sites and includes over fifty illustrations drawn by his travelling companion Frederick Catherwood (1799 1854), a professional architect. Although earlier accounts of Mayan ruins had been published, Stephens' vivid descriptions and Catherwood's meticulous drawings were far more detailed and accurate than previous reports, and kindled Victorian interest in the ancient Maya civilisation. Volume 1 focuses on Cop n and the indigenous cultures of Central America.

John Lloyd Stephens (1805 1852) was an American politician, explorer and writer who is renowned for his pioneering research into the ancient Maya civilisation of Central America. In 1839 Stephens was appointed a Special Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Central America (modern Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador). First published in 1841, this two-volume work is an account of his travels in 1839 and 1840, visiting and recording ancient Mayan sites. Stephens describes Cop n, Palenque and forty-two other ancient sites and includes over fifty illustrations drawn by his travelling companion Frederick Catherwood (1799 1854), a professional architect. Although earlier accounts of Mayan ruins had been published, Stephens' vivid descriptions and Catherwood's meticulous drawings were far more detailed and accurate than previous reports, and kindled Victorian interest in the ancient Maya civilisation. Volume 2 focuses on Palenque, Uxmal and other Mayan sites.

Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (1857-1934) was a prominent English Egyptologist who was Keeper of the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum between 1893 and 1924. Although better known for his contributions to Egyptology, Budge was also a scholar of the ancient Assyrian language, which he first learnt in 1874. This book, first published in 1880, contains cuneiform inscriptions from artefacts in the British Museum, relating to the Assyrian king Esarhaddon (reigned c.681-669 BCE). They recount Esarhaddon's royal titles, describe his military campaigns in modern Iran and Egypt, and list the monumental buildings in Babylon rebuilt during his reign. Budge provides transliterations and English translations, a vocabulary, and a list of texts consulted. This was the first scholarly study of Esarhaddon, and some of Budge's translations proved controversial. The interest it aroused resulted in increased academic study and translation of cuneiform artefacts.

Heinrich Schliemann (1822 1890) was a successful businessman and self-taught archaeologist who is best known for discovering the site of the ancient city of Troy. This work in English, 'translated by the author's sanction' in 1875, describes his excavations at the ancient mound of Hissarlik in Turkey, which revealed the remains of not just one but several substantial, superimposed ancient settlements, the earliest of which dates back to 4500 BCE. Schliemann himself was convinced that he had located Troy, and the spectacular golden treasure which he unearthed made his discovery famous around the world. However, the crudeness of his excavating techniques was criticised by contemporary archaeologists, and later work on the site has led to the conclusion that the treasure is in fact from a much earlier settlement than Homeric Troy. Schliemann's achievement was nevertheless extraordinary, and this first-hand account of his discoveries makes compelling reading.

Gottlieb Schumacher (1857-1925) was an American-born German civil engineer, architect and archaeologist who was influential in the early archaeological explorations of Palestine. His parents were members of the Temple Association, a Protestant group who emigrated to Haifa in 1869. After studying engineering in Stuttgart between 1876 and 1881, Schumacher returned to Haifa and assumed a leading role in surveying and construction in the region. First published in 1886 for the Palestine Exploration Fund, this volume contains the results of the first survey of the Hauran region conducted by Schumacher in preparation for the construction of the Damascus-Haifa railway. Considered one of Schumacher's most important surveys, it describes the archaeological remains, geology and contemporary villages of this region in great detail. Accounts of this area by the British traveller Laurence Oliphant (1829-1888) and the scholar Guy Le Strange (1854-1933) are also included in this volume.

Gottlieb Schumacher (1857 1925) was an American-born German civil engineer, architect and archaeologist who was influential in the early archaeological explorations of Palestine. His parents were members of the Temple Association, a Protestant group who emigrated to Haifa in 1869. After studying engineering in Stuttgart between 1876 and 1881, Schumacher returned to Haifa and soon assumed a leading role in surveying and construction in the region. First published in 1890 for the Palestine Exploration Fund, this volume contains the results of Schumacher's survey of Northern 'Alj n in present-day Jordan. This region contains the cities of the ancient Decapolis, a group of Hellenistic cities which were centres of Greek and Roman culture. In this volume Schumacher describes the contemporary villages and ancient ruins in this area, and includes the results of the first surveys of the ancient Decapolis cities of Gadara, Arbela and the disputed site of Capitolias.

Gottlieb Schumacher (1857-1925) was an American-born German civil engineer, architect and archaeologist who was influential in the early archaeological explorations of Palestine. His parents were members of the Temple Association, a Protestant group who emigrated to Haifa in 1869. After studying engineering in Stuttgart between 1876 and 1881, Schumacher returned to Haifa and soon assumed a leading role in surveying and construction in the region. This volume contains the results of the first detailed survey of the ancient city of Pella, conducted by Schumacher for the Palestine Exploration Fund, and published by the Fund in 1888. During the Roman era Pella was one of the cities of the Decapolis, a group of Hellenistic cities which were centres of Greek and Roman culture. Schumacher describes the site of Pella, its extant structures and its surrounding ruins as they appeared at the time of publication.

This work, first published in 1847, is an account by Constantin von Tischendorf (1815 74) of his journeying in the Middle East at the beginning of the 1840s. It is part travel log and part account of the Christian history of the area. After encounters with such men as Mehmet Ali and Ibrahim Pasha, he visits the library of the Patriarch of Alexandria. The German biblical scholar then travels to the monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai, where he makes the extraordinary discovery of a previously unknown fourth-century manuscript, one of the main witnesses to the Septuagint, before reaching the main goal of his long journey - Jerusalem. This lively narrative by a controversial scholar-explorer also entertains the reader with some of the more unexpected elements of his travels, such as an attack by robbers who are routed when he draws his sword.

Before the Spanish Conquest and well into the eighteenth century, Mesoamerican peoples believed that time and space were contained in earthly and heavenly receptacles that were visualized metaphorically. This circumscribed space contained the abodes of the dead. There, deities and ancestral spirits could be revived and the living could communicate with them. In Social Memory in Ancient and Colonial Mesoamerica, Amos Megged uncovers the missing links in Mesoamerican peoples quest for their collective past. Analyzing ancient repositories of knowledge, as well as social and religious practices, he uncovers the unique procedures and formulas by which social memory was communicated and how it operated in Mesoamerica prior to the Spanish conquest. He also explores how cherished and revived practices evolved, how they were adapted to changing circumstances, and how they helped various ethnic groups cope with the tribulations of colonization and Christianization. Megged s volume also suggests how social and cultural historians, ethnohistorians, and anthropologists can rethink indigenous representations of the past while taking into account the deep transformations in Mexican society during the colonial era."

The temples and theatres of the ancient Greek world are widely known, but there is less familiarity with the houses in which people lived. In this book, Lisa Nevett provides an accessible introduction to the varied forms of housing found across the Greek world between c. 1000 and 200 BCE. Many houses adopted a courtyard structure which she sets within a broader chronological, geographical and socio-economic context. The book explores how housing shaped - and was shaped by – patterns of domestic life, at Athens and in other urban communities. It also points to a rapid change in the scale, elaboration and layout of the largest houses. This is associated with a shift away from expressing solidarity with peers in the local urban community towards advertising personal status and participation in a network of elite households which stretched across the Mediterranean. Instructors, students and general readers will welcome this stimulating volume.

The decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs has enabled scholars to better understand Classic society, but many aspects of this civilization remain shrouded in mystery, particularly its economies and social structures. How did farmers, artisans, and rulers make a living in a tropical forest environment? In this study, Patricia McAnany tackles this question and presents the first comprehensive view of ancestral Maya economic practice. Bringing an archaeological approach to the topic, she demonstrates the vital role of ritual practice in indigenous ecologies, gendered labor, and the construction of colossal architecture. Examining Maya royalty as a kind of social speciation, McAnany also shows the fundamentality of social difference as well as the pervasiveness of artisan production and marketplaces in ancestral Maya societies. Her analysis of royal iconography and hieroglyphic texts provides evidence of a political economy dominated by tribute extraction, thus lifting the veil of opacity over the operation of palace economies. Written in an engaging and accessible style, this book situates Maya economies within contemporary social, political, and economic theories of social practice, gender, actor-networks, inalienable goods, materiality, social difference, indigenous ecologies, and strategies of state finance.

Mesoamerica is one of several cradles of civilization in the world. In this book, Robert M. Rosenswig proposes that we understand Early Formative Mesoamerica as an archipelago of complex societies that interacted with one another over long distances and that were separated by less sedentary peoples. These early 'islands' of culture shared an Olmec artistic aesthetic, beginning approximately 1250 BCE (uncalibrated), that first defined Mesoamerica as a culture area. Rosenswig frames the Olmec world from the perspective of the Soconusco area on Pacifica Chiapas and Guatemala. The disagreements about Early Formative society that have raged over the past thirty years focus on the nature of inter-regional interaction between San Lorenzo and other Early Formative regions. He evaluates these debates from a fresh theoretical perspective and integrates new data into an assessment of Soconusco society before, during, and after the apogee of the San Lorenzo polity.

This book provides an introduction to one of the greatest civilizations of all time – ancient Egypt. Beginning with a geographical overview that explains the development of Egyptian belief systems as well as its subsequent political development, it examines methodology, the history of the discipline of Egyptology, religion, social organization, urban and rural life, and death. It also includes a section on how people of all ranks lived. Lavishly illustrated, with many unusual photographs of rarely seen sites that are seldom illustrated, this volume is suitable for use in introductory-level courses on ancient Egypt. It offers a variety of student-friendly features, including a glossary, a bibliography, and a list of sources for those who wish to further their interest in ancient Egypt.

For two centuries, travellers were amazed at the massive buildings found along the rivers that flow from the mountainous interior of Borneo. They concentrated hundreds of people under one roof, in the middle of empty rainforests. There was no practical necessity for this arrangement, and it remains a mystery. In this book Peter Metcalf provides an answer by showing the historical context, using both oral histories and colonial records. The key factor was a pre-modern trading system that funneled rare and exotic jungle products to China via the ancient coastal city of Brunei. Meanwhile the elite manufactured goods traded upriver shaped the political and religious institutions of longhouse society. However, the apparent permanence of longhouses was an illusion. In historical terms, longhouse communities were both mobile and labile, and the patterns of ethnicity they created more closely resemble the contemporary world than any stereotype of 'tribal' societies.

First published in 1982, this volume summarises the proceedings of a conference which took place at the University of Oxford in September 1981. Held under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union and the International Union for the History and Philosophy of Science, the meeting reviewed the progress in the archaeoastronomy of the New World. American archaeoastronomy is growing healthily. Researchers from different disciplines, showing an interest in Native American astronomy, have been collaborating since the early 1970s. Research paths opened by astronomers, archaeologists, historians, anthropologists and ethnologists are converging. In this volume a number of these paths are explored and reviewed. The contents include a survey of progress in understanding Maya astronomy; astronomical and calendric practices of the Hopi and the Incas; and case studies of Bonampak (Mexico), Chaco Canyon, and Casa Rinconada.

This concise and beautifully illustrated book demonstrates the many roles played by the horse in the lives of the Greeks, from its place in myth and early history to its significance as a marker of social status and its use in warfare, transportation, games, and festivals. From their arrival in Greece, at the start of the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000 B.C.), horses were a powerful symbol of rank. Bridles and other horse trappings are often found in graves, alongside vases depicting horses grazing, racing, and parading. Sculpture is also full of horse imagery, from monumental equestrian statues (a bronze leg and gilded sword are all that remain from one of these) to tiny terracotta figurines, perhaps the toys of a child. As well as presenting many examples of horse imagery found in the Agora, the author reports on recent finds near the ancient hipparcheion, the stables of the Athenian cavalry.

This early civilization was erased from human memory until 1924, when it was rediscovered and announced in the Illustrated London Times. Our understanding of the Indus has been partially advanced by textual sources from Mesopotamia that contain references to Meluhha, a land identified by cuneiform specialists as the Indus, with which the ancient Mesopotamians traded and engaged in battles. In this volume, Rita P. Wright uses both Mesopotamian texts but principally the results of archaeological excavations and surveys to draw a rich account of the Indus civilization s well-planned cities, its sophisticated alterations to the landscape, and the complexities of its agrarian and craft-producing economy. She focuses principally on the social networks established between city and rural communities; farmers, pastoralists, and craft producers; and Indus merchants and traders and the symbolic imagery that the civilization shared with contemporary cultures in Iran, Mesopotamia, Central Asia, and the Persian Gulf region. Broadly comparative, her study emphasizes the interconnected nature of early societies."

In the first millennium AD, the Classic Maya created courtly societies in and around the Yucatan Peninsula that have left some of the most striking intellectual and aesthetic achievements of the ancient world, including large settlements like Tikal, Copan, and Palenque. This book is the first in-depth synthesis of the Classic Maya. It is richly informed by new decipherments of hieroglyphs and decades of intensive excavation and survey. Structured by categories of person in society, it reports on kings, queens, nobles, gods, and ancestors, as well as the many millions of farmers and other figures who lived in societies predicated on sacred kingship and varying political programs. The Classic Maya presents a tandem model of societies bound by moral covenants and convulsed by unavoidable tensions between groups, all affected by demographic trends and changing environments. Focusing on the Classic heartland but referring to other zones, it will serve as the basic source for all readers interested in the civilization of the Maya.