Identity, Interpretation, and Innovation: The Worlds of Islamic Archaeology

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Identity, Interpretation, and Innovation: The Worlds of Islamic Archaeology" at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This session seeks to bring together Islamic archaeologists to discuss current research approaches, questions, and topics throughout the field. By addressing a large variety of topics and work, we aim not only to connect scholars working in seemingly disparate geographical areas and periods but also to deepen our perception of the nature of Islamic archaeology, and its potential for future research. We welcome papers that approach any aspect of Islamic archaeology from a variety of perspectives and methodologies.

Other Keywords
Ceramic Analysis • Historic • Material Culture and Technology • Islam • Mortuary archaeology • Bioarchaeology/Skeletal Analysis • Archaeometry & Materials Analysis • Cultural Heritage and Preservation • Islamic Archaeology • Central Asia, Turks, Medieval, Islam

Geographic Keywords
Republic of Azerbaijan (Country) • State of Kuwait (Country) • Turkmenistan (Country) • Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Country) • Republic of Tajikistan (Country) • Asia (Continent) • Republic of Uzbekistan (Country) • Kyrgyz Republic (Country) • Republic of Kazakhstan (Country) • Asia: Central Asia

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-5 of 5)

  • Documents (5)
Documents
  • The Ceramics of Balis: Toward the Recovery of Lost Heritage (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Stephennie Mulder.

    This is an abstract from the "Identity, Interpretation, and Innovation: The Worlds of Islamic Archaeology" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper will present a major new analytical study of an important Islamic period archaeological ceramics assemblage produced during 12 years of excavation of Balis, a medieval Syrian city. With over 1,000 photographs and drawings produced over my 10 years as head ceramicist on the site, this study will be...

  • Perceptions of Disability and Care in Early Islamic Central Asia (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Elissa Bullion. Sean Greer.

    This is an abstract from the "Identity, Interpretation, and Innovation: The Worlds of Islamic Archaeology" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In this paper, we apply an index of care approach to a case study of an individual with progressive pseudorheumatoid dysplasia from an early Islamic cemetery at the site of Tashbulak in southeastern Uzbekistan. Joint degeneration and progressive impingement of nerves would have severely limited individual TBK...

  • Reconstructing Production Technology of Medieval Lead-Glazed Ceramics from Central Asian Silk Road Sites (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Catherine Klesner. Pamela Vandiver.

    This is an abstract from the "Identity, Interpretation, and Innovation: The Worlds of Islamic Archaeology" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Central Asia has long been the connecting bridge facilitating the long-distance trade of goods across Eurasia. While Central Asian communities have served as trading centers, they were also producers of specialty goods and centers of technological innovation themselves. In this study we examine the technological...

  • Sacred Colors and Nomadic Design: The Hand-Formed Slip-Painted Pottery of the Medieval (Eighth–Twelfth Century CE) Central Asian Highlands (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Ann Merkle.

    This is an abstract from the "Identity, Interpretation, and Innovation: The Worlds of Islamic Archaeology" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper addresses how social identity, as reflected in networks represented through pottery decoration, served as a means of mediating and buffering against the social uncertainties generated by shifting political and religious landscapes of medieval Central Asia. My project examines the decoration and...

  • The Umayyad Grilles of Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi (2021)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Dina Bakour.

    This is an abstract from the "Identity, Interpretation, and Innovation: The Worlds of Islamic Archaeology" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Discovered in 1936 and excavated for two years by Daniel Schlumberger, Inspector of the Antiquities Department during the French Mandate (at the time), Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi remains one of the most important early Islamic sites. In this paper, I will introduce the site and its history of archaeological...