West Asia (Geographic Keyword)
251-275 (292 Records)
Currently many of Syria’s famous heritage sites are in territory outside of the control of the Assad regime and are at great risk from looting, damage as a result of conflict, or deliberate attack. This is not only causing irreparable damage to Syria's cultural heritage but also destroying the common history that provides Syrians with a shared sense of identity. In order to help protect this heritage and preserve it for the future, a Syrian Heritage Task Force (SHTF) was recently established....
A Tale of Three Assemblages (2015)
This paper examines ceramic production in the Upper Tigris River Valley of southeastern Anatolia before and during the incorporation of this region into the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Using manufacturing techniques and technologies as windows on the organization of ceramic production, this paper argues that imperial incorporation drastically altered the organization of labor, the distribution of ceramic type fossils and the relationship between producers and consumers. This paper also suggests that,...
Taphonomic analysis of the small mammal assemblage of Hayonim E:implications for paleoecology of the southern Levant during MIS 6 (2017)
This study presents the taphonomic history of the small mammal assemblage of Hayonim E, Israel, and compares it to those of other Middle Paleolithic (MP) sites. Levantine paleoecological changes during the MP have implications for hominin dispersal into the region. It has been suggested that a comparison of faunal assemblages from Hayonim (160–130 Kya), Qafzeh (120–90 kya) and Amud (75–45 kya) indicate a shift between glacial and interglacial fauna which mirror dispersals by Neanderthals and...
Technological choice or environmental constraints? Fuel use at Boncuklu and Çatalhöyük (2015)
By combining sediment micromorphology with microbotanical and geochemical analysis, we can gain insights into the archaeological record that are otherwise invisible. By characterising fuel deposits as a package of remains rather than focusing on a single class of material (including charcoal, ash, burnt sediments and associated artefacts) we are better able to reconstruct their formation processes, and thus the activities that produced them. Using examples from the early Neolithic settlements of...
Technological, Typological and Forensic Analysis of the Small Finds from the Early Middle Paleolithic Beds at Tabun Cave, Israel. (2015)
Tabun Cave, Israel, has provided the reference sequence for the Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic in the Levant. Re-excavation by Jelinek (1968-73) recovered a large sample of lithics including over 23,000 small finds. This paper reports the first detailed typological, technological and forensic analysis of the small lithics from beds 60 to 68, the Early Middle Paleolithic (EMP) "D-Type" Levallois Mousterian. These pieces provide clues to lithic reduction sequences, as well as examples of...
TENDING THE VINES: BIOMECHANICAL EVIDENCE OF LATERALITY AND GENDERED LABOR DIVISION IN VITICULTURE AT PESSINUS, TURKEY (2015)
Skeletal remains from Sankuş Mevkiinde Tomb (Late Roman, AD 200–300) at Pessinus, Turkey included 12 adult males with asymmetrical, robust definition of the peroneal trochlea extending outward (>1 cm) from the lateral calcaneus and situated between the peroneus longus and brevis tendons, nine of which are on the right calcaneus. Adult females did not exhibit this variation. Asymmetrical variation suggests repeated biomechanical eversion of the foot and plantar flexion of the ankle on the side...
There's Sand in the Sensor! EO approaches to interpreting delta-desert transitional environments (2017)
The complex boundary regions between deltas and deserts pose particular difficulties for archaeological enquiry. In these regions, the dynamic interactions between aeolian and alluvial processes result in continuously changing hydrosocial landscapes that manifest over a range of spatio-temporal analytical scales. The wealth of tools, methodologies and theoretical approaches offered by the burgeoning field of remote sensing can help to deconstruct complex and often visually obstructed human...
Thinking Through Mountains: A Perspective from the ancient Near East (2015)
The Middle East and surrounding areas are among the most mountainous regions of the world, where a combination of material and written records provides a unique opportunity to explore highland-lowland interaction in the distant past and over the long-term. This includes issues of relevance to current efforts to document, preserve and protect mountain regions and ways of life, such as the movement of people, goods and ideas, the environmental and resource contexts and consequences of such...
Thinking Through Zooarchaeological Approaches to Empire and Environment (2017)
In this paper, I explore the intersection of empire and environment in imperial and post-imperial contexts using the collapse of the Hittite empire and its aftermath in central Turkey around 1200 BC as a case study. More specifically, I mobilize zooarchaeological evidence from the Hittite capital of Hattuşa and from Çadır Höyük, a rural town, in order to discuss how we might distinguish between political, economic, and climatic factors in our interpretations of the relationships between empire...
Three Dimensional Aggregate Flake Scar Analysis on Experimental Lithics, and Archaeological Lithics from Tabun Cave, Israel (2017)
Dorsal flake scar directionality is used in lithic analysis to infer methods of core reduction and flake production. This has been done in two dimensions. This study analyzes flake scars at the assemblage level in three dimensions. I use both experimental assemblages (bifacial, blade, discoidal, and levallois) as well as archaeological samples from Tabun Cave, Israel, an important reference sequence (partly defined by scar patterning) for the Levantine Paleolithic. Experimental samples...
To Snatch the Baby from Its Mother’s Lap: Infant Mortality and Maternal Health at Tell el-Kerkh, Syria (2015)
The injurious effects of the agricultural transition on health have been well documented. However, contributions from the Near East are relatively uncommon. Excavations at the Pottery Neolithic cemetery at Tell el-Kerkh in northwest Syria provide an opportunity to study into the effects of the agricultural transition in this less examined region. The cemetery sample consists of 258 individuals. The mortality profile reveals high infant mortality, with 40% of the sample dying before the first...
Tomb of the Goblets: Revisiting a Middle Bronze Burial from Pella in Jordan (2015)
Robert Smith began The College of Wooster excavations at the site of Pella in 1967. Pella is among the longest inhabited sites in the Southern Levant, with first occupation in the Paleolithic and down through the late Islamic phase. In the first season, excavations were focused on the Western Church Complex and the Eastern Cemetery. One of the tombs excavated, Tomb 1, possessed in excess of 100 artifacts, mainly ceramic vessels. Publications on that season contain only a short report on the...
Toward complexity in the osseous raw material work at the beginning of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia: the Manot Cave (Israel) osseous tools in the Aurignacian emergence and diffusion context (2017)
The Early Upper Palaeolithic in the Levant plays an important role in understanding the emergence, dispersal, and adaptations of the first anatomically modern human populations in Eurasia. The exploitation of osseous raw materials for technical and conceptual behaviours is recognized as one of the several innovations that have occurred both in the Levant and in Europe during this time. Previous works demonstrated that the complex and innovative working of osseous materials in Europe is...
The Transformation from Complex Village Society to Local Urbanism in the Southern Levant:new observations in light of evidence from the Central Jordan Valley in the Early Bronze Age I-II (2017)
The EBA Southern Levant experienced a dramatic pathway to complexity, creating a small-scale urban society. The transition from EBI to EBII periods was characterized by urbanization processes, in which sweeping changes in social structure, political landscape, and economic networks occurred. While the majority of research centered on the nature of the fully urban society in the region, there is no consensus for the specific mechanics and causes of the emergence of these early towns, and the...
Trash Talk: (Re)evaluating External Spaces at Çatalhöyük, Turkey (2017)
The Neolithic tell site of Çatalhöyük is composed of clusters of structures interspersed with open or external areas that contain extensive deposits of midden, as well as evidence for several other activities. James Mellaart (1967) initially identified these areas as courtyards while the current project has variously evaluated these spaces through frameworks of discard, food, and sharing practices. A general understanding of external spaces at Çatalhöyük sees them transformed from relatively...
UAVs at Ruwayda, Qatar: photogrammetry and thermal imaging for feature detection and site recording (2015)
As part of the "Visualizing Qatars Past" project, drones are being used at the Islamic Period site of Ruwayda, on the north coast of Qatar, to document extant structures and investigate buried features. A Microdrone equipped with visible light, near infrared, and thermal sensors was used to document the fort and surrounding areas. By combining thermal imaging of the site with photogrammetric mapping, it was possible to identify architecture in and around the site that is difficult or impossible...
Understanding Temporal Patterns of Occupation at Small Sites: The case of early Neolithic al-Khayran, west-central Jordan (2015)
Beyond their identification and recording during survey, small sites have only occasionally and sporadically been the object of significant research in archaeology. Yet, such sites can be of great significance when trying to understand a wide variety of social systems and practices. While the potential practices associated with small sites in the past are virtually limitless, some patterns are commonly found within specific forms of settlement systems. Within autonomous village-based settlement...
Unearthing Holocene lowland landscapes as tool to detect archaeological sites, a case study from Lower Khuzestan (SW Iran) (2017)
Over the past century archaeological research in Upper Khuzestan has shown a long history of settlements in the alluvial plains. The Lower Khuzestan plain has barely been studied with research has been restricted to superficial surface surveys. The nearby presence of the Persian Gulf and the downstream parts of the rivers Karun and Jarrahi, the first one being the largest river in Iran, offer great potential for human settlements and activities. In lowlands, however, processes of sedimentation...
The Upper Paleolithic inhabitants of Manot Cave: the dental perspective (2017)
The study on the partial calvarium discovered at Manot Cave, Western Galilee, Israel (dated to 54.7 ± 5.5 kyr BP, Hershkovitz et al. 2015), revealed close morphological affinity with recent African skulls as well as with early Upper Paleolithic European skulls, but less so with earlier anatomically modern humans from the Levant (e.g., Skhul). The ongoing fieldwork at the Manot Cave has resulted in the discovery of several new hominin teeth. These include a lower incisor (I1), a right lower...
The use of geochemical analysis and visual methods for understanding raw material acquisition around Amud Cave, Israel (2015)
Amud Cave (eastern Upper Galilee, Israel) is known for its Middle Paleolithic deposits, containing thousands of animal bones and lithic artifacts from 3 anthropogenic stratigraphic units, dated to 68-55 ka. Excavations revealed hominin remains, including Neanderthal burials. Technological characteristics of the lithic assemblage show that the knapping sequence started off-site. However, related mobility patterns remained poorly understood. In order to understand the organizational decisions made...
Using Archaeological and Genomic Data to Investigate the Evolutionary History of Celiac Disease (2017)
The Neolithic Transition brought with it a number of changes in the relationships that people had with animals, plants and pathogens. Increasing proximity to domesticated and commensal animals, and larger, denser communities shifted the disease ecologies of these communities and resulted in an increasing number of disease vectors. I use ancient and modern DNA to look at the effects that these new dietary and epidemiological trends had on people in the past and the genomic legacies of the...
Using geochemistry, phytoliths and ethnographic analogy to interpret Neolithic settlements in southwest Asia (2017)
Our understanding of Neolithic sites in southwest Asia is often impeded by the lack of preservation of biological evidence. As a result, they often consist of a series of structures, the construction and function of which, remains elusive. In order to address this problem we conducted a study which used phytoliths and geochemistry from an ethnographic site in Jordan, Al Ma’tan, to determine if certain building construction techniques and anthropogenic activities leave specific phytolith and...
Using Practice Theory to Infer Household Behaviors at Islamic Ashkelon (2016)
The contents of archaeological features targeted for the recovery of botanical remains, such as hearths, ovens, pits, and floor surfaces, are more often than not the cumulative residue of multiple episodes of cooking, cleaning, or other activities that deposit and preserve plant parts. The actions responsible for this deposition can be illuminated when the patterns within the assemblage are interpreted within the framework of practice theory, which is well-suited for such applications due to its...
The Vestments of My Mysteries: Craft Production and the Ritual Economy at Iron Age Gordion (2017)
The Terrace Building Complex at the Iron Age site of Gordion in Turkey has been called the most complete picture of organized textile production at a Mediterranean palatial center. Artefactual analysis of the numerous textile tools discovered in the Terrace Building has provided a foundation for ambitious models of the Phrygian political economy: it’s been suggested that textiles produced in this ‘industrial quarter’ were intended as payment for the Phrygian army, or tribute. Analyses of the...
Virtually Rebuilding Çatalhöyük History Houses (2015)
3D technologies, remote sensing, geographic information systems, and virtual reality have changed the documentation and interpretation process of Çatalhöyük (Berggren et al. forthcoming 2015). Work at Çatalhöyük Building 89 has allowed a new methodology of data capture, processing, visualization, and analysis of stratigraphic layers based on digital technologies (Forte et al. 2012). On the other hand, virtual reconstruction of Neolithic buildings rebuilt in the same place has been little...