Dealing with Tribes and States in Ancient Palestine

This paper offers a critique on state formation theories used in the explanation of the rise of the biblical United Monarchy. The last three decades of archaeological and biblical research have shown that there is no firm evidence for speaking of a kingdom or empire of David and Solomon in ancient Palestine. Thus what is proposed here is to evaluate the archaeological record through the data provided by the ethnological record of the Middle East, keeping the biblical stories apart from this interpretation. The analysis of the dynamics and structure of Middle Eastern “tribal states” and “chiefdom societies”, including here the practice of patronage bonds, gives us important keys for understanding Palestine's societies. The historical perspective that appears then is one different from the Bible's stories and from modern ideas such as “states” and “nations”, offering us instead a better methodology for reconstructing ancient Palestine's historical past.     

Ancient molecules and human prehistory

Abstract

DNA and other molecules found in ancient remains are yielding new information about the origins, spread, interaction, and culture of early humans. Molecules of animal fats preserved in archaeological pottery have shown that in medieval societies people ate non-ruminant animals, such as pigs, but burned tallow from ruminants, such as sheep and cattle. Geochemical analysis of bitumen in the Middle East has documented ancient trade routes. Studies of molecular genetic diversity have shed light on when and how cattle were domesticated. Analysis of human hair from remains up to 5200 years old has revealed the diets of those ancient people. DNA recovered from other remains has also provided evidence for theories about the origins and spread of agriculture, and human migration into the Pacific.     

The impossibility of resurrecting the past: Reconstructions on archaeological excavation sites

Abstract

Since the beginnings of archaeological research, scientists have attempted to explain the past to a larger public. In the nineteenth century the quality of reconstruction drawings by architects was high but, after excavations were finished, the sites were left as they were, without conservation, while the movable finds were exhibited in the great museums of the European capitals. Today's mass tourism, however, demands attractions at the original ancient sites. The tourist industry, which brings by far the largest pool of visitors to the sites, sets the standards, but its interests centre on quick and simple ‘consumption’ of impressive ruins. Different methods have been employed in creating tourist attractions – from reconstructing ancient buildings to having museum staff in costume demonstrate elements of daily life in history. But it is the ruins on excavation sites, even in their damaged state, that are the irreplaceable, authentic records of the past. Archaeological preservation, therefore, has to mean uncompromising conservation of the damaged original remains. They should not be sacrificed for the sake of questionable ‘progress’ or popularization.     

Developing a Heritage Database for the Middle East and North Africa

ABSTRACT

The Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project based at the Universities of Oxford, Leicester, and Durham uses remote sensing to record archaeological and cultural heritage landscapes across twenty countries from Morocco to Iran and from Syria to Yemen. The project has developed an online heritage database built by adapting the open-source Arches heritage inventory platform developed by the Getty Conservation Institute and the World Monuments Fund. This paper discusses the process of customization of Arches v.3 adopted by EAMENA, particularly with regard to the development of new CIDOC CRM resource data models, reference data, and modifications to the Arches codebase.     

Identification of ancient textiles from Yingpan,Xinjiang, by multiple analytical techniques

Various extraordinary textiles were excavated from a graveyard at Yingpan, Xinjiang, on the middle route of the ancient Silk Road. Applications of western motifs and designs to traditional Chinese textiles led to the emergence of compound woven textiles with central Asian characters. For a better understanding of the cultural exchanges and textile trade between the West and the East in ancient times, identifications of archaeological fibres and dyes were carried out for various funerary textile objects by using multiple analytical techniques, such as high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode detection, optical microscopy, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Fibre identifications were performed for 35 archaeological textile samples, and the results showed that the ancient textiles were mostly made from Bombyx mori silk and wool. The SEM and FT-IR experimental results revealed that these ancient textiles remained morphologically intact due to the special (very dry) climate in Xinjiang, but noticeably degraded at the molecular level due to long time thermo-ageing and/or biodegradation. The principal colouring matters, such as alizarin, purpurin, indigotin and luteolin, were respectively characterised for nine archaeological textile samples. The yellow dyestuffs derived from luteolin-based plants were assumed to have been imported to China from the Middle East and Western Asia through the Silk Road.     

Satellite Remote Sensing Methods for Monitoring Archaeological Tells in the Middle East

Abstract

Using a variety of types of satellite imagery (SPOT, Corona, Landsat, and Quickbird) and concentrating on archaeological sites in the Egyptian floodplain, this paper proposes methods for monitoring the rate of archaeological site destruction in the Middle East. This image analysis shows how tells can be documented and monitored from computers anywhere in the world, emphasizing the multispectral capabilities and applications of satellites. The effects of population growth, looting, urban expansion, and war on archaeological sites in Egypt are reviewed, and a system is proposed to record sites by focusing on their individual spectral profiles. The analysis demonstrates how satellite imagery analysis can be applied to similar flood plain environments in Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq.     

Pottery technology in the Tang dynasty (ninth century ad): archaeometric analyses of a Gongyi sherd found at Siraf,Iran

In 1969–70, a single Tang dynasty blue‐spotted Gongyi sherd was found at Siraf, Iran, the main trading port on the Persian Gulf in the early Islamic period. This is the only known example of Chinese blue‐and‐white ware, whether low‐ or high‐fired, found in the Middle East from such an early date. The sherd provides direct archaeological evidence for the Indian Ocean trade between China and the Middle East in the ninth century ad . The body paste, clear glaze and blue glaze or pigment were analysed by thin‐section petrography, scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometry (SEM‐EDX) and X‐ray fluorescence (XRF). The technological analysis reveals the different steps of the chaîne opératoire: clay mixing, slip and glaze application, and decoration with the cobalt blue glaze before high‐temperature firing. These steps are characteristic of Tang stoneware production at Gongyi in Henan province, China. The use of cobalt blue pigment as part of a simple spotted decoration scheme on the Gongyi sherd, and its find context within the Middle East, provides evidence for the complex interplay and influence occurring between Chinese and Middle East ceramic industries at this time. Closely comparable examples of contemporary low‐fired earthenware ceramics with cobalt blue decoration on a white tin glaze manufactured within the Middle East also occur within the same assemblage from Siraf.     

Earthquakes and archaeology

This article examines the use of archaeological evidence for the assessment of historical earthquakes in the Eastern Mediterranean region and Middle East, long before the advent of modern seismology. We ask the questions when and where have large earthquakes happened in the past? How can this evidence contribute to our scientific understanding of earthquake activity? Is it possible on literary and archaeological grounds to distinguish between earthquake damage and damage from other causes? It is found that archaeological evidence for an earthquake is not always clear or unambiguous and that there is a need for collaboration between archaeologists, historians, geologists, engineering seismologists and workers in other disciplines, to evaluate the traces of earthquakes in excavations, both for understanding their effects at the site and for the information they can provide about the nature of the earthquake implicated.     

The logic of the herd: A computer simulation of archaeological herd structure

The advent of new techniques of dental ageing has permitted inferences about the age-structures of ancient animal populations on the basis of faunal remains. Unfortunately, inference from archaeological populations of faunal elements to the age-structure of ancient herds is fraught with both sampling problems and logical difficulties. The relationship between a living herd—a dynamic system characterized by growth—and a static archaeological population is more complex than that assumed by current models based on kill-off patterns and survivorship curves. Using a computer simulation, these logical relationships are explored, and the effects of herd growth on the composition of live and death populations are evaluated. By employing the simulation within a deductive framework, constrained by ethnographically derived criteria for reproduction, mortality, and economic viability in the Near East, it is possible to determine whether certain archaeological kill-off patterns could represent viable herding systems. Examples were found to vary widely in terms of both demographic plausibility and economic viability. Some implications for the possible course of ova-caprine domestication in the Near East are discussed.     

Prioritising Heritage Resources in a Time of Loss: Sea Level Rise and Archaeological Resources of the Middle Atlantic Region,US

ABSTRACT

The US Middle Atlantic region, known for its rich archaeological record and diverse topographic settings, is experiencing a range of climate change impacts, most notably: sea level rise and coastal erosion in its tidal zones. Documented palaeostratigraphic and palynological studies throughout the region provide a record of late Pleistocene/Holocene environmental response to changing climate, confirming observations from other disciplines that the magnitude of modern impacts exceeds past temporal and spatial patterns. The corresponding impact on archaeological resources is great, requiring a renewed effort to document threatened sites while also working with local and state governments to develop mitigation strategies. The Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference (MAAC) created the Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Committee to promote regional partnerships in site impact assessment and mitigation strategies. The network highlights the predicament of archaeology in this time of climate change: accelerated research and discovery in the face of catastrophic loss.     

Sasanian period drop-tower gristmills on the Deh Luran Plain,southwestern Iran

Abstract

The nature of the Deh Luran gristmill system is described, and archaeological and ethnohistorical observations provide insights into ancient rural technology, economics, and socio-politics. Optically Scanned Luminescence, ceramics, and other archaeological associations, date the Deh Luran gristmills to the Sasanian period (A.D. 225–700). A Middle East/Mediterranean origin as early as 250 B.C. is suggested for the drop-tower side-shot water wheel technology used.

The Deh Luran gristmill technology was well adapted to the topography and limited, variable water supply. Currently farmed lands, and their productivity, are found to be far less than projected grain surpluses for an expanding Sasanian Empire in Deh Luran. Population estimates based on gristmill productivity contradict those from archaeological data. Data suggest that Deh Luran, and similar rural areas, were relatively autonomous.     

The Limits of Turkish–Iranian Cooperation, 1974–80

Why did Turkey and Iran fail to become close partners in the 1970s even though they had compelling reasons to do so? This article argues that mutual distrust between Turkish and Iranian leaders, domestic turmoil in the two countries, and diverging geostrategic priorities undermined Ankara and Tehran's efforts to deepen their relations. While the shah of Iran saw his country as the policeman of the Persian Gulf and the Middle East, successive governments in Turkey continued to look west for their security. As economic and political turmoil engulfed the two countries, leading to a revolution in Iran in 1979 and a coup in Turkey in 1980, Iranian and Turkish leaders could not forge a lasting partnership.     

The ultimate test case: can Europe and America forge a joint strategy for the wider Middle East?

The call for a common US–European approach to the multiple problems of the wider Middle East region has become the latest truism of the transatlantic circuit. But the Middle East is also the region that has historically most divided Americans and Europeans. Steven Everts argues that, despite the different reflexes and assumptions, a joint transatlantic effort is both necessary and feasible. But it will only work if both sides are prepared to adjust policies, allocate sufficient resources and, most of all, take political risks. He sketches a joint strategy based on four pillars: a new international bargain for Iraq; keeping the two-state solution alive in Israel–Palestine; preventing the next transatlantic bust-up over Iran; and with regard to the crisis of governance, taking concrete steps to promote political reforms throughout the region. The author concludes that in the Middle East, Europe must be more strategically daring while America must be more politically astute.     

Photography and Latin American Ruins

Ever since the nineteenth century photographers have regularly turned to Latin American ruins to express a diverse range of scientific, colonial, aesthetic and spiritual desires. This article looks at photographs of Latin American ruins from the nineteenth century through several archaeological expeditions in Central and South America over the course of the twentieth century. Focusing in particular on photographs of ruins that include human subjects, I argue that the human-material interactions evident in these images undermine the traditional view of a split between the archaeological subject and the material object, serving as a reminder of the political actuality of ‘classical’ ruins, sites that have sometimes been left out of the West’s contemporary fascination with the dark underbelly of modernity. Acknowledging that such politics is by no means always innocent, sometimes reflecting as it does the embedded power relations of neo-colonial desires, I argue nonetheless that ancient ruins in Latin America continue to be spaces around which social relations can be formed, not least through humour and pleasure.     

Mythological Themes in Iranian Culture and Art: Traditional and Contemporary Perspectives

In Iran, ancient mythical elements are very much alive in the present as a part of the fabric of ordinary people's lives and worldview. This paper explores the relationship between culture, myth, and artistic production in contemporary Iran, using the specific examples of symbols and mythological themes evoked in the work of painter/writer Aydin Aghdashloo and photographer/video artist Shirin Neshat. The paintings of Aghdashloo, in which he deliberately damages beautifully-executed classical style Persian miniatures, convey a sense that the angelic forces have failed and that the world is succumbing to the destructive and degenerative activities of the demonic. The photographs, videos and installations of Neshat likewise draw heavily on cultic forms inherited from ancient Iranian tradition. It is important to note that in none of these cases does the artist use mythological themes and symbols to express their original cultural meaning; rather, they appropriate well-known elements of ancient Iranian culture and imbue them with new meanings relevant to contemporary issues and understandings. What these examples do illustrate is the persistent resonance of ancient Iranian culture among Iranians up to the present day. Iranian artists have demonstrated the effectiveness of evoking their target audience's deep sense of cultural identity to convey contemporary messages using ancient cultural concepts, sometimes on a subconscious level.     

Applications of integrated geophysical method in archaeological surveys of the ancient Shu ruins

The Jinsha site is one set of excavated ruins of the ancient Shu state, late Neolithic, early Bronze Age. The archaeological survey of the site is especially important for study of Shu culture, because there is hardly any written record of this period. As technology progresses, more and more advanced techniques and equipment have been used to conduct archaeological surveys. In this study, four nondestructive methods of geophysical detection were used to locate ancient relics at the site. The validity of these different types of archaeological detection methods (method of high-density resistivity, induced polarization, multi-frequency electromagnetic, ground-penetrating radar and so on) and techniques were analyzed. And a multi-scale, multi-method detection system to non-destructive detection of cultural relics was established.     

Apollo and the Virgin: The Changing Meanings of a Sacred Site on Anafi

The ruins of an ancient Greek temple on a Cycladic island form part of an Orthodox Christian shrine. To local people and returning migrants, the site is that of their patron saint; its pre‐Christian past is irrelevant except in so far as it establishes their specific link with the ancient world, and thus with national claims of unbroken continuity between modern and ancient Greece. To early travellers and antiquarians, and to today’s archaeologists, it has been primarily the ancient site which is of interest, while tourists are more concerned in finding “an unspoilt island”. A historical survey of information about the ancient and the Christian site reveals ambiguities and confusions about both. These multiple meanings for locals and scholars are discussed.     

New Archaeological Books and Journals

Abstract

In 714 B.C., Sargon II, king of Assyria, conducted a major military campaign across the Zagros Mountains into western Iran. It was the eighth campaign of his reign, and the fourth into Iran. This time, Sargon's main goal was to contain the state of Urartu within its territory and to subdue its allies. The itinerary of the Assyrian army and the events of the campaign were written in the form of a long letter from the king to the god Assur, and it is preserved almost in its entirety. The text is of great importance because it gives one of the most extensive itineraries of an Assyrian campaign and, unlike other Assyrian reports, it mentions by name, and often describes, a large number of cities and fortresses as well as many geographical features.

For over 70 years scholars have attempted to reconstruct the route of Sargon from Assyria to Iran and to identify by epigraphical and archaeological research and survey the cities and features he mentions. Unfortunately, there has been little agreement among the modern researchers with regard to the specific directions taken by Sargon and equally so with attempts to link a site on the archaeological map with one mentioned in the ancient text. The present article gives a summary of the various solutions offered over the years and argues for the identification of two archaeologically known sites with two of those mentioned by Sargon.     

Turquoise Mine and Artefact Correlation for Some Bronze Age Archaeological Sites in Hubei Province,China

In China, there are places that are rich in gem‐quality turquoise resources, including north‐west Hubei Province and the nearby Baihe County in Shaanxi Province, and many ancient mining sites, although the mining history remains a mystery. Based on the compositional data from reference samples of known deposits, a comparison of the major and trace element contents of archaeological turquoise may help with determination of artefact provenance. This paper discusses new evidence of provenance‐tracking of turquoise in this area, obtained from geochemical analyses using REE and other trace elements of 22 turquoises and their surrounding rock samples from six ancient mines and three archaeological sites. The results indicate that the three archaeological turquoises from the tomb of the Middle Spring and Autumn Period (580–560 bc ) and the Warring States Period (476–221 bc ) in Hubei Province were made of raw material from north‐west Hubei Province and the nearby Baihe County in Shaanxi Province. [Correction added on 29 October 2014, after first online publication: In the preceding sentence, the correct dates for the Middle Spring and Autumn Period, and the Warring States Period have been added]     

Trace element discriminants between Egyptian and Mesopotamian Late Bronze Age glasses

The origins of Late Bronze Age glass artefacts found throughout the Mediterranean and Near and Middle East remain controversial. Previous analyses of major and minor elements in both Egyptian and Mesopotamian glasses have proven equivocal, revealing no significant compositional differences between glasses from these two regions. Here we present new Laser ablation-ICPMS analyses of 32 trace elements in 54 samples of both Egyptian and Mesopotamian blue and colourless glasses. Our results show that there are consistent differences between these two suites, which are not related to the colorant and clearly indicate the use of different raw materials and/or manufacturing processes. Compositional variations are related to geological controls, hence this method holds promise for the development of a minimally destructive technique for discriminating between archaeological glasses of different provenance, which will be essential in the interpretation of ancient trade patterns and contacts.