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Books by Serena Love

The fourth annual Current Research in Egyptology Symposium (CRE 2003) was held on 18-19 January 2... more The fourth annual Current Research in Egyptology Symposium (CRE 2003) was held on 18-19 January 2003, at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, and brought together graduate students of Egyptology from a range of institutions.In total, 27 papers were presented, 13 of which are published here. These illustrate a range of subject areas and approaches; an underlying theme, though, is apparent; a greater degree of reflexivity and a wider engagement with interdisciplinary research.

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Papers by Serena Love

Journal of Field Archaeology, 2017

Recent research into mud brick architecture have established that the simple mud brick is a pote... more Recent research into mud brick architecture have established that the simple mud brick is a potential source of cultural information and can provide information about chronology, technology, identity, labor, resources, and environmental conditions. Some analytical techniques for the analysis of sun-dried mud bricks are dependent on the exportation of archaeological samples to foreign laboratories. Some countries severely restrict (or prohibit) the export or removal of archaeological materials making it essential to conduct analysis while in the field. This paper demonstrates the successful use of in-field procedures using a range of portable equipment to quantify basic mud brick characteristics, including particle size distribution through wet sieving, RGB color, magnetic susceptibility, and acid digestion to quantify calcium carbonate. Field and laboratory methods were compared on a single data set, specifically the assemblage from the Neolithic Anatolian site of Çatalhöyük. The results confirmed the accuracy of these methods and provide effective field techniques for mud brick analysis. This article provides an overview of recent research highlighting the importance of mud brick studies and provides procedures for in-field analysis of materials.

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Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 2002

Waiting outside the BM lecture theatre before the start of the latest NSG meeting, someone commen... more Waiting outside the BM lecture theatre before the start of the latest NSG meeting, someone commented that, although they would probably stay for the whole meeting, the afternoon was likely to be boring, as it was' all science'. I might not have taken so much notice if the ...

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Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 2003

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Assembling Çatalhöyük. Themes in Contemporary Archaeology 1: 111–126, Sep 1, 2015

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International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Science, Second edition. Oxford: Elsevier. Pp. 53-57., Apr 2015

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The period between ca. 5,200 and 4,500 years (Cal BC), framed by the end of the Pottery Neolithic... more The period between ca. 5,200 and 4,500 years (Cal BC), framed by the end of the Pottery Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic
Wadi Rabah culture on the one hand and the appearance of the Late Chalcolithic Ghassulian on the other hand, is
underrepresented in current research when compared with the periods that pre- and post-date it. The site of Tel Tsaf
(Middle Jordan Valley) is distinguished by its superb preservation of mudbrick architecture and organic materials, as well
as by the evidence for large-scale storage and long distance trade. It therefore offers ideal conditions to study changes
in household economies during the formative stages of the Late Chalcolithic period and the ecological settings of these
changes. In this paper we offer a preliminary account of the first season of the renewed project at Tel Tsaf as well as
preliminary results of some of the analyses already conducted.

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Journal of Archaeological Science 40: 3340-3366, Jun 2013

Sediment accretion in ancient urban sites and tells records a combination of cultural and geomorp... more Sediment accretion in ancient urban sites and tells records a combination of cultural and geomorphic processes. Urban geoarchaeology is focused on site accumulation, collapse, weathering and erosion, as constrained by architectural plans and structures. These may document settlement growth and decay, as
well as environmental history, posing a multidisciplinary challenge of interactive and fluctuating processes.
Part of aWorld Heritage site, the Lost City of the Pyramids (Heit el-Ghurab), at the desert and floodplain margins of Giza, was centered on a Workmen’s Town that channeled the roles of seasonal workmen, artisans, and administrators during construction of the Menkaure Pyramid and preparation of the
funerary cult for that pharaoh (w2532e2503 BCE). Built across a normally dry wadi course, the site was badly chosen and vulnerable to a coeval high-amplitude precipitation anomaly of perhaps 120 yr, during which mudbrick meltdown, catastrophic flash floods, and mass-movements destroyed the royal complex
of mudbrick galleries, workshops and bread-making kilns once every 4 years or so. In addition, thick alluvial fans advanced 1 km or more across the Nile floodplain, before dissection was initiated by downcutting channels. Despite this dynamic environmental history, the site was repeatedly rebuilt and ruined, with structural and human consequences.
This Old Kingdom (Dynasty 4) paleoclimatic anomaly did not however support a significant
improvement of Saharan ecology, and summer monsoonal rains never extended this far north (30N). Such a destructive period of extreme precipitation is novel for the Holocene record of the NE Sahara, and requires a synoptic explanation in the mid-latitude jet stream, rather than the tropical monsoonal circulation, to contradict current theoretical expectations. This anomaly was repeated on a subdued scale during the Early Middle Ages. Nile floods did not impinge upon the site during Old Kingdom times, but
were demonstrably higher w700 BCE, and again during Early Roman or Coptic times. Residual subdisciplinary problems are identified and explicitly discussed in terms of the strategies and
structure of multidisciplinary investigation.

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I. Hodder (ed), Substantive Technologies at Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 2000-08 seasons., 2013

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Cambridge Archaeological Journal, Jun 2013

In a densely packed, streetless village such as Neolithic Çatalhöyük in central Anatolia, it is a... more In a densely packed, streetless village such as Neolithic Çatalhöyük in central Anatolia, it is argued in this article that variations in mudbrick recipes were used to mark social
identity and autonomy through the performance of building. Geoarchaeological analysis of mudbricks established that cultural modifications were used to create social differences
between neighbouring houses. Although mudbricks were ultimately invisible objects, hidden behind multiple layers of plaster, the processes of mudbrick manufacture and house construction were performed in the public domain allowing opportunities for individual expression. These results are situated within a larger practice of hiding and burying meaningful objects at Çatalhöyük, where unseen objects had as much power and affect as any object on display.

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Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, Sep 2013

Mudbrick technology and permanent architecture are Neolithic hallmarks but their origins are not ... more Mudbrick technology and permanent architecture are Neolithic hallmarks but their origins are not well understood. By adopting a symmetrical approach to the examination of building materials,
and contextualizing these materials within a cultural knowledge of resources and other concurrent social practices, this paper challenges environmentally determined approaches to explain the adoption of mudbrick technology during the PPNA in Anatolia, Upper Euphrates and the Levant. This research illustrates the weak correlation between architectural form and building material, suggesting that although nature provides resources, it is culture that dictates architectural form and material use. It is
argued that the human-constructed environment became normalized throughout the PPNA and the social complexities of village life created a conceptual shift towards an artificial environment, supported by other changes in symbolic behavior. If building materials, such as mudbricks, were considered objects reflexive of human behavior, then we can access the complex and entangled relationship between people and things. Furthermore, the choice of building materials and their use in architecture can be considered codes of social practice and even ideology. As material culture, architecture becomes a metaphor for human engagement and symbolic communication.

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This article provides a methodology for extracting social information through an analysis of mudb... more This article provides a methodology for extracting social information through an analysis of mudbrick compositions, using a case study from Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Particle size analysis, loss on ignition and magnetic susceptibility were used to examine variability in mudbrick recipe. The analysis revealed that neither magnetic susceptibility nor CaCO3 were significantly altered through tempering. The results suggest that the greatest degree of compositional variability was a result of the manufacture process and not raw materials used in production. Mudbricks are products of deliberate human actions, similar to any other artifact assemblage, but have been long overlooked. Examining the technology involved with mudbrick manufacture highlights aspects of Neolithic social life through shared resources, production choices, and organization of labor. The analysis of mudbrick compositions considers how raw materials were used within and between groups of houses, represented in 1,000 years of uninterrupted occupation at Çatalhöyük.

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“Past peoples knowingly inhabited landscapes that were palimpsests of previous occupations. Lands... more “Past peoples knowingly inhabited landscapes that were palimpsests of previous occupations. Landscapes were occupied and re-occupied. Rarely was this a meaningless or innocent re-use” (van Dyke and Alcock (ed). 2003. Archaeologies of Memory).

This paper explores the implications of this quote in the context of the pre-pyramid landscape of early Memphis. It is argued that the Memphite necropolis is an inscribed landscape of social memory that contributed to a developing Egyptian identity.

Egyptological research appears to be entering a new paradigm, focusing on how the pyramids built Egypt rather than how the Egyptians built the pyramids. This paper aims to further the notion that pyramid construction contributed to the creation of social identity and ideology by examining the pre-pyramid landscape of early Memphis, from a purely symbolic approach. Building from over 50 years of research concerning the pragmatics of pyramid construction this paper will focus on the lesser-known symbolic associations of the Memphite landscape, such as the archaeology of natural places and the cultural appropriation of local topography. The accumulation of this material suggests that the deliberate placement of monuments was an act to acknowledge the ancestors and legitimize power.

The intention of this paper is to illustrate the degree of cultural activity that preceded pyramid construction. The purpose here is to examine two ideas: 1) the landscape was sacred before it was used for pyramid building and, 2) the patterns of Predynastic and Early Dynastic land use and how it may have influenced later pyramid placement. Over 1,000 years of life and death are represented in Memphis before the first pyramid was conceived, although the archaeology is very thin as not all activities leave a mark upon the land. There is substantial archaeological material to suggest long-term occupation and sedentary communities. It will be suggested here that these early communities of Egyptians had created specific symbolic associations with the landscape, where symbolic meaning and cultural significance was gained from repeated use. Memphis was thus ‘marked’ hundreds of years before a pyramid was ever built.

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This paper attempts to challenge ideas concerning the social motivations behind monumental archit... more This paper attempts to challenge ideas concerning the social motivations behind monumental architecture by asking a different set of questions, focused on new theories concerning social memory. Egyptologists have traditionally studied and hypothesized about how and why the pyramids were built, the labor force required and the level of bureaucratic organization necessary. But are these the only explanations and reasons that justify pyramid building?

In attempt to address these issues, this paper will focus on recent work in the ‘archaeologies of memory’ and the relationship between monuments and memories. Monuments, as memorials, are deliberately designed to provoke memories. One difference between Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom funerary structures was the extensive use of stone, greatly enhancing the durability of the monument, evoking an intention by kings to memorialize themselves for eternity. But this concept of stone memorials is nothing new in Egypt. However, if the enduring materiality of the object is considered, then perhaps the monument can serve as a link between the past, the present and the future.

Building on ideas borrowed from material culture studies, which proposes that objects are produced through memory and, inversely, memory can be reproduced through objects. Objects possess an association with past events and people and are invested with memories associated with certain activities. Thus, objects can act as a link between the past and the present through their materiality and can create ‘topography of remembrance’.

For the purpose of this discussion, pyramids are viewed as active material culture and address larger issues of monumentality as a means of memorializing the past for the present. By comparing and contrasting the archaeological record with the textual record, I will illustrate just where and how the Old Kingdom pyramid kings were ‘remembered and forgotten’.

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The capital city of Memphis was ancient Egypt’s oldest and largest city. However, the city’s orig... more The capital city of Memphis was ancient Egypt’s oldest and largest city. However, the city’s origin is shrouded in mythical origin. This study challenges five different references to Memphis, from both classical and historical accounts and concludes that Memphis’ boundary should be redefined. These accounts are reviewed to illustrate confusion amongst early travellers and historians as to the precise location of Memphis and to highlight the association between the capital and the pyramids. For the Old Kingdom, the urban limits of Memphis should not be restricted to the modern mound of Mit Rahina, but rather the boundaries should be expanded to parallel the Old Kingdom pyramids. Recent archaeological investigations, employing sub-surface sampling techniques, have revealed contemporary Old Kingdom occupational debris scattered throughout the entire Memphite region. The inclusion of archaeological material, in combination with the historical records, will create a different interpretation for Egypt’s ancient capital city.

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Radio Interview by Serena Love

Radio Adelaide Digital April 19, 2015 Dr Serena Love is a special type of archaeologist who rese... more Radio Adelaide Digital
April 19, 2015

Dr Serena Love is a special type of archaeologist who researches long vanished societies by examining their urban development and deducing how their people lived.
She visited Flinders University from her home base in Queensland and Ewart Shaw asked if she had come to her research through an interest in archaeology first or social development.

Orbit produced and presented by Ewart Shaw.

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Talks by Serena Love

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Journal of Field Archaeology, 2017

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Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 2002

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Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 2003

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Assembling Çatalhöyük. Themes in Contemporary Archaeology 1: 111–126, Sep 1, 2015

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International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Science, Second edition. Oxford: Elsevier. Pp. 53-57., Apr 2015

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Journal of Archaeological Science 40: 3340-3366, Jun 2013

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I. Hodder (ed), Substantive Technologies at Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 2000-08 seasons., 2013

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Cambridge Archaeological Journal, Jun 2013

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Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, Sep 2013

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Radio Adelaide Digital April 19, 2015 Dr Serena Love is a special type of archaeologist who rese... more Radio Adelaide Digital
April 19, 2015

Orbit produced and presented by Ewart Shaw.

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Human behaviour can be read from material culture and social technology is one entry point to int... more Human behaviour can be read from material culture and social technology is one entry point to interpreting social practices in the past. Social technology is commonly applied to ceramic analysis, to understand resource selection, techniques and recipes of potters. I argue that the same approach can be applied to the study and interpretation of mudbrick architecture, identifying the brick maker as easily as the potter. I conducted a series of experiments to test brick recipes as well as the validity of the methodology. Multiple brick recipes were made using the same raw materials in differing quantities to establish if the methods could accurately quantify recipe variation. Social practices involved with manufacture were also documented, such as materials, labour and space but also the social networks involved during production.
This paper will present both the quantitative and qualitative results from these experiments, the application of this research to address archaeological questions and to explore venues for future research.

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This presentation uses a case study of mudbrick architecture from the Neolithic settlement of Çat... more This presentation uses a case study of mudbrick architecture from the Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük in Turkey as an example of the integration of archaeological theory with scientific method. With a starting premise that architecture is material culture, the mudbrick was analyzed as an independent artifact assemblage and interpreted within a larger theoretical framework. Both qualitative and quantitative data sets were combined to compliment and support the final conclusions. Various geoarchaeology methodologies were employed to quantify the composition and varying characteristics of different mudbricks, such as textural analysis, x-ray diffraction, petrography, magnetic susceptibility and diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry. Cultural sediments were compared against natural, off-site sediments to determine the degree of social modification that occurred through the manufacture process. Results from the mudbrick assemblage were integrated with the larger, intra-site data to access social aspects, such as organization of labor, craft specialization, and management of resources. These interpretations were taken further to examine larger theoretical issues such as the performance, the sensory impact of architecture, materiality, memory and phenomenology.

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This course focuses on the dimensions of human culture including language, subsistence patterns, ... more This course focuses on the dimensions of human culture including language, subsistence patterns, technology, economics, kinship, religion, politics, ethnicity, equality and inequality, and gender and age status. In the context of studying human culture, we will explore how these factors relate to contemporary human problems (e.g., global environmental change and overpopulation). By the end of this course, you will be able to understand and defend the value of cultural anthropology, support arguments about our world with concrete examples from different cultures, and appreciate the equality of all cultures by understanding cultural practices as solutions to various human needs.

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Archaeology is a lively and dynamic scientific pursuit. This is a practical course about archaeo... more Archaeology is a lively and dynamic scientific pursuit. This is a practical course about archaeology, its practitioners, the politics of preservation and issues of global heritage. We will ask, what is archaeology and why is studying the past important? How do archaeologists interpret the past from little bits and pieces? How do you know where to dig and what do you do with all the stuff once it is dug up? This course covers a broad scope of materials and will investigate how archaeologists use various scientific techniques to learn about the past and content will be complemented by critical analysis. We will explore current developments within the field, focusing on establishing a broad understanding of human social and cultural development and the context for archaeological interpretation. Various assignments are designed to reinforce key concepts or to provide “hands-on” experiences and insights relevant to actual problems of modern archaeology. Lab projects will provide an opportunity to engage in the analysis and interpretation of archaeological evidence.

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This course gives students a broad overview of the archaeology of ancient Egypt from the Predynas... more This course gives students a broad overview of the archaeology of ancient Egypt from the Predynastic to the New Kingdom (3500-1070 BC). Using the archaeological record, this course explores Egyptian gods, animal deities, divine kings, pyramids, temples, mummification, society, government, and crafts. We will untangle common Egyptian beliefs about identity religion, medicine, magic, sex, childbirth, slavery, and death through a focus on material culture and social agency. Current issues of heritage, conservation & repatriation will also be addressed.

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The ancient Egyptians have long captured the public imagination and Egypt’s fantastic preservatio... more The ancient Egyptians have long captured the public imagination and Egypt’s fantastic preservation has enabled archaeologists to tell a fascinating story about what it was like to live with hundreds of gods, mummies and a despotic Pharaoh. Before the Greeks and Romans, Egyptian culture emerged from banks of the Nile with art, monuments and a way of life the world had never seen before. This course covers 2,000 years of history, including the origins, “Pyramid Age” of Djoser, Snefru and Khufu and the “Golden Age” of Hatchepsut, Akenaten, Tutankhamun, and Rameses. We’ll cover the better known monuments of Karnak, Luxor and the Valley of the Kings but also untangle common beliefs about religion, medicine, magic, sex, childbirth, slavery, and death from archaeological evidence. Reading ancient texts in translation will give access the complex myths, magic, humor and tribulations of ancient Egyptian life to allow ancient voices to be heard.

The intention of the course is to give students a broad overview of the ancient Egyptian history and culture. Chronology will be stressed but more emphasis will be placed on symbolism, through art and architecture, so that students are left with an ability to ‘read’ ancient Egyptian artifacts and monuments.

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How did the great civilizations of the world develop? How did humanity first develop the very thi... more How did the great civilizations of the world develop? How did humanity first develop the very things we all now take for granted – agriculture, religion, architecture, weaponry, political and social hierarchy, trade and eventually written language. This course examines the birth of complex societies, starting with village life and domestication in the fertile valleys of the Near East, during the Neolithic era c. 12,000-6,000 BC. For thousands of years before the great empires of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece emerged, sophisticated societies flourished at places like Gobekli Tepe, Çatalhöyük, and Jericho with advanced technological skills and elaborate social networks. Using the latest scientific and archaeological research, we will explore how these societies domesticated plants and animals, and how humans were domesticated through religious practices, architecture and adopting a sedentary lifestyle. This course traces the development of civilization from the Neolithic through the Bronze Age, ending at the dawn of the Mesopotamian empire.

This course will explore the archaeology throughout Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Israel and Jordan.

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Environmental Archaeology investigates the long-term history and prehistory of human-environment ... more Environmental Archaeology investigates the long-term history and prehistory of human-environment relationships, a study based on the application of the natural and earth sciences in archaeology. The course builds an understanding of key issues such as human ecology, palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, human responses to environmental change and human environmental modification through a combination of lectures, debates and laboratory work. Key methods, including archaebotany, zooarchaeology and geoarchaeology will be discussed and explored through practical participation to solve problems. Case study focuses on the Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöük in Central Anatolia to illustrate concepts and methods, as well as providing a focus for formal critical debate and reflection. Student participation in classes is expected.

Students will become familiar with the concepts, techniques, methods and theories of environmental archaeology. This aim will be met by tuition in a series of mixed-activity contact sessions including lecture and practical segments, combined with preparation of a series of technical reports. Students will become familiar with key concepts in environmental archaeology through application of its techniques to the Çatalhöük Research Project in Central Anatolia. Through practice, students will learn how archaeologists identify, understand and theorise the long-term trajectories of human-environment relations.

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Archaeologists have spent a considerable effort to determine how early people built houses so thi... more Archaeologists have spent a considerable effort to determine how early people built houses so this course aims to invert the emphasis and ask how houses build people. This course will explore multiple facets of domestic buildings from the perspective of anthropology, cultural geography, phenomenology and architectural theory. We’ll initially deconstruct the term ‘house’ and ‘home’ and examine the social and ideological implications of these categories. Making use of an array of regional case studies, we will use domestic architecture to explore the connection between kinship, society and cosmology while questioning how cultural values and norms can be extracted from architecture.

The second half of the class will focus on household archaeology, using case studies from Greece, Mesoamerica and the prehistoric Near East. Using the archaeology of architecture, we will explore the idea of the domestication of humans through architecture and the development of settlements. As houses are the basic unit of social and economic organization, we will explore how the houses was the medium through which culture is passed down and transformed, in both the present and in the past.

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In this course, we will examine the successes and failures within the relationship between scienc... more In this course, we will examine the successes and failures within the relationship between science and theory. Students will be introduced to some literature from the history of science and philosophy of science in an attempt to understand how scientific interpretations can be social constructions and how our perceptions about the validity and ‘truth’ of science were constructed. By questioning the origin of these paradigms, we can better comprehend our dependence on scientific analysis, as it informs our archaeological interpretations. We will critically evaluate topical approaches in leading journals, such as Archaeological Science, Field Archaeology, Archaeological Method and Theory and Social Archaeology, focusing on environmental approaches, survey methods and certain material assemblages, such as ceramics, plant, animals, and soils. What can these assemblages inform us about the people who produced and used them? Can high-tech analytical methods contribute to a deeper understanding of the past or just muddy the waters? Theoretically, we will follow Latour, Dupre and Foucault, to challenge the objectivity of ‘science’ and value of archaeological taxonomies, and question archaeological epistemologies as it relates to the construction of archaeological narratives. In the second part of this course, we will be dealing directly with archaeological assemblages and pushing the traditional interpretations further into the social realm. We will be working directly with the archaeological assemblages of the graduate students, specifically addressing the science and theory issues applicable to their research. The syllabus will be adjusted in the first week to accommodate the specific research problems presented by the graduate students.

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