A. Haug - A. Müller, Introduction. Hellenistic Architecture, Landscape, and Human Action, in: A. Haug - A. Müller (Hrsg.), Hellenistic Architecture and Human Action. A Case of Reciprocal Influence, Scales of Transformation in Prehistoric and Archaic Societies 10 (Leiden 2020) 11–20 (original) (raw)

With this book series, the Collaborative Research Centre 'Scales of Transformation: Human-Environmental Interaction in Prehistoric and Archaic Societies' (CRC 1266) at Kiel University enables the bundled presentation of current research outcomes of the multiple aspects of socio-environmental transformations in ancient societies by offering this new publication platform. As editors, we are pleased to be able to publish monographs with detailed basic data and comprehensive interpretations from different case studies and landscapes as well as the extensive output from numerous scientific meetings and international workshops. The book series is dedicated to the fundamental research questions of the CRC 1266 dealing with transformations on different temporal, spatial and social scales, here defined as processes leading to a substantial and enduring reorganization of socio-environmental interaction patterns. What are the substantial transformations that describe human development from 15,000 years ago to the beginning of the Common Era? How did the interaction between natural environment and human populations change over time? What role did humans play as cognitive actors trying to deal with changing social and environmental conditions? Which factors triggered the transformations that led to substantial societal and economic inequality? The understanding of human practices within the often intertwined social and environmental contexts is one of the most fundamental aspects of archaeological research. Moreover, in current debates, the dynamics and feedback involved in human-environmental relationships have become a major issue looking at the sometimes devastating consequences of human interference with nature. Archaeology, with its long-term perspective on human societies and landscapes, is in the unique position to trace and link comparable phenomena in the past, to study the human involvement with the natural environment, to investigate the impact of humans on nature, and the consequences of environmental change on human societies. Modern interlinked interdisciplinary research allows for reaching beyond simplistic monocausal lines of explanation and overcoming evolutionary perspectives. Looking at the period from 15,000 to 1 BCE, the CRC 1266 takes a diachronic view in order to investigate transformations involved in the development of late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers, horticulturalists, early agriculturalists, early metallurgists as well as early state societies, thus covering a wide array of societal formations and environmental conditions. The volume Hellenistic Architecture and Human Action brings the built space into focus perceived as arena for action particularly in the ritual sphere. The book is the outcome of the International Colloquium 'Hellenistic Architecture and Human Action-A Case of Reciprocal Influence' held in Kiel in 2018. We are very thankful to the editors Asja Müller and Annette Haug for their engagement during the conference and the preparation of this volume. Many thanks go also to the graphic il-lustrators Anna Carina Lange and Carsten Reckweg for the deep engagement in this publication. We also wish to thank Karsten Wentink, Corné van Woerdekom and Eric van den Bandt from Sidestone Press for their responsive support in realizing this volume and Hermann Gorbahn for organizing the whole publication process.