The Value of Tradition: The Development of Social Identities in Early Mesopotamian States (original) (raw)
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Tribal Identities in Mesopotamia between 2500 and 1500 BC
In this paper, I would like to investigate the processes that might have played a role in the shaping and perpetuation of Amorite identity. In short, I will argue that in the late third and early second millennium BC the (re)construction of tribal genealogies and histories, through which Amorite groups defined their relations with outsiders and among themselves, was used as a mechanism to explain and justify the present. Furthermore, I would like to discuss the consequences of this view of genealogical narratives for the usefulness of ancient texts in the reconstruction of historical events.
Ancient northern Mesopotamia reveals the presence of southern Uruk-style material cultural elements along with indigenous styles in fourth millennium B.C.E. In this study, I argue that we need to focus on the ways northern Mesopotamian societies constructed 'cultural difference' through an analysis of the meanings of southern-style elements within northern contexts. I further argue that an investigation of culturallyparticular ideas of "own" and "other" should involve a relationship between analytic and folk categories of cultural boundaries.
WNC2024 , 2024
The northern Mesopotamian Early Neolithic Period (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A) serves as a basis for the study of symbolic and ritual iconography, as well as important information for the study art in this region. However, the interpretation of these finds is mostly carried out on the concepts of belief or ritual with a symbolic emphasis, however very little research has been carried out on the iconographic features, object form, and the regional distribution of these objects. After recent archaeological studies in northern Mesopotamia (Northern Iraq, North Syria and the Southeastern Anatolia Region), the number of known settlements that were inhabited in the earliest stages of the Aceramic Neolithic period is increasing, and new data is being revealed on painted art in this region. Although these findings are interpreted mostly in a symbolic and socio-cultural context, it is known that the concept of iconography in the region varies within itself. In this context, it is important to examine the regional distribution of the archaeological finds, which are important for the study of Early Neolithic art in northern Mesopotamia, the regional distribution rather than the symbolic interpretations, and the introduction of regional similarities and differences.
Crafting Social Identity in Ur III Southern Mesopotamia
Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 1998
During the Ur III period in southern Mesopotamia, artisans were engaged in the production of crafts that required enormous technical skill and yet craft production appears not to have been an avenue to prestige and power. This paper draws on archival records from artisan workshops and literary sources to demonstrate the intricate fusion of a powerful political ideology and a rigidly controlled economy in which rulers legitimated their authority at the same time that they suppressed the mobility of craft producers. The establishment of a wide range of economic, social and legal differentiation was based on a state strategy designed to promote efficiency and to achieve control of artisan production. Craft producers during this period negotiated their social identity in a variety of domains that were legal, kinship, ethnic and gender based.
Stanford Journal of Archaeology, 2007
Ancient northern Mesopotamia reveals the presence of southern Uruk-style material cultural elements along with indigenous styles in fourth millennium B.C.E. In this study, I argue that we need to focus on the ways northern Mesopotamian societies constructed ‘cultural difference’ through an analysis of the meanings of southern-style elements within northern contexts. I further argue that an investigation of culturally particular ideas of “own” and “other” should involve a relationship between analytic and folk categories of cultural boundaries.
Framing Archaeology in the Near East. The Application of Social Theory to Fieldwork., 2016
This series focuses on new theory driven approaches to anthropological archaeology around the world. Scholars who contribute to the series come from diverse theoretical backgrounds that encompass the full range of theory-from processual to postprocessual approaches. An underlying unifying theme is the exploration of how both natural and/or cultural environments influence the evolution, growth and collapse of human societies. To achieve these goals, contributions also highlight the application of new approaches in data acquisition, curation, analyses and dissemination.
The Archaeology of Ethnicity - Syllabus
The Archaeology of Ethnicity, 2013
One of the central problems facing archaeologists today is that of understanding the relationship between material culture and identity. The aspect of the material culture/identity conundrum we will focus on in this course concerns the archaeology of ethnicity. What can the archaeological record tell us about ethnic identities and relations in the past? Did ancient populations assert and recognize differences between themselves comparable to those we refer to today as "ethnic differences"? If so, how were such differences constructed and maintained? Can we find evidence of such markers in the material record (e.g., in different styles of dress, ceramics, etc.)? As we will see, especially from study of ethnographic examples, people may change the characteristics of the objects they produce for a variety of reasons, just as they may temporarily adopt other peoples' habits and customs for certain, strategic purposes. How can we know when such processes may have been at work in the past to produce the archaeological record of an ancient society? In broad terms, what we will be concerned with in this class are questions of the extent to which and in what ways populations in the past used differences in material culture (e.g., dress, pottery, culinary practices, burial, etc.) to signal identity and what the consequences of these strategies were for the interaction between and the evolution of societies at different times and places around the world.
Ethnicity in Complex Societies: Archaeological Perspectives
Journal of Archaeological Research, 1997
It is often difficult to identify ethnic groups in the archaeological record, yet archaeology has much to contribute to understanding the long-term social and political dynamics of ethnicity. This review considers recent anthropological perspectives on ethnic groups and their boundaries, emphasizing the rote of state formation in their creation and maintenance. It then reviews recent archaeological studies of ethnicity in complex societies and discusses current questions facing archaeological research on these topics.