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
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
