An Archaeology Of Prehistoric Bodies And Embodied Identities In The Eastern Mediterranean

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An Archaeology of Prehistoric Bodies and Embodied Identities in the Eastern Mediterranean

Author : Maria Mina
Publisher : Oxbow Books
ISBN 13 : 1785702912
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (857 download)

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Book Synopsis An Archaeology of Prehistoric Bodies and Embodied Identities in the Eastern Mediterranean by : Maria Mina

Download or read book An Archaeology of Prehistoric Bodies and Embodied Identities in the Eastern Mediterranean written by Maria Mina and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2016-10-11 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the long tradition of the archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean bodies have held a prominent role in the form of figurines, frescos, or skeletal remains, and have even been responsible for sparking captivating portrayals of the Mother-Goddess cult, the elegant women of Minoan Crete or the deeds of heroic men. Growing literature on the archaeology and anthropology of the body has raised awareness about the dynamic and multifaceted role of the body in experiencing the world and in the construction, performance and negotiation of social identity. In these 28 thematically arranged papers, specialists in the archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean confront the perceived invisibility of past bodies and ask new research questions. Contributors discuss new and old evidence; they examine how bodies intersect with the material world, and explore the role of body-situated experiences in creating distinct social and other identities. Papers range chronologically from the Palaeolithic to the Early Iron Age and cover the geographical regions of the Aegean, Cyprus and the Near East. They highlight the new possibilities that emerge for the interpretation of the prehistoric eastern Mediterranean through a combined use of body-focused methodological and theoretical perspectives that are nevertheless grounded in the archaeological record.

The Sacred Body

Author : Nicola Laneri
Publisher : Oxbow Books
ISBN 13 : 178925521X
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (892 download)

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Book Synopsis The Sacred Body by : Nicola Laneri

Download or read book The Sacred Body written by Nicola Laneri and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2021-06-30 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The human body represents the perfect element for relating communities of the living with the divine. This is clearly evident in the mythological stories that recount the creation of humans by deities among ancient and contemporaneous societies across a very broad geographical environment. Thus, parts of selected human body parts or skeletal elements can then become an ideal proxy for connecting with the supernatural as demonstrated by the cult of the human skulls among Neolithic communities in the Near East as well as the cult of the relics of Christian saints. The aim of this volume is to undertake a cross-cultural investigation of the role played in antiquity by humans and human remains in creating forms of relationality with the divine. Such an approach will highlight how the human body can be envisioned as part of a broader materialization of religious beliefs that is based on connecting different realms of materiality in perceiving the supernatural by the community of the livings. Case studies on ritual aspects of funerary practices is presented, emphasising the varied roles of body parts in mortuary rituals and as relics. Other papers take a wider look at regional practices in various time periods and cultural contexts to explore the central role of the corpse in the negotiation of death in human culture.

Processions: Studies of Bronze Age Ritual and Ceremony presented to Robert B. Koehl

Author : Judith Weingarten
Publisher : Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN 13 : 1803275340
Total Pages : 372 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis Processions: Studies of Bronze Age Ritual and Ceremony presented to Robert B. Koehl by : Judith Weingarten

Download or read book Processions: Studies of Bronze Age Ritual and Ceremony presented to Robert B. Koehl written by Judith Weingarten and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2023-10-05 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robert Koehl has long considered processions to have played an integral role in Aegean Bronze Age societies. Papers concentrate mainly on evidence from Crete, the Cyclades and the Greek mainland, with additional perspectives from abroad, these geographic divisions forming the basic outline of this volume.

Minoan Zoomorphic Culture

Author : Emily S. K. Anderson
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1009452037
Total Pages : 431 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis Minoan Zoomorphic Culture by : Emily S. K. Anderson

Download or read book Minoan Zoomorphic Culture written by Emily S. K. Anderson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2024-06-06 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the earliest era of archaeological discovery on Crete, vivid renderings of animals have been celebrated as defining elements of Minoan culture. Animals were crafted in a rich range of substances and media in the broad Minoan world, from tiny seal-stones to life-size frescoes. In this study, Emily Anderson fundamentally rethinks the status of these zoomorphic objects. Setting aside their traditional classification as 'representations' or signs, she recognizes them as distinctively real embodiments of animals in the world. These fabricated animals-engaged with in quiet tombs, bustling harbors, and monumental palatial halls-contributed in unique ways to Bronze Age Aegean sociocultural life and affected the status of animals within people's lived experience. Some gave new substance and contour to familiar biological species, while many exotic and fantastical beasts gained physical reality only in these fabricated embodiments. As real presences, the creatures that the Minoans crafted artfully toyed with expectation and realized new dimensions within and between animalian identities.

The Critique of Archaeological Economy

Author : Stefanos Gimatzidis
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030725391
Total Pages : 236 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (37 download)

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Book Synopsis The Critique of Archaeological Economy by : Stefanos Gimatzidis

Download or read book The Critique of Archaeological Economy written by Stefanos Gimatzidis and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-06-14 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book studies past economics from anthropological, archaeological, historical and sociological perspectives. By analyzing archeological and other evidence, it examines economic behavior and institutions in ancient societies. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, it critically discusses dominant economic models that have influenced the study of past economic relations in various disciplines, while at the same time highlighting alternative theoretical trajectories. In this regard, the book’s goal is not only to test theoretical models under scrutiny, but also to present evidence against the rationalization of past economic behavior according to the rules of modern markets. The contributing authors cover various topics, such as trade in the classical Greek world, concepts of commodity and value, and management of economic affluence.

Archaeology of Body and Thought

Author : Tomasz Gralak
Publisher : Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN 13 : 180327722X
Total Pages : 206 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis Archaeology of Body and Thought by : Tomasz Gralak

Download or read book Archaeology of Body and Thought written by Tomasz Gralak and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2024-03-07 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study explores what we as people can do with our bodies, what we can use them for, and how we can alter and understand them. With analysis based on artefacts found in graves, anthropomorphic images, and written sources, it considers the ways in which human groups from the Neolithic to the Migration Period have perceived and treated the body.

Culturing the Body

Author : Benjamin Collins
Publisher : Berghahn Books
ISBN 13 : 1805394614
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (53 download)

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Book Synopsis Culturing the Body by : Benjamin Collins

Download or read book Culturing the Body written by Benjamin Collins and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2024-03-01 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The human body is both the site of lived experiences and a means of communicating those experiences to a diverse audience. Hominins have been culturing their bodies, that is adding social and cultural meaning through the use pigments and objects, for over 100,000 years. There is archaeological evidence for practices of adornment of the body by late Pleistocene and early Holocene hominins, including personal ornaments, clothing, hairstyles, body painting, and tattoos. These practices have been variously interpreted to reflect differences such as gender, status, and ethnicity, to attract or intimidate others, and as indices of a symbolically mediated self and personal identity. These studies contribute to a novel and growing body of evidence for diversity of cultural expression in the past, something that is a hallmark of human cultures today.

Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes

Author : Giorgos Papantoniou
Publisher : MDPI
ISBN 13 : 3038976784
Total Pages : 314 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (389 download)

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Book Synopsis Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes by : Giorgos Papantoniou

Download or read book Central Places and Un-Central Landscapes written by Giorgos Papantoniou and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2019-04-01 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume examines the applicability of central place theory in contemporary archaeological practice and thought in light of ongoing developments in landscape archaeology, by bringing together ‘central places’ and ‘un-central landscapes’ and by grasping diachronically the complex relation between town and country, as shaped by political economies and the availability of natural resources. Moving away from model-bounded approaches, central place theory is used more flexibly to include all the places that may have functioned as loci of economic or ideological centrality (even in a local context) in the past. Fourteen chapters examine centrality and un-central landscapes from Prehistory to the late Middle Ages in different geographical contexts, from Cyprus and the Levant, through Greece and the Balkans to Italy, France, and Germany.

The Routledge Companion to Ecstatic Experience in the Ancient World

Author : Diana Stein
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000464768
Total Pages : 790 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (4 download)

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Book Synopsis The Routledge Companion to Ecstatic Experience in the Ancient World by : Diana Stein

Download or read book The Routledge Companion to Ecstatic Experience in the Ancient World written by Diana Stein and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-12-31 with total page 790 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For millennia, people have universally engaged in ecstatic experience as an essential element in ritual practice, spiritual belief and cultural identification. This volume offers the first systematic investigation of its myriad roles and manifestations in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. The twenty-nine contributors represent a broad range of scholarly disciplines, seeking answers to fundamental questions regarding the patterns and commonalities of this vital aspect of the past. How was the experience construed and by what means was it achieved? Who was involved? Where and when were rites carried out? How was it reflected in pictorial arts and written records? What was its relation to other components of the sociocultural compact? In proposing responses, the authors draw upon a wealth of original research in many fields, generating new perspectives and thought-provoking, often surprising, conclusions. With their abundant cross-cultural and cross-temporal references, the chapters mutually enrich each other and collectively deepen our understanding of ecstatic phenomena thousands of years ago. Another noteworthy feature of the book is its illustrative content, including commissioned reconstructions of ecstatic scenarios and pairings of works of Bronze Age and modern psychedelic art. Scholars, students and other readers interested in antiquity, comparative religion and the social and cognitive sciences will find much to explore in the fascinating realm of ecstatic experience in the ancient world.

Figurine Makers of Prehistoric Cyprus

Author : Edgar Peltenburg
Publisher : Oxbow Books
ISBN 13 : 1789250226
Total Pages : 510 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (892 download)

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Book Synopsis Figurine Makers of Prehistoric Cyprus by : Edgar Peltenburg

Download or read book Figurine Makers of Prehistoric Cyprus written by Edgar Peltenburg and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2019-07-31 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Chalcolithic period in Cyprus has been known since Porphyrios Dikaios’ excavations at Erimi in the 1930s and through the appearance in the antiquities market of illicitly acquired anthropomorphic cruciform figures, often manufactured from picrolite, a soft blue-green stone. The excavations of the settlement and cemetery at Souskiou Laona reported on in this volume paint a very different picture of life on the island during the late 4th and early 3rd millennia BC. Burial practices at other known sites are generally single inhumations in intramural pit graves, only rarely equipped with artifacts. At Souskiou, multiple inhumations were interred in deep rock-cut tombs clustered in extra-mural cemeteries. Although the sites were also subjected to extensive looting, excavations have revealed complex multi-stage burial practices with arrangements of disarticulated and articulated burials accompanied by a rich variety of grave goods. Chief among these are a multitude of cruciform figurines and pendants. This unusual treatment of the dead, which has not been recorded elsewhere in Cyprus, shifts the focus from the individual to the communal, and provides evidence for significant changes involving kinship group links to common ancestors. Excavations at the Laona settlement have furnished evidence suggesting that it functioned as a specialised center for the procurement and manufacture of picrolite during its early phase. The subsequent decline of picrolite production and the earliest known occurrence of new types of ornaments, such as faience beads and copper spiral pendants, attest to important changes involving the transformation of personal and social identities during the first centuries of the 3rd millennium BC, a topic that forms a central theme of this final report on the site.

New Directions in Cypriot Archaeology

Author : Catherine Kearns
Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 1501732714
Total Pages : 469 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (17 download)

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Book Synopsis New Directions in Cypriot Archaeology by : Catherine Kearns

Download or read book New Directions in Cypriot Archaeology written by Catherine Kearns and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-15 with total page 469 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New Directions in Cypriot Archaeology highlights current scholarship that employs a range of new techniques, methods, and theoretical approaches to questions related to the archaeology of the prehistoric and protohistoric periods on the island of Cyprus. From revolutions in radiocarbon dating, to the compositional analysis of ceramic remains, to the digital applications used to study landscape histories at broad scales, to rethinking human-environment/climate interrelationships, the last few decades of research on Cyprus invite inquiry into the implications of these novel archaeological methods for the field and its future directions. This edited volume gathers together a new generation of scholars who offer a revealing exploration of these insights as well as challenges to big questions in Cypriot archaeology, such as the rise of social complexity, urban settlement histories, and changes in culture and identity. These enduring topics provide the foundation for investigating the benefits and challenges of twenty-first-century methods and conceptual frameworks. Divided into three main sections related to critical chronological transitions, from earliest prehistory to the development of autonomous kingdoms during the Iron Age, each contribution exposes and engages with a different advance in studies of material culture, absolute dating, paleoenvironmental analysis, and spatial studies using geographic information systems. From rethinking the chronological transitions of the Early Bronze Age, to exploring regional craft production regimes of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, to locating Iron Age cemeteries through archival topographic maps, these exciting and pioneering authors provide innovative ways of thinking about Cypriot archaeology and its relationship to the wider discipline. List of Contributors: Georgia M. Andreou, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Classics, Cornell University Stella Diakou, Postdoctoral Fellow, Archaeological Research Unit, University of Cyprus Maria Dikomitou-Eliadou, Postdoctoral Fellow, Archaeological Research Unit, University of Cyprus David Frankel, Professor Emeritus of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University Artemis Georgiou, Marie Curie Research Fellow, Archaeological Research Unit, University of Cyprus Catherine Kearns, Assistant Professor of Classics, University of Chicago Sturt W. Manning, Goldwin Smith Professor of Classical Archaeology, Cornell University Eilis Monahan, PhD Candidate, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University Charalambos Paraskeva, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Cyprus Anna Satraki, Director of Larnaka District Museum, Department of Antiquities of Cyprus Matthew Spigelman, ACME Heritage Consultants, Partner

The Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic in the Eastern Fertile Crescent

Author : Tobias Richter
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1000813347
Total Pages : 455 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis The Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic in the Eastern Fertile Crescent by : Tobias Richter

Download or read book The Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic in the Eastern Fertile Crescent written by Tobias Richter and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-11-30 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together the latest results and discussions from research carried out in the eastern Fertile Crescent, the so-called hilly flanks, and adjacent regions, as well as providing key historical perspectives on earlier fieldwork in the region. The emergence of sedentary food producing societies in southwest Asia ca. 10,000 years ago has been a key research focus for archaeologists since the 1930s. This book provides a balance to the weight of work undertaken in the western Fertile Crescent, namely the Levant and southern Anatolia. This preference has led to a heavy emphasis on these regions in discussions about where, when and how the transition from hunting and gathering to plant cultivation and animal domestication occurred. Chapters assess the role of the eastern Fertile Crescent as a key region in the Neolithization process in southwest Asia, highlighting the key and important contributions people in this region made to the emergence of sedentary farming societies. This book is primarily aimed at academics researching the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture in southwest Asia. It will also be of interest to archaeologists working on this transition in other parts of Eurasia.

Collapse and Transformation

Author : Guy D. Middleton
Publisher : Oxbow Books
ISBN 13 : 1789254280
Total Pages : 280 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (892 download)

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Book Synopsis Collapse and Transformation by : Guy D. Middleton

Download or read book Collapse and Transformation written by Guy D. Middleton and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2020-04-09 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The years c. 1250 to 1150 BC in Greece and the Aegean are often characterised as a time of crisis and collapse. A critical period in the long history of the region and its people and culture, they witnessed the end of the Mycenaean kingdoms, with their palaces and Linear B records, and, through the Postpalatial period, the transition into the Early Iron Age. But, on closer examination, it has become increasingly clear that the period as a whole, across the region, defies simple characterisation – there was success and splendour, resilience and continuity, and novelty and innovation, actively driven by the people of these lands through this transformative century. The story of the Aegean at this time has frequently been incorporated into narratives focused on the wider eastern Mediterranean, and most infamously the ‘Sea Peoples’ of the Egyptian texts. In twenty-five chapters written by 25 specialists, Collapse and Transformation instead offers a tight focus on the Aegean itself, providing an up-to date picture of the archaeology ‘before’ and ‘after’ ‘the collapse’ of c. 1200 BC. It will be essential reading for students and scholars of the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean regions, as well as providing data and a range of interpretations to those studying collapse and resilience more widely and engaging in comparative studies. Introductory chapters discuss notions of collapse, and provide overviews of the Minoan and Mycenaean collapses. These are followed by twelve chapters, which review the evidence from the major regions of the Aegean, including the Argolid, Messenia, and Boeotia, Crete, and the Aegean islands. Six chapters then address key themes: the economy, funerary practices, the Mycenaean pottery of the mainland and the wider Aegean and eastern Mediterranean region, religion, and the extent to which later Greek myth can be drawn upon as evidence or taken to reflect any historical reality. The final four chapters provide a wider context for the Aegean story, surveying the eastern Mediterranean, including Cyprus and the Levant, and the themes of subsistence and warfare.

A Companion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean, 2 Volume Set

Author : Irene S. Lemos
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1118770196
Total Pages : 1484 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (187 download)

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Book Synopsis A Companion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean, 2 Volume Set by : Irene S. Lemos

Download or read book A Companion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean, 2 Volume Set written by Irene S. Lemos and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-01-09 with total page 1484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Companion that examines together two pivotal periods of Greek archaeology and offers a rich analysis of early Greek culture A Companion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean offers an original and inclusive review of two key periods of Greek archaeology, which are typically treated separately—the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. It presents an in-depth exploration of the society and material culture of Greece and the Mediterranean, from the 14th to the early 7th centuries BC. The two-volume companion sets Aegean developments within their broader geographic and cultural context, and presents the wide-ranging interactions with the Mediterranean. The companion bridges the gap that typically exists between Prehistoric and Classical Archaeology and examines material culture and social practice across Greece and the Mediterranean. A number of specialists examine the environment and demography, and analyze a range of textual and archaeological evidence to shed light on socio-political and cultural developments. The companion also emphasizes regionalism in the archaeology of early Greece and examines the responses of different regions to major phenomena such as state formation, literacy, migration and colonization. Comprehensive in scope, this important companion: Outlines major developments in the two key phases of early Greece, the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age Includes studies of the geography, chronology and demography of early Greece Explores the development of early Greek state and society and examines economy, religion, art and material culture Sets Aegean developments within their Mediterranean context Written for students, and scholars interested in the material culture of the era, ACompanion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean offers a comprehensive and authoritative guide that bridges the gap between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. 2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Winner!

Death in Late Bronze Age Greece

Author : Joanne M. A. Murphy
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0190926066
Total Pages : 359 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis Death in Late Bronze Age Greece by : Joanne M. A. Murphy

Download or read book Death in Late Bronze Age Greece written by Joanne M. A. Murphy and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-01-06 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Late Bronze Age tombs in Greece and their attendant mortuary practices have been a topic of scholarly debate for over a century, dominated by the idea of a monolithic culture with the same developmental trajectories throughout the region. This book contributes to that body of scholarship by exploring both the level of variety and of similarity that we see in the practices at each site and thereby highlights the differences between communities that otherwise look very similar. By bringing together an international group of scholars working on tombs and cemeteries on mainland Greece, Crete, and in the Dodecanese we are afforded a unique view of the development and diversity of these communities. The papers provide a penetrative analysis of the related issues by discussing tombs connected with sites ranging in size from palaces to towns to villages and in date from the start to the end of the Late Bronze Age. This book contextualizes the mortuary studies in recent debates on diversity at the main palatial and secondary sites and between the economic and political strategies and practices throughout Greece. The papers in the volume illustrate the pervasive connection between the mortuary sphere and society through the creation and expression of cultural narratives, and draw attention to the social tensions played out in the mortuary arena"--

OIKOS

Author : Jan Driessen
Publisher : Presses universitaires de Louvain
ISBN 13 : 2875589962
Total Pages : 362 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (755 download)

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Book Synopsis OIKOS by : Jan Driessen

Download or read book OIKOS written by Jan Driessen and published by Presses universitaires de Louvain. This book was released on 2020-07-28 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of papers explores whether the Lévi-Straussian notion of the House is a valid concept in aiding the comprehension of the social structure of Bronze Age Aegean societies. The volume succeeds in stressing the advances made in the study of social structure of the Aegean on the basis of material remains.

Far from Equilibrium: An archaeology of energy, life and humanity

Author : Michael J. Boyd
Publisher : Oxbow Books
ISBN 13 : 1789256046
Total Pages : 522 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (892 download)

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Book Synopsis Far from Equilibrium: An archaeology of energy, life and humanity by : Michael J. Boyd

Download or read book Far from Equilibrium: An archaeology of energy, life and humanity written by Michael J. Boyd and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2021-03-03 with total page 522 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Archaeology is in crisis. Spatial turns, material turns and the ontological turn have directed the discipline away from its hard-won battle to find humanity in the past. Meanwhile, popularised science, camouflaged as archaeology, produces shock headlines built on ancient DNA that reduce humanity’s most intriguing historical problems to two-dimensional caricatures. Today archaeology finds itself less able than ever to proclaim its relevance to the modern world. This volume foregrounds the relevance of the scholarship of John Barrett to this crisis. Twenty-four writers representing three generations of archaeologists scrutinise the current turmoil in the discipline and highlight the resolutions that may be found through Barrett’s analytical framework. Topics include archaeology and the senses, the continuing problem of the archaeological record, practice, discourse, and agency, reorienting archaeological field practice, the question of different expressions of human diversity, and material ecologies. Understanding archaeology as both a universal and highly specific discipline, case-studies range from the Aegean to Orkney, and encompass Anatolia, Korea, Romania, United Kingdom and the very nature of the Universe itself. This critical examination of John Barrett’s contribution to archaeology is simultaneously a response to his urgent call to arms to reorient archaeology in the service of humanity.