"The attached document is a review of the book by Leann Pace for JAOS, 2011 (April 2011). Another... more "The attached document is a review of the book by Leann Pace for JAOS, 2011 (April 2011). Another review by Silvia Perini for Histara can be found here http://histara.sorbonne.fr/cr.php?cr=678 . The link leads to the open access version of my 2007 dissertation stored in the Leiden University Repository. A more updated and correct version of the work is published by Brepols, http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503526522-1 in the series Papers on Archaeology from the Leiden Museum of Antiquities (PALMA 4), 2008"
The last quarter century has seen extensive research on the ports of the Red Sea coast of Egypt, ... more The last quarter century has seen extensive research on the ports of the Red Sea coast of Egypt, the road systems connecting them to the Nile, and the mines and quarries in the region. Missing has been a systematic study of the peoples of the Eastern Desert—the area between the Red Sea and the Nile Valley—in whose territories these ports, roads, mines, and quarries were located. The historical overview of the Eastern Desert in the shape of a roughly chronological narrative presented in this book fills that gap.
The multidisciplinary perspective focuses on the long-term history of the region. The extensive range of topics addressed includes specific historical periods, natural resources, nomadic survival strategies, ancient textual data, and the interaction between Christian hermits and their neighbors. The breadth of perspective does not sacrifice depth, for all authors deal in some detail with the specifics of their subject matter. As a whole, this collection provides an outline of the history and sociology of the Eastern Desert unparalleled in any language for its comprehensiveness. As such, it will be the essential starting point for future research on the Eastern Desert.
Table of Contents
PART I
Chapter 1 - Introduction to Part 1: From Adam to Alexander (500,000–2500 Years Ago) by H. Barnard
Chapter 2 - Contributions to the Prehistory of the Eastern Desert, Egypt by P.M. Vermeersch
Chapter 3 - The Holocene Prehistory of the Nubian Eastern Desert by M.C. Gatto
Chapter 4 - The Journey to the Rock Art Gallery of Bir Nurayet (Sudan) by K. Pluskota
Chapter 5 - Boat Petroglyphs in Egypt’s Central Eastern Desert by F. Lankester
Chapter 6 - Nomads at the Nile: Towards an Archaeology of Interaction by C. Näser
Chapter 7 - Gods in the Red Land: Development of Cults and Religious Activities in the Eastern Desert by A.D. Espinel
Chapter 8 - Sinai in Egyptian, Levantine and Hebrew (Biblical) Perspectives by J.K. Hoffmeier
Chapter 9 - Vegetation and Management Regime Continuity in the Cultural Landscape of the Eastern Desert by G.L. Andersen
Chapter 10 - The Eastern Desert Tombs and Cultural Continuity by K. Krzywinski
Chapter 11 - The Desert Dwellers of Marmarica, Western Desert: Second Millennium BCE to First Millennium CE by A.-K. Rieger, T. Vetter and H. Möller
PART II
Chapter 12 - Introduction to Part 2: The Last 2500 Years by H. Barnard
Chapter 13 - The Eastern Desert during the Ptolemaic Period: An Emerging Picture by J. Gates-Foster
Chapter 14 - Nabataeans in the Eastern Desert during the Roman Period by R.Z. Mohamed
Chapter 15 - Roman Gold Mining in the Eastern Desert: The Mining Settlement in Wadi Bakariya by B.J.M. Tratsaert
Chapter 16 - A Blemmy by Any Other Name...: A Study in Greek Ethnography by R.H. Pierce
Chapter 17 - Blemmyes, Noubades and the Eastern Desert in Late Antiquity: Reassessing the Written Sources by J.H.F. Dijkstra
Chapter 18 - On the Archaeology of the Native Population of the Eastern Desert in the First–Seventh Centuries CE by G. Lassányi
Chapter 19 - Results of Recent Mass Spectrometric Research of Eastern Desert Ware (4th–6th centuries CE) by H. Barnard
Chapter 20 - “You Shall Not See the Tribes of the Blemmyes or of the Saracens”: On the Other ‘Barbarians’ of the Late Roman Eastern Desert of Egypt by T. Power
Chapter 21 - Invisible Monks, Human Eyes and the Egyptian Desert in Late Antique Hagiography by K.M. Klein
Chapter 22 - Desert Imagery: Bedouin, Monks, Demons and Hermits around Saint Anthony’s Monastery by J.C.M. Starkey
Chapter 23 - Nomadism and the Monastic Life in the Eastern Desert of Egypt by M. Jones
Chapter 24 - Towards Variability: Cultural Diversity in Economic Strategies of Beja Peoples by P. Weschenfelder
Chapter 25 - The Documentation of the Cultural Heritage of the Bedouin of South Sinai: A Pilot Study in Serabit al-Khadim by M. Hanna, F. Keshk and S. Aboubakr
Chapter 26 - Nominating Suakin a World Heritage Site by M.D.S. Mallinson
Chapter 27 - The Establishment of a Transboundary Biosphere Reserve in Wadi Allaqi, Egypt by M. al-Aawah and C. De Simone
Chapter 28 - Beja Innovation and Responses to Environmental Change in the Southeastern Desert of Egypt by A. Roe
Chapter 29 - Giving a Voice to the Ababda by M. Abdel-Qadr, W.Z. Wendrich, Z. Kosc and H. Barnard
Chapter 30 - Sustainable Desert Tourism: A Tool for Competition by S.B. Hassan
Chapter 31 - Concluding Remarks by J.L. Bintliff and H. Barnard
"The cultural and historical setting of the Near East provides a unique opportunity to study a lo... more "The cultural and historical setting of the Near East provides a unique opportunity to study a longer usage of sealing practices in administration and magic, which extends beyond the constraints of a specific time period or region. Comparing ancient practices with more recent ones can offer important insights into the development of sealing practices and provide answers to specific questions related to the handling of seals and the social status of the seal bearer.
This collection of papers is the result of the workshop "Seals and Sealing Practices from Ancient Times until the Present Day. Developments in Administration and Magic through Cultures". The meeting was organized by the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo on December 2-3, 2009, on the occasion of the annual Cleveringa lecture, delivered by Prof. Dr. Petra Sijpesteijn from the University of Leiden. It had the financial support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Cairo.
Since the initiative towards the workshop was taken by staff members of the NVIC, the focus was on Egypt but other cultures in the Near East and Central Asia were also considered. Following up on the workshop, the present volume retains the geographical and chronological scope, but added a few contributions dealing with the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods. Glancing at the content, the reader will be struck by the diachronic and spatial persistence of the use of seals for administrative and other purposes, and by their multi-functionality. Indeed, sealing practices appear to be at least as consistent as writing systems, from their first appearance to modern times. One of the reasons for their success is their ability to adapt to the diverse political, social and cultural pecularities of the multicultural societies at the time."
The conference Intercultural Contacts in the Ancient Mediterranean (ICAM) was organised in 2008 b... more The conference Intercultural Contacts in the Ancient Mediterranean (ICAM) was organised in 2008 by the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo. While Mediterranean contacts in archaeology are a popular topic in Europe, it was the first time this theme was addressed in Egypt. The conference aimed to discuss theoretical and methodological issues related to the study of intercultural contacts in archaeology on the one hand, and to present actual case-studies of such contacts on the other. In the present volume, thirty-five contributions deal with intercultural contacts all over the Mediterranean from the Levant to Spain and from Egypt to Greece, from prehistory up to the Hellenistic period. They are presented in six sections: Theory and methodology, Identifying foreigners and immigrants, Material evidence for contact, Maritime trade and sea ports, Influences in iconography, ideology and religion, and Administration and economy.
A brief discussion of two traditional approaches in the study of pottery production organization,... more A brief discussion of two traditional approaches in the study of pottery production organization, ceramic ecology and typologies of production, identifies several key problems. In order to move forward and develop new strategies, it is proposed to adopt a symmetrical perspective, integrating methods and concepts from a variety of theoretical origins, including chaîne opératoire, object biography, relevant user groups or cadena, and entanglement. A brief case study outlining a proposed strategy for a relational approach to the study of ceramic production organization concludes the chapter.
In this preliminary report a short summary is presented of the first results ofan ethnoar chaeol... more In this preliminary report a short summary is presented of the first results ofan ethnoar chaeological documentation project by the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC), executed in cooperation with Leiden University and Deifi University, concerning potters of the Fustat area in Cairo. Since 2000 their workshops are being demolished and replaced by new government-built workshops. As a consequence, a traditional potters' quarter will dis appear in the near future. When the project started, about ten workshops were still active, ofthe more than 60 once located in the area. Most ofthe data described in this report, in which attention is paid to techniques ofpottery production, the use ofspace and the produc tion organization, were collected through fieldwork in November 2008.
This paper will discuss the chemical analyses of sealing clays from Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abya... more This paper will discuss the chemical analyses of sealing clays from Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria). Earlier, an extensive discussion of the interpretation of the sealings themselves was published in this journal1. A major part of the argument there was sustained by the results of the ...
In this preliminary report a short summary is presented of the first results ofan ethnoar chaeol... more In this preliminary report a short summary is presented of the first results ofan ethnoar chaeological documentation project by the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC), executed in cooperation with Leiden University and Deifi University, concerning potters of the Fustat area in Cairo. Since 2000 their workshops are being demolished and replaced by new government-built workshops. As a consequence, a traditional potters' quarter will dis appear in the near future. When the project started, about ten workshops were still active, ofthe more than 60 once located in the area. Most ofthe data described in this report, in which attention is paid to techniques ofpottery production, the use ofspace and the produc tion organization, were collected through fieldwork in November 2008.
Abstract
A brief discussion of two traditional approaches in the study of pottery production orga... more Abstract A brief discussion of two traditional approaches in the study of pottery production organization, ceramic ecology and typologies of production, identifies several key problems. In order to move forward and develop new strategies, it is proposed to adopt a symmetrical perspective, integrating methods and concepts from a variety of theoretical origins, including chaîne opératoire, object biography, relevant user groups or cadena, and entanglement. A brief case study outlining a proposed strategy for a relational approach to the study of ceramic production organization concludes the chapter.
Key words The organization of pottery production; Craft production; Relational archaeology; Symmetrical archaeology; Entanglement; Chaîne opératoire ; Object biography; Behavioural archaeology.
Introduction The organization of ancient pottery production has been a topic of interest for decades in ceramic archaeology, because organization and production are seen as sources of information on the economy and socio-political processes in society (Costin, 2005; Schortman and Urban, 2004). However, besides viewing organization as a proxy for larger-scale economics or politics, it is equally interesting to study organization on its own merits (Kohring, 2012b). How people organize themselves in order to make pottery concerns the relations between the people who make pottery, the relations between potters and pottery users, and the dynamics of power and authority between potters and others. How did people cooperate and communicate, and how did they control material, human, and spatial resources, as well as the products? And how is the organization of pottery production related to the organization of other activities? Archaeologists try to approach these questions by searching for links between the material and the social aspects of pottery production. We usually try to identify material correlates for predefined social structures, often based on ethnographical examples. In this chapter I argue that these strategies have a tendency to limit our view on the diversity of ancient organizational practice, because their top-down perspective restricts the possibilities for identifying new, previously unknown ways of organizing. To the contrary, I advocate the development of a bottom-up, relational approach, building on several recent developments in the study of technology and organization. Such an approach will enable us to think outside the predefined boxes of types, modes and parameters of production, in order to access the large variety of ways people organized pottery production in the past. This chapter will first discuss several traditional archaeological approaches to the organization of pottery production, including ceramic ecology and typological approaches. My main focus is on what I see as a major issue: they struggle to bridge the analytical divide between the material remains and the social structures (organization) they are trying to identify. I do not present a complete chronological or historical overview: many of these approaches were developed in roughly the same period, have mutually influenced each other, and are still influencing the work of many pottery specialists today. I will proceed to discuss a number of approaches that focus on technology and human-thing relations, including social constructivist approaches, behavioural archaeology, and approaches influenced by actor-network theory. The latter see ‘the social’ not as a structure or framework that has left material traces; rather, the social is understood as an effect that comes about through the interaction of people, artefacts, materials, and animals. These perspectives do away with the gap between material and social. Not all of these ‘socio-technical’ approaches have yet been applied to the study of pottery production organization, but they jointly provide important tools and principles for future work. In the last part of the chapter I present some preliminary suggestions for a relational approach, using an archaeological case study as an illustration.
The expansion of the Middle Assyrian state into new territories and the attempts of the Assyrian
... more The expansion of the Middle Assyrian state into new territories and the attempts of the Assyrian
administration to develop and ultimately integrate these areas and their populations into the Land of
Assur, the process of creating empire, have been the focus of several recent studies (Szuchman
2009a; 2009b; Tenu 2009; Postgate 2010; Fales 2011; Brown 2013; Tenu 2013). This paper aims to
contribute to this discussion from the micro-perspective of pottery production at the Middle
Assyrian dunnu of Tell Sabi Abyad in the Balikh valley. Through a ceramic lens, I would like to
look at two aspects of the Assyrian ‘hegemonic practices’ in the western province: first, how did
the Assyrians organize their operations; and, second, what were their relations and interactions with
the people around them. Where possible I will discuss chronological developments, linking pottery
dynamics to our current understanding of the historical dynamics of the period.
In: P.M.M.G. Akkermans, M.L. Bruning, H.O. Huigens and O.P. Nieuwenhuyse, eds., Excavations at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria. The 1994-1999 Field Seasons. , 2014
This chapter offers a supplement to earlier reports of seals and sealings found at Neolithic Tell... more This chapter offers a supplement to earlier reports of seals and sealings found at Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad. It discusses fifteen clay sealings and seven stone stamp seals found at Tell Sabi Abyad between 1994 and 1999.
If you want a copy just message me including your email address.
In: O. Nieuwenhuyse, R. Bernbeck, P. Akkermans, J. Rogasch (eds.), Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia (Brepols Publishers), 2013
Abstract
This article considers the emergence of sealing practices in the wider context of Late ... more Abstract
This article considers the emergence of sealing practices in the wider context of Late Neolithic society. In Near Eastern archaeology, the use of seals is generally taken as proof for the existence of some kind of bureaucratic, centralized organization or authority. However, here I suggest that the origin of the sealing system in Syria was not connected to the emergence of social hierarchy and bureaucracy, but rather to changing subsistence practices and the existence of ideas about private property in a communal context. These conclusions are also relevant for the reconstruction of seal use in later periods. By showing that seal use is not exclusively linked to (central) administration, room is created for alternative reconstructions of seal use depending on the context.
If you want a copy just message me including your email address.
In: I.Regulski, K.Duistermaat, P.Verkinderen (eds.), Seals and Sealing Practices in the Near East. Developments in Administration and Magic from Prehistory to the Islamic Period. , 2012
"In the early 1990s, hundreds of clay sealings were found at Tell Sabi Abyad in northern Syria (F... more "In the early 1990s, hundreds of clay sealings were found at Tell Sabi Abyad in northern Syria (Fig. 1). At that time they were the earliest impressions of seals on clay sealings in Syria, dating to approximately 6000 cal. BC. In the mean time, recent excavations have
yielded new well-dated Neolithic seals and sealings at Sabi Abyad and at other Syrian
sites. After summarising the reconstruction of the sealing system at Sabi Abyad I will
present some of the new glyptic finds, to determine whether they support the Sabi Abyad
reconstruction and to establish at what point in time people started to use seals in a system
of control. I will also consider the emergence of sealing practices in the wider context
of Late Neolithic society. I suggest that the origin of the sealing system in Syria was not
connected to the emergence of social hierarchy and bureaucracy, but rather to changing
subsistence practices and the existence of ideas about private property in a communal
context."
"The attached document is a review of the book by Leann Pace for JAOS, 2011 (April 2011). Another... more "The attached document is a review of the book by Leann Pace for JAOS, 2011 (April 2011). Another review by Silvia Perini for Histara can be found here http://histara.sorbonne.fr/cr.php?cr=678 . The link leads to the open access version of my 2007 dissertation stored in the Leiden University Repository. A more updated and correct version of the work is published by Brepols, http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503526522-1 in the series Papers on Archaeology from the Leiden Museum of Antiquities (PALMA 4), 2008"
The last quarter century has seen extensive research on the ports of the Red Sea coast of Egypt, ... more The last quarter century has seen extensive research on the ports of the Red Sea coast of Egypt, the road systems connecting them to the Nile, and the mines and quarries in the region. Missing has been a systematic study of the peoples of the Eastern Desert—the area between the Red Sea and the Nile Valley—in whose territories these ports, roads, mines, and quarries were located. The historical overview of the Eastern Desert in the shape of a roughly chronological narrative presented in this book fills that gap.
The multidisciplinary perspective focuses on the long-term history of the region. The extensive range of topics addressed includes specific historical periods, natural resources, nomadic survival strategies, ancient textual data, and the interaction between Christian hermits and their neighbors. The breadth of perspective does not sacrifice depth, for all authors deal in some detail with the specifics of their subject matter. As a whole, this collection provides an outline of the history and sociology of the Eastern Desert unparalleled in any language for its comprehensiveness. As such, it will be the essential starting point for future research on the Eastern Desert.
Table of Contents
PART I
Chapter 1 - Introduction to Part 1: From Adam to Alexander (500,000–2500 Years Ago) by H. Barnard
Chapter 2 - Contributions to the Prehistory of the Eastern Desert, Egypt by P.M. Vermeersch
Chapter 3 - The Holocene Prehistory of the Nubian Eastern Desert by M.C. Gatto
Chapter 4 - The Journey to the Rock Art Gallery of Bir Nurayet (Sudan) by K. Pluskota
Chapter 5 - Boat Petroglyphs in Egypt’s Central Eastern Desert by F. Lankester
Chapter 6 - Nomads at the Nile: Towards an Archaeology of Interaction by C. Näser
Chapter 7 - Gods in the Red Land: Development of Cults and Religious Activities in the Eastern Desert by A.D. Espinel
Chapter 8 - Sinai in Egyptian, Levantine and Hebrew (Biblical) Perspectives by J.K. Hoffmeier
Chapter 9 - Vegetation and Management Regime Continuity in the Cultural Landscape of the Eastern Desert by G.L. Andersen
Chapter 10 - The Eastern Desert Tombs and Cultural Continuity by K. Krzywinski
Chapter 11 - The Desert Dwellers of Marmarica, Western Desert: Second Millennium BCE to First Millennium CE by A.-K. Rieger, T. Vetter and H. Möller
PART II
Chapter 12 - Introduction to Part 2: The Last 2500 Years by H. Barnard
Chapter 13 - The Eastern Desert during the Ptolemaic Period: An Emerging Picture by J. Gates-Foster
Chapter 14 - Nabataeans in the Eastern Desert during the Roman Period by R.Z. Mohamed
Chapter 15 - Roman Gold Mining in the Eastern Desert: The Mining Settlement in Wadi Bakariya by B.J.M. Tratsaert
Chapter 16 - A Blemmy by Any Other Name...: A Study in Greek Ethnography by R.H. Pierce
Chapter 17 - Blemmyes, Noubades and the Eastern Desert in Late Antiquity: Reassessing the Written Sources by J.H.F. Dijkstra
Chapter 18 - On the Archaeology of the Native Population of the Eastern Desert in the First–Seventh Centuries CE by G. Lassányi
Chapter 19 - Results of Recent Mass Spectrometric Research of Eastern Desert Ware (4th–6th centuries CE) by H. Barnard
Chapter 20 - “You Shall Not See the Tribes of the Blemmyes or of the Saracens”: On the Other ‘Barbarians’ of the Late Roman Eastern Desert of Egypt by T. Power
Chapter 21 - Invisible Monks, Human Eyes and the Egyptian Desert in Late Antique Hagiography by K.M. Klein
Chapter 22 - Desert Imagery: Bedouin, Monks, Demons and Hermits around Saint Anthony’s Monastery by J.C.M. Starkey
Chapter 23 - Nomadism and the Monastic Life in the Eastern Desert of Egypt by M. Jones
Chapter 24 - Towards Variability: Cultural Diversity in Economic Strategies of Beja Peoples by P. Weschenfelder
Chapter 25 - The Documentation of the Cultural Heritage of the Bedouin of South Sinai: A Pilot Study in Serabit al-Khadim by M. Hanna, F. Keshk and S. Aboubakr
Chapter 26 - Nominating Suakin a World Heritage Site by M.D.S. Mallinson
Chapter 27 - The Establishment of a Transboundary Biosphere Reserve in Wadi Allaqi, Egypt by M. al-Aawah and C. De Simone
Chapter 28 - Beja Innovation and Responses to Environmental Change in the Southeastern Desert of Egypt by A. Roe
Chapter 29 - Giving a Voice to the Ababda by M. Abdel-Qadr, W.Z. Wendrich, Z. Kosc and H. Barnard
Chapter 30 - Sustainable Desert Tourism: A Tool for Competition by S.B. Hassan
Chapter 31 - Concluding Remarks by J.L. Bintliff and H. Barnard
"The cultural and historical setting of the Near East provides a unique opportunity to study a lo... more "The cultural and historical setting of the Near East provides a unique opportunity to study a longer usage of sealing practices in administration and magic, which extends beyond the constraints of a specific time period or region. Comparing ancient practices with more recent ones can offer important insights into the development of sealing practices and provide answers to specific questions related to the handling of seals and the social status of the seal bearer.
This collection of papers is the result of the workshop "Seals and Sealing Practices from Ancient Times until the Present Day. Developments in Administration and Magic through Cultures". The meeting was organized by the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo on December 2-3, 2009, on the occasion of the annual Cleveringa lecture, delivered by Prof. Dr. Petra Sijpesteijn from the University of Leiden. It had the financial support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Cairo.
Since the initiative towards the workshop was taken by staff members of the NVIC, the focus was on Egypt but other cultures in the Near East and Central Asia were also considered. Following up on the workshop, the present volume retains the geographical and chronological scope, but added a few contributions dealing with the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods. Glancing at the content, the reader will be struck by the diachronic and spatial persistence of the use of seals for administrative and other purposes, and by their multi-functionality. Indeed, sealing practices appear to be at least as consistent as writing systems, from their first appearance to modern times. One of the reasons for their success is their ability to adapt to the diverse political, social and cultural pecularities of the multicultural societies at the time."
The conference Intercultural Contacts in the Ancient Mediterranean (ICAM) was organised in 2008 b... more The conference Intercultural Contacts in the Ancient Mediterranean (ICAM) was organised in 2008 by the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo. While Mediterranean contacts in archaeology are a popular topic in Europe, it was the first time this theme was addressed in Egypt. The conference aimed to discuss theoretical and methodological issues related to the study of intercultural contacts in archaeology on the one hand, and to present actual case-studies of such contacts on the other. In the present volume, thirty-five contributions deal with intercultural contacts all over the Mediterranean from the Levant to Spain and from Egypt to Greece, from prehistory up to the Hellenistic period. They are presented in six sections: Theory and methodology, Identifying foreigners and immigrants, Material evidence for contact, Maritime trade and sea ports, Influences in iconography, ideology and religion, and Administration and economy.
A brief discussion of two traditional approaches in the study of pottery production organization,... more A brief discussion of two traditional approaches in the study of pottery production organization, ceramic ecology and typologies of production, identifies several key problems. In order to move forward and develop new strategies, it is proposed to adopt a symmetrical perspective, integrating methods and concepts from a variety of theoretical origins, including chaîne opératoire, object biography, relevant user groups or cadena, and entanglement. A brief case study outlining a proposed strategy for a relational approach to the study of ceramic production organization concludes the chapter.
In this preliminary report a short summary is presented of the first results ofan ethnoar chaeol... more In this preliminary report a short summary is presented of the first results ofan ethnoar chaeological documentation project by the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC), executed in cooperation with Leiden University and Deifi University, concerning potters of the Fustat area in Cairo. Since 2000 their workshops are being demolished and replaced by new government-built workshops. As a consequence, a traditional potters' quarter will dis appear in the near future. When the project started, about ten workshops were still active, ofthe more than 60 once located in the area. Most ofthe data described in this report, in which attention is paid to techniques ofpottery production, the use ofspace and the produc tion organization, were collected through fieldwork in November 2008.
This paper will discuss the chemical analyses of sealing clays from Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abya... more This paper will discuss the chemical analyses of sealing clays from Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria). Earlier, an extensive discussion of the interpretation of the sealings themselves was published in this journal1. A major part of the argument there was sustained by the results of the ...
In this preliminary report a short summary is presented of the first results ofan ethnoar chaeol... more In this preliminary report a short summary is presented of the first results ofan ethnoar chaeological documentation project by the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC), executed in cooperation with Leiden University and Deifi University, concerning potters of the Fustat area in Cairo. Since 2000 their workshops are being demolished and replaced by new government-built workshops. As a consequence, a traditional potters' quarter will dis appear in the near future. When the project started, about ten workshops were still active, ofthe more than 60 once located in the area. Most ofthe data described in this report, in which attention is paid to techniques ofpottery production, the use ofspace and the produc tion organization, were collected through fieldwork in November 2008.
Abstract
A brief discussion of two traditional approaches in the study of pottery production orga... more Abstract A brief discussion of two traditional approaches in the study of pottery production organization, ceramic ecology and typologies of production, identifies several key problems. In order to move forward and develop new strategies, it is proposed to adopt a symmetrical perspective, integrating methods and concepts from a variety of theoretical origins, including chaîne opératoire, object biography, relevant user groups or cadena, and entanglement. A brief case study outlining a proposed strategy for a relational approach to the study of ceramic production organization concludes the chapter.
Key words The organization of pottery production; Craft production; Relational archaeology; Symmetrical archaeology; Entanglement; Chaîne opératoire ; Object biography; Behavioural archaeology.
Introduction The organization of ancient pottery production has been a topic of interest for decades in ceramic archaeology, because organization and production are seen as sources of information on the economy and socio-political processes in society (Costin, 2005; Schortman and Urban, 2004). However, besides viewing organization as a proxy for larger-scale economics or politics, it is equally interesting to study organization on its own merits (Kohring, 2012b). How people organize themselves in order to make pottery concerns the relations between the people who make pottery, the relations between potters and pottery users, and the dynamics of power and authority between potters and others. How did people cooperate and communicate, and how did they control material, human, and spatial resources, as well as the products? And how is the organization of pottery production related to the organization of other activities? Archaeologists try to approach these questions by searching for links between the material and the social aspects of pottery production. We usually try to identify material correlates for predefined social structures, often based on ethnographical examples. In this chapter I argue that these strategies have a tendency to limit our view on the diversity of ancient organizational practice, because their top-down perspective restricts the possibilities for identifying new, previously unknown ways of organizing. To the contrary, I advocate the development of a bottom-up, relational approach, building on several recent developments in the study of technology and organization. Such an approach will enable us to think outside the predefined boxes of types, modes and parameters of production, in order to access the large variety of ways people organized pottery production in the past. This chapter will first discuss several traditional archaeological approaches to the organization of pottery production, including ceramic ecology and typological approaches. My main focus is on what I see as a major issue: they struggle to bridge the analytical divide between the material remains and the social structures (organization) they are trying to identify. I do not present a complete chronological or historical overview: many of these approaches were developed in roughly the same period, have mutually influenced each other, and are still influencing the work of many pottery specialists today. I will proceed to discuss a number of approaches that focus on technology and human-thing relations, including social constructivist approaches, behavioural archaeology, and approaches influenced by actor-network theory. The latter see ‘the social’ not as a structure or framework that has left material traces; rather, the social is understood as an effect that comes about through the interaction of people, artefacts, materials, and animals. These perspectives do away with the gap between material and social. Not all of these ‘socio-technical’ approaches have yet been applied to the study of pottery production organization, but they jointly provide important tools and principles for future work. In the last part of the chapter I present some preliminary suggestions for a relational approach, using an archaeological case study as an illustration.
The expansion of the Middle Assyrian state into new territories and the attempts of the Assyrian
... more The expansion of the Middle Assyrian state into new territories and the attempts of the Assyrian
administration to develop and ultimately integrate these areas and their populations into the Land of
Assur, the process of creating empire, have been the focus of several recent studies (Szuchman
2009a; 2009b; Tenu 2009; Postgate 2010; Fales 2011; Brown 2013; Tenu 2013). This paper aims to
contribute to this discussion from the micro-perspective of pottery production at the Middle
Assyrian dunnu of Tell Sabi Abyad in the Balikh valley. Through a ceramic lens, I would like to
look at two aspects of the Assyrian ‘hegemonic practices’ in the western province: first, how did
the Assyrians organize their operations; and, second, what were their relations and interactions with
the people around them. Where possible I will discuss chronological developments, linking pottery
dynamics to our current understanding of the historical dynamics of the period.
In: P.M.M.G. Akkermans, M.L. Bruning, H.O. Huigens and O.P. Nieuwenhuyse, eds., Excavations at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria. The 1994-1999 Field Seasons. , 2014
This chapter offers a supplement to earlier reports of seals and sealings found at Neolithic Tell... more This chapter offers a supplement to earlier reports of seals and sealings found at Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad. It discusses fifteen clay sealings and seven stone stamp seals found at Tell Sabi Abyad between 1994 and 1999.
If you want a copy just message me including your email address.
In: O. Nieuwenhuyse, R. Bernbeck, P. Akkermans, J. Rogasch (eds.), Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia (Brepols Publishers), 2013
Abstract
This article considers the emergence of sealing practices in the wider context of Late ... more Abstract
This article considers the emergence of sealing practices in the wider context of Late Neolithic society. In Near Eastern archaeology, the use of seals is generally taken as proof for the existence of some kind of bureaucratic, centralized organization or authority. However, here I suggest that the origin of the sealing system in Syria was not connected to the emergence of social hierarchy and bureaucracy, but rather to changing subsistence practices and the existence of ideas about private property in a communal context. These conclusions are also relevant for the reconstruction of seal use in later periods. By showing that seal use is not exclusively linked to (central) administration, room is created for alternative reconstructions of seal use depending on the context.
If you want a copy just message me including your email address.
In: I.Regulski, K.Duistermaat, P.Verkinderen (eds.), Seals and Sealing Practices in the Near East. Developments in Administration and Magic from Prehistory to the Islamic Period. , 2012
"In the early 1990s, hundreds of clay sealings were found at Tell Sabi Abyad in northern Syria (F... more "In the early 1990s, hundreds of clay sealings were found at Tell Sabi Abyad in northern Syria (Fig. 1). At that time they were the earliest impressions of seals on clay sealings in Syria, dating to approximately 6000 cal. BC. In the mean time, recent excavations have
yielded new well-dated Neolithic seals and sealings at Sabi Abyad and at other Syrian
sites. After summarising the reconstruction of the sealing system at Sabi Abyad I will
present some of the new glyptic finds, to determine whether they support the Sabi Abyad
reconstruction and to establish at what point in time people started to use seals in a system
of control. I will also consider the emergence of sealing practices in the wider context
of Late Neolithic society. I suggest that the origin of the sealing system in Syria was not
connected to the emergence of social hierarchy and bureaucracy, but rather to changing
subsistence practices and the existence of ideas about private property in a communal
context."
A brief discussion of two clay sealings found at Neolithic Tell Boueid II. They resemble the seal... more A brief discussion of two clay sealings found at Neolithic Tell Boueid II. They resemble the sealings found at Tell Sabi Abyad.
The last quarter century has seen extensive research on the ports of the Red Sea coast of Egypt, ... more The last quarter century has seen extensive research on the ports of the Red Sea coast of Egypt, the road systems connecting them to the Nile, and the mines and quarries in the region. Missing has been a systematic study of the peoples of the Eastern Desert—the area between the Red Sea and the Nile Valley—in whose territories these ports, roads, mines, and quarries were located. The historical overview of the Eastern Desert in the shape of a roughly chronological narrative presented in this book fills that gap.
The multidisciplinary perspective focuses on the long-term history of the region. The extensive range of topics addressed includes specific historical periods, natural resources, nomadic survival strategies, ancient textual data, and the interaction between Christian hermits and their neighbors. The breadth of perspective does not sacrifice depth, for all authors deal in some detail with the specifics of their subject matter. As a whole, this collection provides an outline of the history and sociology of the Eastern Desert unparalleled in any language for its comprehensiveness. As such, it will be the essential starting point for future research on the Eastern Desert.
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Books by Kim Duistermaat
The multidisciplinary perspective focuses on the long-term history of the region. The extensive range of topics addressed includes specific historical periods, natural resources, nomadic survival strategies, ancient textual data, and the interaction between Christian hermits and their neighbors. The breadth of perspective does not sacrifice depth, for all authors deal in some detail with the specifics of their subject matter. As a whole, this collection provides an outline of the history and sociology of the Eastern Desert unparalleled in any language for its comprehensiveness. As such, it will be the essential starting point for future research on the Eastern Desert.
Table of Contents
PART I
Chapter 1 - Introduction to Part 1: From Adam to Alexander (500,000–2500 Years Ago) by H. Barnard
Chapter 2 - Contributions to the Prehistory of the Eastern Desert, Egypt by P.M. Vermeersch
Chapter 3 - The Holocene Prehistory of the Nubian Eastern Desert by M.C. Gatto
Chapter 4 - The Journey to the Rock Art Gallery of Bir Nurayet (Sudan) by K. Pluskota
Chapter 5 - Boat Petroglyphs in Egypt’s Central Eastern Desert by F. Lankester
Chapter 6 - Nomads at the Nile: Towards an Archaeology of Interaction by C. Näser
Chapter 7 - Gods in the Red Land: Development of Cults and Religious Activities in the Eastern Desert by A.D. Espinel
Chapter 8 - Sinai in Egyptian, Levantine and Hebrew (Biblical) Perspectives by J.K. Hoffmeier
Chapter 9 - Vegetation and Management Regime Continuity in the Cultural Landscape of the Eastern Desert by G.L. Andersen
Chapter 10 - The Eastern Desert Tombs and Cultural Continuity by K. Krzywinski
Chapter 11 - The Desert Dwellers of Marmarica, Western Desert: Second Millennium BCE to First Millennium CE by A.-K. Rieger, T. Vetter and H. Möller
PART II
Chapter 12 - Introduction to Part 2: The Last 2500 Years by H. Barnard
Chapter 13 - The Eastern Desert during the Ptolemaic Period: An Emerging Picture by J. Gates-Foster
Chapter 14 - Nabataeans in the Eastern Desert during the Roman Period by R.Z. Mohamed
Chapter 15 - Roman Gold Mining in the Eastern Desert: The Mining Settlement in Wadi Bakariya by B.J.M. Tratsaert
Chapter 16 - A Blemmy by Any Other Name...: A Study in Greek Ethnography by R.H. Pierce
Chapter 17 - Blemmyes, Noubades and the Eastern Desert in Late Antiquity: Reassessing the Written Sources by J.H.F. Dijkstra
Chapter 18 - On the Archaeology of the Native Population of the Eastern Desert in the First–Seventh Centuries CE by G. Lassányi
Chapter 19 - Results of Recent Mass Spectrometric Research of Eastern Desert Ware (4th–6th centuries CE) by H. Barnard
Chapter 20 - “You Shall Not See the Tribes of the Blemmyes or of the Saracens”: On the Other ‘Barbarians’ of the Late Roman Eastern Desert of Egypt by T. Power
Chapter 21 - Invisible Monks, Human Eyes and the Egyptian Desert in Late Antique Hagiography by K.M. Klein
Chapter 22 - Desert Imagery: Bedouin, Monks, Demons and Hermits around Saint Anthony’s Monastery by J.C.M. Starkey
Chapter 23 - Nomadism and the Monastic Life in the Eastern Desert of Egypt by M. Jones
Chapter 24 - Towards Variability: Cultural Diversity in Economic Strategies of Beja Peoples by P. Weschenfelder
Chapter 25 - The Documentation of the Cultural Heritage of the Bedouin of South Sinai: A Pilot Study in Serabit al-Khadim by M. Hanna, F. Keshk and S. Aboubakr
Chapter 26 - Nominating Suakin a World Heritage Site by M.D.S. Mallinson
Chapter 27 - The Establishment of a Transboundary Biosphere Reserve in Wadi Allaqi, Egypt by M. al-Aawah and C. De Simone
Chapter 28 - Beja Innovation and Responses to Environmental Change in the Southeastern Desert of Egypt by A. Roe
Chapter 29 - Giving a Voice to the Ababda by M. Abdel-Qadr, W.Z. Wendrich, Z. Kosc and H. Barnard
Chapter 30 - Sustainable Desert Tourism: A Tool for Competition by S.B. Hassan
Chapter 31 - Concluding Remarks by J.L. Bintliff and H. Barnard
This collection of papers is the result of the workshop "Seals and Sealing Practices from Ancient Times until the Present Day. Developments in Administration and Magic through Cultures". The meeting was organized by the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo on December 2-3, 2009, on the occasion of the annual Cleveringa lecture, delivered by Prof. Dr. Petra Sijpesteijn from the University of Leiden. It had the financial support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Cairo.
Since the initiative towards the workshop was taken by staff members of the NVIC, the focus was on Egypt but other cultures in the Near East and Central Asia were also considered. Following up on the workshop, the present volume retains the geographical and chronological scope, but added a few contributions dealing with the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods. Glancing at the content, the reader will be struck by the diachronic and spatial persistence of the use of seals for administrative and other purposes, and by their multi-functionality. Indeed, sealing practices appear to be at least as consistent as writing systems, from their first appearance to modern times. One of the reasons for their success is their ability to adapt to the diverse political, social and cultural pecularities of the multicultural societies at the time."
Contents:
I. Regulski: Introduction
K. Duistermaat: Which came first, the bureaucrat or the seal? https://www.academia.edu/2233602/2012._Which_Came_First_the_Bureaucrat_or_the_Seal_Some_thoughts_on_the_non-administrative_origins_of_seals_in_Neolithic_Syria
V. Muller: Do seal impressions prove a change in the administration during the reign of King Den? https://www.academia.edu/8100885/DO_SEAL_IMPRESSIONS_PROVE_A_CHANGE_IN_THE_ADMINISTRATION_DURING_THE_REIGN_OF_KING_DEN
H. Tomas: The transition from the Linear A to the Linear B sealing system.
U. Dubiel: Protection, control and prestige - seals among the rural population of Qau-Matmar.
K. Vandorp and B. van Beek: 'Non signat Aegyptus'? Seals and stamps in the multicultural society of Greco-Roman Egypt.
N. Ritter: On the development of Sasanian seals and sealing practice: a Mesopotamian approach. https://www.academia.edu/3318468/On_the_development_of_Sasanian_seals_and_sealing_practice_A_Mesopotamian_Approach
B. Caseau: Magical protection and stamps in Byzantium. https://www.academia.edu/2225337/Magical_Protection_and_Stamps_in_Byzantium
J.-Cl. Cheynet and B. Caseau: Sealing practices in the Byzantine administration. https://www.academia.edu/2225348/Sealing_Practices_in_the_Byzantine_Administration_with_J.-Cl._Cheynet_
C. Kotsifou: Sealing practices in the monasteries of Late Antique and Early Medieval Egypt. https://www.academia.edu/3717482/Sealing_practices_in_the_monasteries_of_Late_Antique_and_early_Medieval_Egypt
Petra Sijpesteijn: Seals and papyri from Early Islamic Egypt
E. Fernandez-Medina: The seal of Solomon: from magic to messianic device. https://www.academia.edu/1544509/_The_Seal_of_Solomon_from_magic_to_messianic_device_
Sabine Dorpmueller: Seals in Islamic Magical Literature
Karl R. Schaefer: Block printing as an extension of the practice of stamping.
Papers by Kim Duistermaat
A brief discussion of two traditional approaches in the study of pottery production organization, ceramic ecology and typologies of production, identifies several key problems. In order to move forward and develop new strategies, it is proposed to adopt a symmetrical perspective, integrating methods and concepts from a variety of theoretical origins, including chaîne opératoire, object biography, relevant user groups or cadena, and entanglement. A brief case study outlining a proposed strategy for a relational approach to the study of ceramic production organization concludes the chapter.
Key words
The organization of pottery production; Craft production; Relational archaeology; Symmetrical archaeology; Entanglement; Chaîne opératoire ; Object biography; Behavioural archaeology.
Introduction
The organization of ancient pottery production has been a topic of interest for decades in ceramic archaeology, because organization and production are seen as sources of information on the economy and socio-political processes in society (Costin, 2005; Schortman and Urban, 2004). However, besides viewing organization as a proxy for larger-scale economics or politics, it is equally interesting to study organization on its own merits (Kohring, 2012b). How people organize themselves in order to make pottery concerns the relations between the people who make pottery, the relations between potters and pottery users, and the dynamics of power and authority between potters and others. How did people cooperate and communicate, and how did they control material, human, and spatial resources, as well as the products? And how is the organization of pottery production related to the organization of other activities? Archaeologists try to approach these questions by searching for links between the material and the social aspects of pottery production. We usually try to identify material correlates for predefined social structures, often based on ethnographical examples. In this chapter I argue that these strategies have a tendency to limit our view on the diversity of ancient organizational practice, because their top-down perspective restricts the possibilities for identifying new, previously unknown ways of organizing. To the contrary, I advocate the development of a bottom-up, relational approach, building on several recent developments in the study of technology and organization. Such an approach will enable us to think outside the predefined boxes of types, modes and parameters of production, in order to access the large variety of ways people organized pottery production in the past.
This chapter will first discuss several traditional archaeological approaches to the organization of pottery production, including ceramic ecology and typological approaches. My main focus is on what I see as a major issue: they struggle to bridge the analytical divide between the material remains and the social structures (organization) they are trying to identify. I do not present a complete chronological or historical overview: many of these approaches were developed in roughly the same period, have mutually influenced each other, and are still influencing the work of many pottery specialists today. I will proceed to discuss a number of approaches that focus on technology and human-thing relations, including social constructivist approaches, behavioural archaeology, and approaches influenced by actor-network theory. The latter see ‘the social’ not as a structure or framework that has left material traces; rather, the social is understood as an effect that comes about through the interaction of people, artefacts, materials, and animals. These perspectives do away with the gap between material and social. Not all of these ‘socio-technical’ approaches have yet been applied to the study of pottery production organization, but they jointly provide important tools and principles for future work. In the last part of the chapter I present some preliminary suggestions for a relational approach, using an archaeological case study as an illustration.
administration to develop and ultimately integrate these areas and their populations into the Land of
Assur, the process of creating empire, have been the focus of several recent studies (Szuchman
2009a; 2009b; Tenu 2009; Postgate 2010; Fales 2011; Brown 2013; Tenu 2013). This paper aims to
contribute to this discussion from the micro-perspective of pottery production at the Middle
Assyrian dunnu of Tell Sabi Abyad in the Balikh valley. Through a ceramic lens, I would like to
look at two aspects of the Assyrian ‘hegemonic practices’ in the western province: first, how did
the Assyrians organize their operations; and, second, what were their relations and interactions with
the people around them. Where possible I will discuss chronological developments, linking pottery
dynamics to our current understanding of the historical dynamics of the period.
If you want a copy just message me including your email address.
This article considers the emergence of sealing practices in the wider context of Late Neolithic society. In Near Eastern archaeology, the use of seals is generally taken as proof for the existence of some kind of bureaucratic, centralized organization or authority. However, here I suggest that the origin of the sealing system in Syria was not connected to the emergence of social hierarchy and bureaucracy, but rather to changing subsistence practices and the existence of ideas about private property in a communal context. These conclusions are also relevant for the reconstruction of seal use in later periods. By showing that seal use is not exclusively linked to (central) administration, room is created for alternative reconstructions of seal use depending on the context.
If you want a copy just message me including your email address.
yielded new well-dated Neolithic seals and sealings at Sabi Abyad and at other Syrian
sites. After summarising the reconstruction of the sealing system at Sabi Abyad I will
present some of the new glyptic finds, to determine whether they support the Sabi Abyad
reconstruction and to establish at what point in time people started to use seals in a system
of control. I will also consider the emergence of sealing practices in the wider context
of Late Neolithic society. I suggest that the origin of the sealing system in Syria was not
connected to the emergence of social hierarchy and bureaucracy, but rather to changing
subsistence practices and the existence of ideas about private property in a communal
context."
The multidisciplinary perspective focuses on the long-term history of the region. The extensive range of topics addressed includes specific historical periods, natural resources, nomadic survival strategies, ancient textual data, and the interaction between Christian hermits and their neighbors. The breadth of perspective does not sacrifice depth, for all authors deal in some detail with the specifics of their subject matter. As a whole, this collection provides an outline of the history and sociology of the Eastern Desert unparalleled in any language for its comprehensiveness. As such, it will be the essential starting point for future research on the Eastern Desert.
Table of Contents
PART I
Chapter 1 - Introduction to Part 1: From Adam to Alexander (500,000–2500 Years Ago) by H. Barnard
Chapter 2 - Contributions to the Prehistory of the Eastern Desert, Egypt by P.M. Vermeersch
Chapter 3 - The Holocene Prehistory of the Nubian Eastern Desert by M.C. Gatto
Chapter 4 - The Journey to the Rock Art Gallery of Bir Nurayet (Sudan) by K. Pluskota
Chapter 5 - Boat Petroglyphs in Egypt’s Central Eastern Desert by F. Lankester
Chapter 6 - Nomads at the Nile: Towards an Archaeology of Interaction by C. Näser
Chapter 7 - Gods in the Red Land: Development of Cults and Religious Activities in the Eastern Desert by A.D. Espinel
Chapter 8 - Sinai in Egyptian, Levantine and Hebrew (Biblical) Perspectives by J.K. Hoffmeier
Chapter 9 - Vegetation and Management Regime Continuity in the Cultural Landscape of the Eastern Desert by G.L. Andersen
Chapter 10 - The Eastern Desert Tombs and Cultural Continuity by K. Krzywinski
Chapter 11 - The Desert Dwellers of Marmarica, Western Desert: Second Millennium BCE to First Millennium CE by A.-K. Rieger, T. Vetter and H. Möller
PART II
Chapter 12 - Introduction to Part 2: The Last 2500 Years by H. Barnard
Chapter 13 - The Eastern Desert during the Ptolemaic Period: An Emerging Picture by J. Gates-Foster
Chapter 14 - Nabataeans in the Eastern Desert during the Roman Period by R.Z. Mohamed
Chapter 15 - Roman Gold Mining in the Eastern Desert: The Mining Settlement in Wadi Bakariya by B.J.M. Tratsaert
Chapter 16 - A Blemmy by Any Other Name...: A Study in Greek Ethnography by R.H. Pierce
Chapter 17 - Blemmyes, Noubades and the Eastern Desert in Late Antiquity: Reassessing the Written Sources by J.H.F. Dijkstra
Chapter 18 - On the Archaeology of the Native Population of the Eastern Desert in the First–Seventh Centuries CE by G. Lassányi
Chapter 19 - Results of Recent Mass Spectrometric Research of Eastern Desert Ware (4th–6th centuries CE) by H. Barnard
Chapter 20 - “You Shall Not See the Tribes of the Blemmyes or of the Saracens”: On the Other ‘Barbarians’ of the Late Roman Eastern Desert of Egypt by T. Power
Chapter 21 - Invisible Monks, Human Eyes and the Egyptian Desert in Late Antique Hagiography by K.M. Klein
Chapter 22 - Desert Imagery: Bedouin, Monks, Demons and Hermits around Saint Anthony’s Monastery by J.C.M. Starkey
Chapter 23 - Nomadism and the Monastic Life in the Eastern Desert of Egypt by M. Jones
Chapter 24 - Towards Variability: Cultural Diversity in Economic Strategies of Beja Peoples by P. Weschenfelder
Chapter 25 - The Documentation of the Cultural Heritage of the Bedouin of South Sinai: A Pilot Study in Serabit al-Khadim by M. Hanna, F. Keshk and S. Aboubakr
Chapter 26 - Nominating Suakin a World Heritage Site by M.D.S. Mallinson
Chapter 27 - The Establishment of a Transboundary Biosphere Reserve in Wadi Allaqi, Egypt by M. al-Aawah and C. De Simone
Chapter 28 - Beja Innovation and Responses to Environmental Change in the Southeastern Desert of Egypt by A. Roe
Chapter 29 - Giving a Voice to the Ababda by M. Abdel-Qadr, W.Z. Wendrich, Z. Kosc and H. Barnard
Chapter 30 - Sustainable Desert Tourism: A Tool for Competition by S.B. Hassan
Chapter 31 - Concluding Remarks by J.L. Bintliff and H. Barnard
This collection of papers is the result of the workshop "Seals and Sealing Practices from Ancient Times until the Present Day. Developments in Administration and Magic through Cultures". The meeting was organized by the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo on December 2-3, 2009, on the occasion of the annual Cleveringa lecture, delivered by Prof. Dr. Petra Sijpesteijn from the University of Leiden. It had the financial support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Cairo.
Since the initiative towards the workshop was taken by staff members of the NVIC, the focus was on Egypt but other cultures in the Near East and Central Asia were also considered. Following up on the workshop, the present volume retains the geographical and chronological scope, but added a few contributions dealing with the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods. Glancing at the content, the reader will be struck by the diachronic and spatial persistence of the use of seals for administrative and other purposes, and by their multi-functionality. Indeed, sealing practices appear to be at least as consistent as writing systems, from their first appearance to modern times. One of the reasons for their success is their ability to adapt to the diverse political, social and cultural pecularities of the multicultural societies at the time."
Contents:
I. Regulski: Introduction
K. Duistermaat: Which came first, the bureaucrat or the seal? https://www.academia.edu/2233602/2012._Which_Came_First_the_Bureaucrat_or_the_Seal_Some_thoughts_on_the_non-administrative_origins_of_seals_in_Neolithic_Syria
V. Muller: Do seal impressions prove a change in the administration during the reign of King Den? https://www.academia.edu/8100885/DO_SEAL_IMPRESSIONS_PROVE_A_CHANGE_IN_THE_ADMINISTRATION_DURING_THE_REIGN_OF_KING_DEN
H. Tomas: The transition from the Linear A to the Linear B sealing system.
U. Dubiel: Protection, control and prestige - seals among the rural population of Qau-Matmar.
K. Vandorp and B. van Beek: 'Non signat Aegyptus'? Seals and stamps in the multicultural society of Greco-Roman Egypt.
N. Ritter: On the development of Sasanian seals and sealing practice: a Mesopotamian approach. https://www.academia.edu/3318468/On_the_development_of_Sasanian_seals_and_sealing_practice_A_Mesopotamian_Approach
B. Caseau: Magical protection and stamps in Byzantium. https://www.academia.edu/2225337/Magical_Protection_and_Stamps_in_Byzantium
J.-Cl. Cheynet and B. Caseau: Sealing practices in the Byzantine administration. https://www.academia.edu/2225348/Sealing_Practices_in_the_Byzantine_Administration_with_J.-Cl._Cheynet_
C. Kotsifou: Sealing practices in the monasteries of Late Antique and Early Medieval Egypt. https://www.academia.edu/3717482/Sealing_practices_in_the_monasteries_of_Late_Antique_and_early_Medieval_Egypt
Petra Sijpesteijn: Seals and papyri from Early Islamic Egypt
E. Fernandez-Medina: The seal of Solomon: from magic to messianic device. https://www.academia.edu/1544509/_The_Seal_of_Solomon_from_magic_to_messianic_device_
Sabine Dorpmueller: Seals in Islamic Magical Literature
Karl R. Schaefer: Block printing as an extension of the practice of stamping.
A brief discussion of two traditional approaches in the study of pottery production organization, ceramic ecology and typologies of production, identifies several key problems. In order to move forward and develop new strategies, it is proposed to adopt a symmetrical perspective, integrating methods and concepts from a variety of theoretical origins, including chaîne opératoire, object biography, relevant user groups or cadena, and entanglement. A brief case study outlining a proposed strategy for a relational approach to the study of ceramic production organization concludes the chapter.
Key words
The organization of pottery production; Craft production; Relational archaeology; Symmetrical archaeology; Entanglement; Chaîne opératoire ; Object biography; Behavioural archaeology.
Introduction
The organization of ancient pottery production has been a topic of interest for decades in ceramic archaeology, because organization and production are seen as sources of information on the economy and socio-political processes in society (Costin, 2005; Schortman and Urban, 2004). However, besides viewing organization as a proxy for larger-scale economics or politics, it is equally interesting to study organization on its own merits (Kohring, 2012b). How people organize themselves in order to make pottery concerns the relations between the people who make pottery, the relations between potters and pottery users, and the dynamics of power and authority between potters and others. How did people cooperate and communicate, and how did they control material, human, and spatial resources, as well as the products? And how is the organization of pottery production related to the organization of other activities? Archaeologists try to approach these questions by searching for links between the material and the social aspects of pottery production. We usually try to identify material correlates for predefined social structures, often based on ethnographical examples. In this chapter I argue that these strategies have a tendency to limit our view on the diversity of ancient organizational practice, because their top-down perspective restricts the possibilities for identifying new, previously unknown ways of organizing. To the contrary, I advocate the development of a bottom-up, relational approach, building on several recent developments in the study of technology and organization. Such an approach will enable us to think outside the predefined boxes of types, modes and parameters of production, in order to access the large variety of ways people organized pottery production in the past.
This chapter will first discuss several traditional archaeological approaches to the organization of pottery production, including ceramic ecology and typological approaches. My main focus is on what I see as a major issue: they struggle to bridge the analytical divide between the material remains and the social structures (organization) they are trying to identify. I do not present a complete chronological or historical overview: many of these approaches were developed in roughly the same period, have mutually influenced each other, and are still influencing the work of many pottery specialists today. I will proceed to discuss a number of approaches that focus on technology and human-thing relations, including social constructivist approaches, behavioural archaeology, and approaches influenced by actor-network theory. The latter see ‘the social’ not as a structure or framework that has left material traces; rather, the social is understood as an effect that comes about through the interaction of people, artefacts, materials, and animals. These perspectives do away with the gap between material and social. Not all of these ‘socio-technical’ approaches have yet been applied to the study of pottery production organization, but they jointly provide important tools and principles for future work. In the last part of the chapter I present some preliminary suggestions for a relational approach, using an archaeological case study as an illustration.
administration to develop and ultimately integrate these areas and their populations into the Land of
Assur, the process of creating empire, have been the focus of several recent studies (Szuchman
2009a; 2009b; Tenu 2009; Postgate 2010; Fales 2011; Brown 2013; Tenu 2013). This paper aims to
contribute to this discussion from the micro-perspective of pottery production at the Middle
Assyrian dunnu of Tell Sabi Abyad in the Balikh valley. Through a ceramic lens, I would like to
look at two aspects of the Assyrian ‘hegemonic practices’ in the western province: first, how did
the Assyrians organize their operations; and, second, what were their relations and interactions with
the people around them. Where possible I will discuss chronological developments, linking pottery
dynamics to our current understanding of the historical dynamics of the period.
If you want a copy just message me including your email address.
This article considers the emergence of sealing practices in the wider context of Late Neolithic society. In Near Eastern archaeology, the use of seals is generally taken as proof for the existence of some kind of bureaucratic, centralized organization or authority. However, here I suggest that the origin of the sealing system in Syria was not connected to the emergence of social hierarchy and bureaucracy, but rather to changing subsistence practices and the existence of ideas about private property in a communal context. These conclusions are also relevant for the reconstruction of seal use in later periods. By showing that seal use is not exclusively linked to (central) administration, room is created for alternative reconstructions of seal use depending on the context.
If you want a copy just message me including your email address.
yielded new well-dated Neolithic seals and sealings at Sabi Abyad and at other Syrian
sites. After summarising the reconstruction of the sealing system at Sabi Abyad I will
present some of the new glyptic finds, to determine whether they support the Sabi Abyad
reconstruction and to establish at what point in time people started to use seals in a system
of control. I will also consider the emergence of sealing practices in the wider context
of Late Neolithic society. I suggest that the origin of the sealing system in Syria was not
connected to the emergence of social hierarchy and bureaucracy, but rather to changing
subsistence practices and the existence of ideas about private property in a communal
context."
The multidisciplinary perspective focuses on the long-term history of the region. The extensive range of topics addressed includes specific historical periods, natural resources, nomadic survival strategies, ancient textual data, and the interaction between Christian hermits and their neighbors. The breadth of perspective does not sacrifice depth, for all authors deal in some detail with the specifics of their subject matter. As a whole, this collection provides an outline of the history and sociology of the Eastern Desert unparalleled in any language for its comprehensiveness. As such, it will be the essential starting point for future research on the Eastern Desert.