The aim of this research is to investigate the degree of differentiation among Chalcolithic buildings. In this research project, several key sites of the Chalcolithic are under investigation,...Show moreThe aim of this research is to investigate the degree of differentiation among Chalcolithic buildings. In this research project, several key sites of the Chalcolithic are under investigation, including Lemba-Lakkous, Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, Kissonerga-Mosphilia and Chlorakas-Palloures. The data provided by the excavations at Chlorakas-Palloures have not been incorporated in any research until now. Although the Chalcolithic period has been extensively studied and the excavated sites have been recorded in great detail, little attention is given to the architectural features, and only the “special” structures are examined in great detail. It has been argued that Chalcolithic houses, their spatial configuration and internal activity zones are highly standardized. Also, a marked differentiation can be recognized in both house sizes and building elaboration. However, the Chalcolithic house is always presented as a homogenous structure, with little regard for differentiation or diversity in these structures. This model relies heavily on several parade ground examples, such as the ‘Red Building’ and the Kissonerga ‘Building Model’ and buildings that do not fit in this model, have not been considered. The emergence of building differentiation has first been identified during the Middle Chalcolithic, and it has been argued that this variability resulted from ritual control. For the Late Chalcolithic, the evidence for building differentiation is illustrated by the ‘Pithos House’ of which it has been argued that the differentiation is a result of socio-economic organisation. Interestingly, these buildings are all conform to the internal arrangements of the standard Chalcolithic house. Thus, for both periods building differentiation has been explained to be associated to social competition. In order to scrutinize this hypothesis, the concept of house societies has been applied, in which mainly has been focussed on the buildings and the features therein. Whether settlements are hierarchically arranged can be inferred though house size, building elaboration, differences in food items, access to craft-produced items and burial practices. Therefore, it should be investigated whether we can recognize a difference in activities, building size and building elaboration, in order to identify these high-status buildings. A large dataset has been created combining all the architectural data of the four sites, in order to systematically study, compare and analyse them together. It has been concluded that a high degree of variability is present among Chalcolithic buildings, which can be both recognized on the site level and between sites. This differentiation is due to differences in function, but several high-status buildings have been identified also. Buildings in which a difference in the internal layout could be recognized did not function as houses but served as storage facilities and communal food processing and preparation buildings. Both curvilinear and rectilinear buildings served as such. Buildings which differed in terms of building size, building elaboration were conform to the standard spatial configuration and served primarily as houses. In these buildings evidence for access to different food items and craft-produced items has been encountered. Therefore, it can be argued that these buildings were high-status buildings.Show less
The study presented in this thesis investigates what structures can be interpreted as type of stone markers and how and why these have been used in the Jebel Qurma region, a desert landscape that...Show moreThe study presented in this thesis investigates what structures can be interpreted as type of stone markers and how and why these have been used in the Jebel Qurma region, a desert landscape that is part of the eastern badia (or Black Desert) northeast Jordan. The use of these structures is difficult to understand since these differ in physical qualities even when they have been positioned at the same places in the landscape. Some are well-built to be seen from far and all directions but many loosely piled and only visible from close distances. During two historical occupation phases stone markers are positioned in the Jebel Qurma region by societies with a pastoralist’s lifestyle. They explored and occupied the landscape intensively during a specific period of the year in order to hunt, pasture their livestock and to perform other dwelling activities in the landscape. . The complexities of the societies and the climate conditions in the research area contributed to a different way of the use of stone markers in the landscape. A typology/classifation could be established based on the needs of the societies. The physical qualities of the stone markers are related to their topographical positioning in the landscape. The stone markers used by the Safaitic society and traditional Bedouins are the evidence of a well-organized travel system to perform subsistence strategies in the interior of the landscape with livestock. Their interaction with stone markers contributes to the understanding how they used the landscape while they were moving with livestock through the region to get from one place to another.Show less
The Kura Araxes represents an important albeit understudied cultural horizon dated to the Early Bronze Age, often defined as a single cultural group that originated in Transcaucasia and spread into...Show moreThe Kura Araxes represents an important albeit understudied cultural horizon dated to the Early Bronze Age, often defined as a single cultural group that originated in Transcaucasia and spread into the greater Near East. Many details about Kura Araxes society still remain much debated as most of the theories discussing the identity of the culture are based on the distribution of characteristic ceramics, which can mask the various levels of complexity. This study focuses on the mortuary evidence found in designated Kura Araxes cemeteries, which has the potential to highlight more cultural heterogeneity. Patterns within burial practices including burial construction types, location of cemeteries, inhumation practices, gender, rituals, grave goods, geographic dispersals and chronological transitions are examined. The divisions in mortuary traditions are interpreted as corresponding to separations in economic and ethnic identities based on mobile and sedentary lifestyle interactions, which undergo transformations throughout the Kura Araxes chronological phases.Show less
Animals have played a major role in the Halaf. Animals did not only figure in Halaf subsistence and the economy, but they also played a prominent role in symbolism. We encounter animals in...Show moreAnimals have played a major role in the Halaf. Animals did not only figure in Halaf subsistence and the economy, but they also played a prominent role in symbolism. We encounter animals in different material categories, as images in wall paintings, on Halaf Fine Ware ceramics, sealings, and as stamps for sealing, amulets, and figurines. Animal remains have been found alongside those of humans, or in other special or ritual contexts. How can we understand these animal representations and ‘ritual’ animal deposits? This preliminary study explores the meanings of animals in the Halaf by using a new approach that was never employed in this area before: Social zooarchaeology. Social zooarchaeology views animals not only as ‘good to eat’, but also as ‘good to think with’ as Lévi-Strauss so famously pointed out. This study investigates multiple case studies from various sites, like Domuztepe (Turkey), Tell Kurdu (Turkey), Kazane Höyük (Turkey), Fıstıklı Hüyük (Turkey), Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria), Tell Khirbet esh-Shenef (Syria), Tell Arpachiyah (Iraq), Banahilk (Iraq), and Yarim Tepe I and II (Iraq). In order to interpret the various animal representations and ritual deposits, every material category and ritual animal deposit is considered in its depositional context and context of use. Furthermore, comparisons with the zooarchaeological record are made, and subsistence. Four main contexts can be recognized in which animals fulfilled symbolic roles, and these often overlap: 1) Domestic space, 2) ‘ritual’, including communal events, commensality and burial, and 3) administration, including storage, the marking of property, and the usage of objects as mnemonic devices, and 4) bodily adornment. It appears that animals might have functioned as a common spoken language in the sharing economy, figuring in complex narratives, myths, and rituals, enforcing human-human relationships and tying together diverse people from various backgrounds in communal events.Show less
This research focusses on de spatial context of the wall reliefs in the Northwest Palace of Assurnasirpal II, at Nimrud. This palace was built by Assurnasirpal II as the administrative centre of...Show moreThis research focusses on de spatial context of the wall reliefs in the Northwest Palace of Assurnasirpal II, at Nimrud. This palace was built by Assurnasirpal II as the administrative centre of the new capital of the empire at the beginning of the 9th century B.C. While doing so, the capital was moved from Assur to Nimrud. A lot of research has been done on Neo-Assyrian palaces, which often focusses on the wall reliefs that decorated the rooms of the palace. However, the wall reliefs have mainly been investigated in isolation. Especially the iconography of the images and their meaning have gotten a lot of attention. For example, images of hunting and war scenes are often associated with propaganda. However, to be able to make a statement about the meaning of these images, it is necessary to look at the context of these reliefs. The palace – and the rooms in the palace itself – were not accessible for everyone, and a great distinction can be made between the public and private quarters of the palace. In order to investigate the spatial context of the wall reliefs, the images on the reliefs, written sources, and reconstructions of the positions of the reliefs have been used. Firstly, the reliefs in each room, de locations of these rooms in de palace, and the images on the reliefs have been investigated. One can recognise different themes on the images: war scenes, hunting scenes, the bringing of tribute to the king, and religious scenes. Secondly, the functions of the rooms, and the designation between public and private quarters have been included in the research.Show less
Beads were often neglected in archeological considerations, investigated in an unsatisfactory way, used as eye catcher for publications and reduced to their esthetic value. In fact they are an...Show moreBeads were often neglected in archeological considerations, investigated in an unsatisfactory way, used as eye catcher for publications and reduced to their esthetic value. In fact they are an essential and inseparable part of Neolithic life, requiring complex concepts. They are linked to technology, exchange, ritual and esthetic. Tell Sabi Ayad yielded beads from the Late Neolithic only, which facilitates a case study focused on this restricted period. A large part of the beads is not directly datable, as many bead types and materials are diachronic, used in the Late Neolithic and Late Bronze Age. So the beads are dated according the levels where they were found. The excavations on Tell Sabi Ayad were subdivided in 5 operations, all with an own stratigraphy. Operation III was excavated over the largest surface area and most levels could be C14 dated. Only this operation allowed statistical considerations. It turned out that bead rates, diversity of types and colors did not increase with time, but in certain periods only. Raw materials, unfinished and reused beads in association with possible tools are rare on the tell. However this evidence and the amount of local stones suggest production on household level on the tell. Partly beads are fractured, but there are no indications for intentional fragmentation. On the contrary it seems that in grave context only pristine pieces of jewelry were deposited, but jewelry is not mandatory in burials. There are large differences regarding amount and quality of beads in the graves. These differences might indicate some kind of stratification within the society. The major portions of beads are single, complete beads. Necklaces, bracelets and anklets were found in much lesser quantities and mainly in grave context. The beads are all stored in depots in Syria and could not be studied directly. Therefore my study is based on the documentations produced in the field, and Neolithic bead technology is discussed in general. Generally investigations on beads are focused on technological or social aspects but do not work out the variations between Early and Late Neolithic stone beads. It remains challenging to investigate how beads changed with the onset of the Late Neolithic in a semi sedentary society. Show less
The Halaf culture is known for having the finest pottery making traditions of the ancient Near East. Its assemblage is dominated by various geometric designs, and a small part of this assemblage is...Show moreThe Halaf culture is known for having the finest pottery making traditions of the ancient Near East. Its assemblage is dominated by various geometric designs, and a small part of this assemblage is comprised of realistic designs. These realistic designs include depictions of objects, structures, animals, and only a few depict human figures. A mere twenty-five depictions to be precise. This thesis has gathered, for the first time ever, all the available Halaf fragments that depict human figures. These images have been found at ten different Halaf sites, where some sites yielded more than one image. All of the images were depicted on “Halaf Fine Ware”, a technologically improved serving vessel, that supposedly changed the way prehistoric people used ceramic wares. Earlier studies have paid attention to different aspects of these anthropomorphic designs. Some studies have focused on the stylistic aspects, and others have also incorporated meaning in their analysis of the images. Yet, no study has incorporated and commented on the context in which these fragments were found. This thesis is data-oriented, and the data set is approached from a variety of analytical perspectives: formal-stylistic, functional, and depositional.Show less
The aim of this research is to gain new insights in the changing of cooking practices and eating habits as a result of Frankish influence. To reach this aim, this study strives to seek a relation...Show moreThe aim of this research is to gain new insights in the changing of cooking practices and eating habits as a result of Frankish influence. To reach this aim, this study strives to seek a relation between cooking wares and cooking practices, and diet and eating habits. As a result, it aims to provide valuable information regarding the socio-economic, the cultural, and the local and regional perspective of both cooking practices and eating habits during the Middle to Late Byzantine period (ca. 1200-1500 AD). This research shows that there were indeed changes in cooking practices and eating habits during the Late-Byzantine/Frankish period in the Aegean, and these could have been related to each other. The evidence suggests that smaller, thinner, and taller cooking pots appear somewhere around the middle of the 13th century, replacing the previous globular, thicker ones from the Middle Byzantine period. This change could have been the result of a trend during the Late Byzantine/Frankish period towards more watery dishes, cooked in their own juices. The dietary evidence supports this considerable difference in the Byzantine Aegean diet and the Medieval Western diet, primarily at the higher classes of society. Unfortunately, the effects of Christian Orthodox fasting rules on diet and eating habits or Frankish meat consumption are not visible in stable isotope values from multiple sites in Greece. A socio-economic perspective on the ceramic and dietary evidence during this period could indicate a possible Frankish influence on local cooking practices and eating habits. However, it is not with certainty to say that these changes were actual the result of Frankish influence. From a cultural perspective, it appears that the change to different cooking practices and eating habits in Late Byzantine/Frankish times may not only have been the result of the appearance of the Franks into the scene, but also of growing wealth. Furthermore, it is difficult to distinguish different cooking practices between the higher and lower classes in the Byzantine Aegean or the Medieval West, while substantial variations between town and country or between different local environments must have determined food choice and availability to a certain extent. The local and regional perspective also supports the fact that ceramic and dietary distinctions existed between town, country, and other areas. Urban settlements were more likely to be influenced by a Frankish presence than rural settlements. The experimentation indicates that similar production methods were used for both type of cooking wares. In this regard, it seems very plausible that the Franks did not bring their own potters. The Middle Byzantine way of production seems to have persisted after the Frankish conquest, without noticeable morphological changes.Show less
The thesis analyses the extension of the Urartian Empire and focuses on its northern provinces and frontier regions. It demonstrates how far the Urartian state extended to north in Transcaucasia...Show moreThe thesis analyses the extension of the Urartian Empire and focuses on its northern provinces and frontier regions. It demonstrates how far the Urartian state extended to north in Transcaucasia and shows the different degrees of political control exercised by the central imperial authority over the conquered regions. Urartu, like other ancient empires and states, was not a monolithic, contiguous political and territorial formation, and its boundaries were rather fluid and loosely defined than static like the borders of modern nation states. To achieve a better understanding of the archaeology of political control of the Urartian Empire, four categories and further subcategories of the Urartian cultural assemblage are defined that best represent the Urartian political/administrative landscape: architecture (subdivided by major administrative centres, fortresses and tombs), the display inscriptions, metalwork and pottery. By analysing the distribution of Urartian cultural assemblage, different zones are defined within the Urartian political/administrative landscape such as core, province and frontier, in which the central authority exercised its power and control to varying degrees.Show less
Little is known about the Edomites, a people that lived in the ancient Near East during the early Biblical times. We have even less information about their religion. Horvat Qitmit is a striking...Show moreLittle is known about the Edomites, a people that lived in the ancient Near East during the early Biblical times. We have even less information about their religion. Horvat Qitmit is a striking site that consist of a shrine. It is one of the most important sites to give information about Edomite religion. This thesis compares the finds of this site to both ancient textual sources and the literature that has been written about the Edomites over the last 100 years or so. This results in a critical overview of what is known about the Edomites and more specifically their religion today; which information is outdated and has been revised and which information appears to be confirmed and can thus still be used today.Show less
Het Gudit Stèle Veld was een gebied ten zuidwesten van Aksum, Ethiopië. Het dateert uit de 3e en 4e eeuw na Chr. en in deze periode zijn ongeveer honderd stèles hier neergezet. Welke functie had...Show moreHet Gudit Stèle Veld was een gebied ten zuidwesten van Aksum, Ethiopië. Het dateert uit de 3e en 4e eeuw na Chr. en in deze periode zijn ongeveer honderd stèles hier neergezet. Welke functie had het Gudit stèle veld binnen de Aksumitische samenleving gedurende de opkomst van het christendom?Show less
This thesis deals with basketry impressions on fragments of bitumen, gypsum and pottery found during excavations at the (Late) Neolithic (7000 - 5300 BC) site of Tell Sabi Abyad in Syria. It would...Show moreThis thesis deals with basketry impressions on fragments of bitumen, gypsum and pottery found during excavations at the (Late) Neolithic (7000 - 5300 BC) site of Tell Sabi Abyad in Syria. It would seem that basketry was produced on-site: botanical evidence shows that the required vegetable materials were readily available in the then fertile grounds surrounding the mounds, whereas hundreds of bone awls and needles suggest a range of on-site production activities concerning perishable artefacts, including textiles and basketry. After production, basketry artefacts were either used instantly as containers (and presumably as architectural elements, such as floor coverings and roof constructions) or used in the production sequence of other artefacts, such as bitumen-coated waterproof containers, White Ware and pottery. The untreated containers were used for communal storage facilities of dry goods, whilst the treated basketry was used to store liquids or to shape gypsum and clay into rigid vessels. Finally, diachronic analysis shows that different basketry techniques were introduced and used at different times at the site. The appearance of coiled basketry seems to have instigated a usage decline of bitumen-coated plaited baskets, as the former was used to shape larger waterproof vessels of gypsum and pottery.Show less
Few aspects of human agency are as sparsely treated in archaeological literature as the act of human defecation in the Ancient Near East, as only a limited number of toilets have been found and...Show moreFew aspects of human agency are as sparsely treated in archaeological literature as the act of human defecation in the Ancient Near East, as only a limited number of toilets have been found and published. This paucity is unfortunate, as sanitary technology as a phenomenon can have implications for a wide range of human socio-economic behaviour. The scarce literature indicates a predominance of squatting toilets, when compared to seating toilets. Based on an overview of the published toilets, this assumption does not bear out, as an overview of the available data suggests that seating toilets were equally “common”. At the same time toilets were not “common” at all: the large majority of toilets were found in urban and elite contexts. As such, the spread of sanitary technology like toilets and especially sewage systems might be indicative of social complexity, starting in Southern Mesopotamia in the 4th Millennium BC, eventually reaching Syria in the 2nd Millennium BC. In Tell Sabi Abyad toilets have been found in an Assyrian Late Bronze Age fortified estate, a so called dunnu, that was the property of an elite Assyrian family. These are the only toilets in the Ancient Near East that have been so far found outside an urban context. Although the small scale of the settlement does not necessitate toilets, its defensive role might. In addition the toilets may well have been part of the habitus of Assyrian nobility. Remarkably, these toilets stayed in use and were even rebuilt long after the dunnu lost its importance and connection to nobility, indicating an emulation of status behaviour, and a transfer of elite values.Show less
Summary This thesis deals with the research question whether music played a pivotal role in complex societies, which emerged during the ED period (2900-2450 BCE) in Sumer, present day southern Iraq...Show moreSummary This thesis deals with the research question whether music played a pivotal role in complex societies, which emerged during the ED period (2900-2450 BCE) in Sumer, present day southern Iraq. In relation to this assessment, the focus of this study is on the social identity of the musician and on the evolution of the stringed music instrument. Accordingly, a literature study has been conducted focusing on a selection of relevant artifacts encountered at the Royal Cemetery of Ur: 1) the stringed music instruments, 2) the cylinder seals, and 3) the artifacts with cuneiform texts. Complex Society and Music: One of the key socio-political developments, which occurred during the ED IIIa period (2600-2450 BCE), was that kingship became hereditary. As such the legitimacy of kingship towards the citizens, became of critical importance, especially during the transition of power, now from father to son. Therefore the palace ideology, consisting of a body of doctrines, had to be inculcated effectively in society, now more than ever. To achieve this, music would prove to come to the rescue. This, since the elite would select two arenas to fulfill their propaganda needs, one in the domain of the living, the palace, the other in the domain of the death, the (royal) cemetery. The Musician: Therefore the “gala” singer attended not only the royal banquets, at the palace, and plucked the lyre, as can be observed from the cylinder seals and the Standard of Ur. But she also performed during the funerary ritual of the deceased ruler, as can be observed from the contextual evidence, the skeletons of “Dumu-kisal” and her colleagues in relation to the harps and lyres, of the royal cemetery. The Music Instrument: A sumptuous variety of stringed music instruments has been skillfully retrieved by Woolley from the Royal Cemetery, which is testimony to the long evolutionary path these instruments have followed. The lyre is thought to have evolved out of the arched harp (+/- 3000 BCE), which itself is interpreted to have developed from the hunter’s bow. The number of strings increased from 3-5 during the Uruk period to 11-15 observed during the ED period, enhancing the tonal capacity of the instrument significantly.Show less
When Middle Assyrians conquered the land of Hanigalbat during the 14th and 13th century, they did several changes in the settlement systems of the area. This paper is mainly concerned with the...Show moreWhen Middle Assyrians conquered the land of Hanigalbat during the 14th and 13th century, they did several changes in the settlement systems of the area. This paper is mainly concerned with the changes happened during the transitional phase from the Mitanni to the Middle Assyrian period. Several works have been lately published about the Middle Assyrians in general but the Mitanni period has been generally neglected. The research of this paper tackles the subject through a bibliographical overview of the current archaeological data concerning the period. The questions which are going to be investigated in this paper about the transition from Mitanni to Middle Assyrians are: What changes did the Middle Assyrians brought to the administrative system of the area? What changes do we see in the settlement system? How did the agricultural economy evolved, what are the results of the intensification of agriculture and how did this affect the changes in settlement systems? In order to answer those questions the paper is divided in 4 chapters. In the first chapter I do a historical overview of the periods from the 15th to the 13th century BC. The historical overview is important to create the context in which I am going to work and it provides crucial information about the names of certain sites which will be investigated. In the first chapter I also provide a brief state of the archaeological research of the periods. In the second chapter I thoroughly investigate three areas, t e Balīḫ Valley, the Upper Ḫābūr Valle and t e Upper igris regi n. I pr vide general information of the areas and examination of certain sites which are used as examples. At the end of each subchapter there are conclusions concerning each specific region. The third chapter deals with agriculture and the changes of agriculture during the early period of the Middle Assyrian Empire. In order to examine the subject of agriculture I use two well documented sites, Tell Sabi Abyad and Dūr-Katlimmu. These sites have been chose because they provide us with important textual evidence and allow the reconstruction of their agricultural productivity. The study of agriculture allows us to see the role of agriculture in the settlement changes of the period.In the final chapter I firstly present a discussion in order to create a theoretical framework for the changes on settlement systems. In this part I discuss the policies used by Middle Assyrian in each region and the reasons behind certain decisions on changing the settlement patterns of an area. The last part of the chapter contains the conclusions and results of the research. The purpose of this MA thesis is to recreate certain aspects of the transitions from the Mitanni Empire to the Middle Assyrian Empire with main focus on the changes of settlement patterns.Show less
This MA thesis is a study into the assemblage of bone tools from the Late Neolithic period of Tell Sabi Abyad, specifically the tools that come from the Operation III area. Only those objects that...Show moreThis MA thesis is a study into the assemblage of bone tools from the Late Neolithic period of Tell Sabi Abyad, specifically the tools that come from the Operation III area. Only those objects that can be seen as tools or implements have been the subject of the research. In total this amounts to an assemblage of 1081 objects. Of these objects this study investigates which types are present, the numbers in which they occur, and the manner of distribution across the area. The first step is the forming of a typology that is easy to understand for anyone working with the bone tool material from Tell Sabi Abyad yet retains enough detail to make clear distinctions in the distribution of the different objects. The framework of the typology is based on several different ways in which researchers have looked at bone tool assemblages; from the very detailed work of J. Schibler to the more basic idea of expedient versus time-invested tools as first proposed by A.T. Clason. A quantitative analysis is then given, where the different typological classifications and the arguments underlying them are mentioned in detail. Secondly, the implement distribution and contexts per typological entity is investigated. This results in the identification of what can be seen as two main centres within the distribution of the Operation III area. Whether these can be counted as centres of activity is not certain. The available data on the contexts gives an ambiguous view and specific activity localities could not be recognized. From the study it becomes clear that Tell Sabi Abyad shows an assemblage comparable to other Neolithic sites in the Near East and other regions. The typology as it is set up fits well within the limits of the typologies of other sites and, as such, is recognizable for those working on similar studies. This counts both for Tell Sabi Abyad as for other sites. Future work will in all likelihood give rise to reasons for alteration of the current typology but it is believed that the main body will remain upright.Show less
