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
