- Cypriot Archaeology, Roman Cyprus, Classics, Roman Lamps, Graeco-Roman Egypt, Coastal and Island Archaeology, and 44 moreClassical Near East, Anthropology, Cypriot sculpture, Ancient History of Cyprus, Greek Archaeology, Island archaeology, Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Cyprus Studies, Theoretical Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Archaeological Method & Theory, Heritage Management, Roman Provincial Coinage, Ptolemaic Egyptian History, Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor, Ancient Roman Numismatics, Acculturation and 'Romanisation', Roman Provincial Archaeology, Cultural Identities in the Roman World, Romanization, Roman Trade Networks, Roman Near East, Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, Archaeology of the Hellenistic East, Roman East, Eastern Roman provinces (Archaeology), Roman Syria (Archaeology), Digital Humanities, Digital Photogrammetry applied to Archaeology, Mediterranean archaeology, Cyprus and the East Mediterranean, Mediterranean Studies, Roman engineering, Roman Archaeology Conference, Archaeology of Colonialism, Historical Archaeology, Roman Art, Roman Architecture, Insularity, Ancient Greek and Roman Art, Roman Archaeology, Roman Spain, and Archaeology of Roman Hispaniaedit
- Jody Michael Gordon is Professor of History and Archaeology in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at We... moreJody Michael Gordon is Professor of History and Archaeology in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Classics at the University of Cincinnati. A specialist in Roman archaeology, Jody’s Ph.D., entitled "Between Alexandria and Rome: A Postcolonial Archaeology of Cultural Identity in Hellenistic and Roman Cyprus," involved a comparative study of the effect of ancient empires on Cypriot identities. Jody is also the Assistant Director of the Athienou Archaeological Project, an excavation focused on a Cypriot religious sanctuary dating from 600 B.C.E. to Roman times. In addition to excavating, Jody has a sincere interest in applied humanities and has spearheaded the AAP’s data digitization initiative. Jody is one of the co-authors of "Mobilizing the Past: The Potential of Digital Archaeology," an open access edited volume on how mobile digital archaeological methods are transforming archaeological practice (https://thedigitalpress.org/mobilizing-the-past-for-a-digital-future/).
Jody also maintains an active research agenda that includes writing book reviews and chapters as well as presenting papers at the annual meetings of America’s premier archaeological research institutions (i.e., AIA and ASOR). Moreover, he has presented his research internationally at the Annual Meeting of the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute (CAARI) in Nicosia and at the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference (TRAC) in Reading, England, and locally at Boston University and WIT’s Polytechnic Summits. Jody has held doctoral fellowships at both CAARI and Mount Allison University. Recently, he was a joint recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant for the organization of a workshop on mobile computing in archaeology that was held at WIT during the Spring of 2015. Over the last decade, Jody has taught Ancient World Civilizations, Roman Culture and Technology, Media, Culture, and Communications Studies Studio, Introduction to Archaeology, Classical World on Film, History of Technology, History of Ancient Africa, Computer Science and Society Studio, and has led a study abroad trip to Cyprus. In 2023, he received the Wentworth President's Award for Distinguished Teaching.edit
Recently, complex interpretations of socio-cultural change in the ancient Mediterranean world have emerged that challenge earlier models. Influenced by today's hyper-connected age, scholars no longer perceive the Mediterranean as a static... more
Recently, complex interpretations of socio-cultural change in the ancient Mediterranean world have emerged that challenge earlier models. Influenced by today's hyper-connected age, scholars no longer perceive the Mediterranean as a static place where Graeco-Roman culture was dominant, but rather see it as a dynamic and connected sea where fragmentation and uncertainty, along with mobility and networking, were the norm. Hence, a current theoretical approach to studying ancient culture has been that of globalization. Certain eras of Mediterranean history (e.g., the Bronze Age and Roman empire) known for their increased connectivity have thus been analyzed from a globalized perspective that examines rhizomal networking, cultural diversity, and multiple processes of social change. Archaeology has proven a useful discipline for investigating ancient globalization because of its recent focus on how identity is expressed through material culture negotiated between both local and global influences when levels of connectivity are altered. Insularity, or the socially recognized differences expressed by people living on islands, is a form of self-identification created within a particular space and time. The papers in this volume argue that insularity, as a unique social identity affected by global forces, should be viewed as an important research paradigm for archaeologies concerned with re-examining cultural change.
Research Interests: History, Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Greek History, Roman History, and 15 moreGlobalization, Hellenistic History, Sardinia (Archaeology), Cyprus, Greek Archaeology, Late Bronze Age archaeology, Mediterranean archaeology, Iron Age, Italy, Greece, Crete, Cyclades, Dalmatia, Insularity, and Roman Archaeology
Mobilizing the Past is a collection of 20 articles that explore the use and impact of mobile digital technology in archaeological field practice. The detailed case studies present in this volume range from drones in the Andes to iPads at... more
Mobilizing the Past is a collection of 20 articles that explore the use and impact of mobile digital technology in archaeological field practice. The detailed case studies present in this volume range from drones in the Andes to iPads at Pompeii, digital workflows in the American Southwest, and examples of how bespoke, DIY, and commercial software provide solutions and craft novel challenges for field archaeologists. The range of projects and contexts ensures that Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future is far more than a state-of-the-field manual or technical handbook. Instead, the contributors embrace the growing spirit of critique present in digital archaeology. This critical edge, backed by real projects, systems, and experiences, gives the book lasting value as both a glimpse into present practices as well as the anxieties and enthusiasm associated with the most recent generation of mobile digital tools. This book emerged from a workshop funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities held in 2015 at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. The workshop brought together over 20 leading practitioners of digital archaeology in the U.S. for a weekend of conversation. The papers in this volume reflect the discussions at this workshop with significant additional content. Starting with an expansive introduction and concluding with a series of reflective papers, this volume illustrates how tablets, connectivity, sophisticated software, and powerful computers have transformed field practices and offer potential for a radically transformed discipline.
Individual chapters are available for free download, here:
http://dc.uwm.edu/arthist_mobilizingthepast/
Individual chapters are available for free download, here:
http://dc.uwm.edu/arthist_mobilizingthepast/
Research Interests: Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, and 96 moreHumanities Computing (Digital Humanities), Classics, Digital Humanities, Remote Sensing, Photogrammetry, Andean Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Open Access, Open Access Publishing, Digital Archaeology, Cypriot Archaeology, Mobile Technology, Archaeological GIS, North American archaeology, 3D visualisation, Cyber-Archaeology, Greek Archaeology, Digital Archives, Remote sensing and GIS applications in Landscape Research, Andean Prehistory (Archaeology), Born-digital media, Bruno Latour, Cultural Resource Management (Archaeology), Geo-spatial analysis with GIS and GPS, Remote sensing and GIS, Thomas S. Kuhn, Digital Photogrammetry applied to Archaeology, Mobile application development, Late Roman Archaeology, History of Archeology, Mobile Computing, Practical Applications of Digital Video as a Recording Tool in Archaeology, Digital reconstruction (Archaeology), Underwater Archaeology, Archeologia, Mediterranean archaeology, Mediterranean Underwater Archaeology, History of Archaeology, UAV and Aircraft control, Cyber Archaeology, South American Archaeology, Mobile apps, Prehistoric Archeology, Cultural Resources Management, Classics: Ancient History and Archaeology, Cypriote Archaeology, Roman Spain, Inkas, Slow movement, Archeologie, digital Taylorism, Archéologie, 3D Laser Scanning (Archaeology), 3D GIS, 3D Visualization, 3D modeling, Cyberarchaeology, Remote sesning and GIS applications to archaeology, 3D Visualization, Laser Scanning, Digital Terrain and Surface Modeling, Digital Photogrammetry, Maritime and Underwater Archaeology, UAV systems, Taylorism, Arqueología romana / Roman archeology, Archeologia Classica, Archeologia Romana, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Old World Archaeology, New World Archaeology, Inka roads, Archaeology/Digital Humanities, Digital Photogrammetry, iPads in education, iPads, Open-Access, UAVs for Mapping, Archaeology of Cyprus, UAV for Photogrammetry, Black box modelling of processes, Digital Learning with Tablet Computers, Uav Design, Tablets, UAV STABILITY AND CONTROL, UAV MODELLING AND SIMULATION, UAV DYNAMICS, Peruvian Archaeology, Roman Archaeology, Paperless Archaeology, History of Peruvian Archaeology, Archaiology, Open Access Archaeology, Archeology, Black Box, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Oculus Rift, Born Digital Images, Slow Archaeology, and Born-Digital Data
For more information, please visit: https://thedigitalpress.org/mobilizing-the-past-for-a-digital-future/ Mobilizing the Past is a collection of 20 articles that explore the use and impact of mobile digital technology in archaeological... more
For more information, please visit:
https://thedigitalpress.org/mobilizing-the-past-for-a-digital-future/
Mobilizing the Past is a collection of 20 articles that explore the use and impact of mobile digital technology in archaeological field practice. The detailed case studies present in this volume range from drones in the Andes to iPads at Pompeii, digital workflows in the American Southwest, and examples of how bespoke, DIY, and commercial software provide solutions and craft novel challenges for field archaeologist. The range of projects and contexts ensures that Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future is far more than a state-of-the-field manual or technical handbook. Instead, the contributors embrace the growing spirit of critique present in digital archaeology. This critical edge, backed by real projects, systems, and experiences, gives the book lasting value as both a glimpse into present practices as well as the anxieties and enthusiasm associated with the most recent generation of mobile digital tools.
https://thedigitalpress.org/mobilizing-the-past-for-a-digital-future/
Mobilizing the Past is a collection of 20 articles that explore the use and impact of mobile digital technology in archaeological field practice. The detailed case studies present in this volume range from drones in the Andes to iPads at Pompeii, digital workflows in the American Southwest, and examples of how bespoke, DIY, and commercial software provide solutions and craft novel challenges for field archaeologist. The range of projects and contexts ensures that Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future is far more than a state-of-the-field manual or technical handbook. Instead, the contributors embrace the growing spirit of critique present in digital archaeology. This critical edge, backed by real projects, systems, and experiences, gives the book lasting value as both a glimpse into present practices as well as the anxieties and enthusiasm associated with the most recent generation of mobile digital tools.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Digital Humanities, and 23 morePhotogrammetry, Landscape Archaeology, Open Access, Digital Archaeology, Cypriot Archaeology, Mobile Technology, North American (Archaeology), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), North American archaeology, Greek Archaeology, Digital Archives, Digital Photogrammetry applied to Archaeology, Digital reconstruction (Archaeology), Underwater Archaeology, Mediterranean Underwater Archaeology, History of Archaeology, South American Archaeology, Slow movement, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), New World Archaeology, Archaeology of Cyprus, Peruvian Archaeology, and Roman Archaeology
This dissertation elaborates on previous interpretations of cultural change in Ptolemaic (294-58 B.C.E.) and Roman (58 B.C.E.-293 C.E.) Cyprus by presenting a postcolonial archaeology of cultural identity that comparatively analyzes... more
This dissertation elaborates on previous interpretations of cultural change in Ptolemaic (294-58 B.C.E.) and Roman (58 B.C.E.-293 C.E.) Cyprus by presenting a postcolonial archaeology of cultural identity that comparatively analyzes coins, sculptures, and architecture. Although these artifacts all betray the cultural influence of Alexandria or Rome, this study shows that both local and imperial agents played a role in determining how material culture might express one’s socially recognized sense of belonging, i.e., their identity. Furthermore, by contextualizing such interactions in relation to each empire’s strategic agenda and Cyprus’ geographical and cultural values, this thesis illustrates how different empires can affect the same region in diverse ways and emphasizes the significance of geohistorical factors within colonial encounters.
An analysis of Ptolemaic motives and strategies indicates that the empire valued Cyprus for its strategic location and resources. Thus Cyprus was militarily occupied and Cypriots lost their political autonomy. Yet, because local and imperial agents shared cultural values, new identities could be interactively constructed. Ptolemaic officials dominated coin production, but used designs that linked imperial and local religious and linguistic affinities. The dialogue between imperial and local statues reveals how Cypriots manipulated Alexandrian styles within traditional contexts. Ptolemaic architecture expressed imperial power locally, but had little effect on Cypriot buildings. Alternatively, an examination of Rome’s attitude towards Cyprus shows that the empire viewed the island as strategically insignificant. This factor resulted in the increased participation of Cypriot elites in local affairs. Hence, Roman Cypriot coins reveal a dialogue between imperial and local symbols, whereas sculpture and architecture demonstrate that local elites emulated imperial types because they communicated a sense humanitas that reinforced one’s socio-political position.
Overall, this dissertation expands on colonialist interpretations of cultural change to reveal how imperial agendas, local geographies, social class, and cultural histories all influence the nature of imperial/local interactions. Moreover, its conclusions suggest that elite Cypriots adopted imperial fashions—especially in sculpture and architecture— primarily because they were polyvocal and appealed to both imperial and local sensibilities. These adoptions could then be actively adapted to suit local practices, and sometimes certain symbols, such as those associated with Aphrodite, could even influence the cultural identities of imperial agents. Thus, most importantly, this study proves that Cypriots were not merely “Hellenized” or “Romanized,” but rather that they often played an active role in constructing their local cultural identities within greater imperial worlds.
https://etd.ohiolink.edu/ap/10?0::NO:10:P10_ETD_SUBID:84547
An analysis of Ptolemaic motives and strategies indicates that the empire valued Cyprus for its strategic location and resources. Thus Cyprus was militarily occupied and Cypriots lost their political autonomy. Yet, because local and imperial agents shared cultural values, new identities could be interactively constructed. Ptolemaic officials dominated coin production, but used designs that linked imperial and local religious and linguistic affinities. The dialogue between imperial and local statues reveals how Cypriots manipulated Alexandrian styles within traditional contexts. Ptolemaic architecture expressed imperial power locally, but had little effect on Cypriot buildings. Alternatively, an examination of Rome’s attitude towards Cyprus shows that the empire viewed the island as strategically insignificant. This factor resulted in the increased participation of Cypriot elites in local affairs. Hence, Roman Cypriot coins reveal a dialogue between imperial and local symbols, whereas sculpture and architecture demonstrate that local elites emulated imperial types because they communicated a sense humanitas that reinforced one’s socio-political position.
Overall, this dissertation expands on colonialist interpretations of cultural change to reveal how imperial agendas, local geographies, social class, and cultural histories all influence the nature of imperial/local interactions. Moreover, its conclusions suggest that elite Cypriots adopted imperial fashions—especially in sculpture and architecture— primarily because they were polyvocal and appealed to both imperial and local sensibilities. These adoptions could then be actively adapted to suit local practices, and sometimes certain symbols, such as those associated with Aphrodite, could even influence the cultural identities of imperial agents. Thus, most importantly, this study proves that Cypriots were not merely “Hellenized” or “Romanized,” but rather that they often played an active role in constructing their local cultural identities within greater imperial worlds.
https://etd.ohiolink.edu/ap/10?0::NO:10:P10_ETD_SUBID:84547
Research Interests: Roman History, Postcolonial Studies, Cypriot Archaeology, Coastal and Island Archaeology, Ancient Roman Numismatics, and 11 moreMediterranean archaeology, Archaeology of Identity, Annales school, Roman Provincial Archaeology, Roman Cyprus, Archaeology of the Hellenistic East, Greek and Roman Art and Architecture, Roman Architecture, Ptolemaic Empire, Archaeology of Cyprus, and Roman Archaeology
Research Interests: Ancient History, Archaeology, Greek History, Roman History, Globalization, and 14 moreSardinia (Archaeology), Archaeological Method & Theory, Late Antiquity, Aegean Bronze Age (Bronze Age Archaeology), Cyprus, Greek Archaeology, Ancient Greek History, Baleares /Balearic Islands, Roman Period, Greece, Sicily, Crete, Insularity, and Roman Archaeology
In February 2015, a workshop on the current state of mobile computing in archaeology and the future of digital archaeological workflows—entitled Mobilizing the Past—was convened at Wentworth Institute of Technology. The workshop’s purpose... more
In February 2015, a workshop on the current state of mobile computing in archaeology and the future of digital archaeological workflows—entitled Mobilizing the Past—was convened at Wentworth Institute of Technology. The workshop’s purpose was to bring together pioneers in archaeology and computing to discuss the development and use of mobile device technology to advance digital archaeology, i.e., fully digital recording systems aimed at creating born-digital data in the field in ways that advance projects’ research agendas. Archaeologists working at sites around the globe, including those in Israel and Cyprus, shared their insights and critiques on digital field recording techniques, tools for on-site spatial and imaging analysis, workflows, student pedagogy, as well as systems of data management and long-term curation.
This paper’s goal is to share the workshop’s results in order to challenge Near Eastern archaeologists to think about how mobile computing workflows impact the practice and interpretive value of archaeology. Papers presented at the Mobilizing the Past workshop brought to light the pros and cons of converting to digital or “paperless” workflows, and also the issues and challenges that will likely dominate the discourse on future attempts to digitize archaeological data “at the trowel’s edge” including: time management, cost, data quality and quantity, systems’ design, usability, and interpretive power, and data democratization. Overall, this paper sheds light on the best practices in mobile computing in archaeology that emerged from the workshop and emphasizes their potential to improve current archaeological practices.
This paper’s goal is to share the workshop’s results in order to challenge Near Eastern archaeologists to think about how mobile computing workflows impact the practice and interpretive value of archaeology. Papers presented at the Mobilizing the Past workshop brought to light the pros and cons of converting to digital or “paperless” workflows, and also the issues and challenges that will likely dominate the discourse on future attempts to digitize archaeological data “at the trowel’s edge” including: time management, cost, data quality and quantity, systems’ design, usability, and interpretive power, and data democratization. Overall, this paper sheds light on the best practices in mobile computing in archaeology that emerged from the workshop and emphasizes their potential to improve current archaeological practices.
Research Interests:
Chipped stone tools are difficult to illustrate in publications with line drawings or analog photographs, and previous attempts to improve on stone tool illustration with stereoviews, coatings, or casts have not been widely adopted by... more
Chipped stone tools are difficult to illustrate in publications with line drawings or analog photographs, and previous
attempts to improve on stone tool illustration with stereoviews, coatings, or casts have not been widely adopted by
lithic analysts. New software makes it possible to create interactive photorealistic D digital images of stone tools in
the field or laboratory without specialized or expensive equipment. These images can be replicated by D printers,
and based on our experiments using three different printing media we demonstrate that models printed in ABS
plastic are acceptably inexpensive forms that reproduce the artifact features required by specialists. The combination
of image-based modeling and D printing will revolutionize the illustration of artifacts and greatly mitigate
the need for extensive travel and help alleviate accessibility issues.
attempts to improve on stone tool illustration with stereoviews, coatings, or casts have not been widely adopted by
lithic analysts. New software makes it possible to create interactive photorealistic D digital images of stone tools in
the field or laboratory without specialized or expensive equipment. These images can be replicated by D printers,
and based on our experiments using three different printing media we demonstrate that models printed in ABS
plastic are acceptably inexpensive forms that reproduce the artifact features required by specialists. The combination
of image-based modeling and D printing will revolutionize the illustration of artifacts and greatly mitigate
the need for extensive travel and help alleviate accessibility issues.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
At the 2014 ASOR Annual Meeting, Jody Gordon, of Wentworth Institute of Technology, presented his paper, "Mini- Alexandrias or Local Continuity? Architectural Change, Place-Making, and Identity in Ptolemaic Cyprus," during the Continuity... more
At the 2014 ASOR Annual Meeting, Jody Gordon, of Wentworth Institute of Technology, presented his paper, "Mini- Alexandrias or Local Continuity? Architectural Change, Place-Making, and Identity in Ptolemaic Cyprus," during the Continuity or Change: The Hellenistic Near East on a Local Scale I session.
ABSTRACT: During the third century BCE, the island of Cyprus was incorporated into the Ptolemaic empire centered in Alexandria, Egypt. The Ptolemies occupied the island militarily, and this imperial intrusion had an immediate effect on Cypriot life according to the archaeological evidence. For example, an imperial coinage replaced long-standing civic ones, while the Greek alphabet superseded the traditional Cypro-Syllabic script in inscriptions. Although it also underwent profound changes, the architecture of Ptolemaic Cyprus perhaps provides a more nuanced insight into the processes by which local culture changed, especially when it is analyzed as the residue of negotiated place making. Examining architectural remains as the products of socially constructed, lived space—as dynamic places that are both the products of and frames for human practices—arguably helps to reveal the varied local and imperial interactions that shaped material culture. The goal of this paper is to explore how people’s sense of identity changed in Ptolemaic Cyprus through the study of a variety of architectural forms as socially constructed places. Through an architectural review of urban, sacred, and funerary environments, I show how an opulent architectural vocabulary characteristic of Alexandria was exported to Cyprus. However, I also illustrate how this vocabulary could be selectively utilized or even ignored depending on the actors involved in constructing social space. Overall, this regional archaeological study suggests that Hellenistic culture was contextually situated and actively constructed. Hellenistic places could be both innovative and conservative and could combine both universal as well as particular elements.
ABSTRACT: During the third century BCE, the island of Cyprus was incorporated into the Ptolemaic empire centered in Alexandria, Egypt. The Ptolemies occupied the island militarily, and this imperial intrusion had an immediate effect on Cypriot life according to the archaeological evidence. For example, an imperial coinage replaced long-standing civic ones, while the Greek alphabet superseded the traditional Cypro-Syllabic script in inscriptions. Although it also underwent profound changes, the architecture of Ptolemaic Cyprus perhaps provides a more nuanced insight into the processes by which local culture changed, especially when it is analyzed as the residue of negotiated place making. Examining architectural remains as the products of socially constructed, lived space—as dynamic places that are both the products of and frames for human practices—arguably helps to reveal the varied local and imperial interactions that shaped material culture. The goal of this paper is to explore how people’s sense of identity changed in Ptolemaic Cyprus through the study of a variety of architectural forms as socially constructed places. Through an architectural review of urban, sacred, and funerary environments, I show how an opulent architectural vocabulary characteristic of Alexandria was exported to Cyprus. However, I also illustrate how this vocabulary could be selectively utilized or even ignored depending on the actors involved in constructing social space. Overall, this regional archaeological study suggests that Hellenistic culture was contextually situated and actively constructed. Hellenistic places could be both innovative and conservative and could combine both universal as well as particular elements.
Research Interests:
Paper can be accessed at this link: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/7/4/155 During the Early Roman period in the Mediterranean (ca. 30 BC–330 AD), the key central places that distinguished socio-political landscapes were towns. These... more
Paper can be accessed at this link: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/7/4/155
During the Early Roman period in the Mediterranean (ca. 30 BC–330 AD), the key central places that distinguished socio-political landscapes were towns. These urban centers functioned as economic and administrative focal points that were controlled by local elites who oversaw wealth redistribution and maintained a dialectical relationship with Rome that mutually benefitted both parties. Yet, beyond providing such rudimentary observations, central place theory has recently been revised to examine how local factors, such as a place’s long-term geography and history, intersect with globalizing ones to transform settlement hierarchies as well as economic, political, and cultural landscapes. This article’s goal is to explore such intersections through a study of how port towns functioned as central places that connected globalized imperial networks to localized provincial ones within island contexts. It examines a range of material culture including, ceramics, architecture, prestige goods, and coinage from ports in Early Roman Cyprus in order to investigate how the island’s integration into Roman networks created central places that altered existing settlement types, hierarchies, and thus, local identities. Overall, this study shows how the reanalysis of central places within their unique geohistorical contexts can shed new light on both regional and state-level processes of cultural change.
During the Early Roman period in the Mediterranean (ca. 30 BC–330 AD), the key central places that distinguished socio-political landscapes were towns. These urban centers functioned as economic and administrative focal points that were controlled by local elites who oversaw wealth redistribution and maintained a dialectical relationship with Rome that mutually benefitted both parties. Yet, beyond providing such rudimentary observations, central place theory has recently been revised to examine how local factors, such as a place’s long-term geography and history, intersect with globalizing ones to transform settlement hierarchies as well as economic, political, and cultural landscapes. This article’s goal is to explore such intersections through a study of how port towns functioned as central places that connected globalized imperial networks to localized provincial ones within island contexts. It examines a range of material culture including, ceramics, architecture, prestige goods, and coinage from ports in Early Roman Cyprus in order to investigate how the island’s integration into Roman networks created central places that altered existing settlement types, hierarchies, and thus, local identities. Overall, this study shows how the reanalysis of central places within their unique geohistorical contexts can shed new light on both regional and state-level processes of cultural change.
Research Interests: Maritime Archaeology, Roman History, Globalization, Island Studies, Cypriot Archaeology, and 15 moreCyprus Studies, Coastal and Island Archaeology, History of Cyprus, Archaeology of Identity, Archaeological survey, History and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Roman imperialism, Roman Cyprus, Cyprus and the East Mediterranean, Roman Architecture, Roman Art, Insularity, Central Places, Archaeology of Cyprus, and Roman Archaeology
Throughout its history, the island of Cyprus, a sea-girt landmass situated close to continental shores, has often played a pivotal role in connecting the peoples of the Near East to those of the central Mediterranean. Because of its large... more
Throughout its history, the island of Cyprus, a sea-girt landmass situated close to continental shores, has often played a pivotal role in connecting the peoples of the Near East to those of the central Mediterranean. Because of its large physical size and ample natural resources, the island has also supported a significant local population of Cypriots who have had to negotiate their interactions with external groups (and with each other) from various vantage points on their island home. Thus, insularity, or an individual’s sense of belonging to a particular island population shaped by unique biogeographical properties at specific historical moments, has always been cultivated by Cypriots as a socio-cultural identity that has permitted them to adapt strategically to social change and to cultivate unique worldviews.
Yet, despite several studies of Cypriot insularity in the Bronze and Iron Ages, the question of how Cyprus’ long-term insular features intersected with the socio-political realities of the early Roman period to influence local society has rarely been considered. As a result, Roman Cyprus’ material culture has often been interpreted as merely a provincial reflection of wider cultural trends in the Roman East and has not been viewed as the unique residue of practices informed by local notions of insularity. This study offers a preliminary archaeological exploration of how a focus on Cypriot insularity can shed new light on how Cypriots engaged with Roman political power and material culture. It brings together recent research on Cyprus’ long-term history, shipwrecks, ceramic distribution patterns, as well as numismatic, sculptural, and architectural remains to establish an island archaeology for Roman Cyprus that suggests the island was not an isolated provincial backwater. Instead, this study shows that Cyprus was a highly connected maritime entrepôt whose people could experience the Roman world in different ways depending on how they constructed their identities as islanders.
Yet, despite several studies of Cypriot insularity in the Bronze and Iron Ages, the question of how Cyprus’ long-term insular features intersected with the socio-political realities of the early Roman period to influence local society has rarely been considered. As a result, Roman Cyprus’ material culture has often been interpreted as merely a provincial reflection of wider cultural trends in the Roman East and has not been viewed as the unique residue of practices informed by local notions of insularity. This study offers a preliminary archaeological exploration of how a focus on Cypriot insularity can shed new light on how Cypriots engaged with Roman political power and material culture. It brings together recent research on Cyprus’ long-term history, shipwrecks, ceramic distribution patterns, as well as numismatic, sculptural, and architectural remains to establish an island archaeology for Roman Cyprus that suggests the island was not an isolated provincial backwater. Instead, this study shows that Cyprus was a highly connected maritime entrepôt whose people could experience the Roman world in different ways depending on how they constructed their identities as islanders.
Research Interests: Roman History, Cypriot Archaeology, Identity (Culture), Coastal and Island Archaeology, History of Cyprus, and 15 moreAncient History of Cyprus, Ancient Near East, Ancient Roman Numismatics, Ancient Greek and Roman Art, Roman Provincial Archaeology, Roman Imperial Ideology, Roman imperialism, Roman Cyprus, Roman Sculpture, Greek and Roman Art and Architecture, Roman Architecture, Ancient Seafaring, Longue durée, Roman Archaeology, and Hellenistic and Roman Cyprus
This chapter presents a comparative approach to the archaeology of Hellenistic and Roman Cyprus informed by post-Braudelian discourse that sheds new light on the negotiation of identities under imperial rule and serves as a microregional... more
This chapter presents a comparative approach to the archaeology of Hellenistic and Roman Cyprus informed by post-Braudelian discourse that sheds new light on the negotiation of identities under imperial rule and serves as a microregional case study of how political/cultural connections changed in the ancient Mediterranean. It explores empires, geography, and the Mediterranean in both its actual and heuristic senses; it attempts history in the Mediterranean, but also—in some ways—of it.
The chapter proposes that imperial (dis)connectedness to a region—and so the nature of imperial influence on local culture—depends on both an empire’s historically-specific route to power and a region’s geocultural characteristics. This stance transcends traditional notions of imperial rule stressing dominance, which were often based on historical sources. It suggests that a consideration of short-term developments along with a region’s geocultural history revealed through archaeological evidence offers a more balanced perspective on cultural change. Next, Cyprus’ geocultural aspects are discerned via Braudel’s concept of the longue-durée whereby the island’s “permanent” spatial (e.g., natural resources) and temporal values (e.g., religion) are revealed.
Two archaeological case studies show how both empire-influenced conjonctures and Braudelian “permanent values” altered Cypriot culture. Ptolemaic military goals combined with Cyprus’ strategic geopolitical position to result in a strict administrative climate that marked Cypriot coinage, sculpture, and architecture. Conversely, the Roman conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean robbed Cyprus of its geopolitical importance and transformed it into a province whose location made it prosperous and whose cultural history the Romans admired. Roman Cyprus’ archaeology thus exhibits a distinct negotiation of new identities mediated by imperial and microregional factors. Overall, this chapter’s comparative archaeological overview of six centuries of imperial rule on a Mediterranean island contributes to post-Braudelian discourse by demonstrating how societies are affected via the ways that imperial peoples interact with geohistorical realities.
https://www.routledge.com/Across-the-Corrupting-Sea-Post-Braudelian-Approaches-to-the-Ancient-Eastern/Concannon-Mazurek/p/book/9781472458261
The chapter proposes that imperial (dis)connectedness to a region—and so the nature of imperial influence on local culture—depends on both an empire’s historically-specific route to power and a region’s geocultural characteristics. This stance transcends traditional notions of imperial rule stressing dominance, which were often based on historical sources. It suggests that a consideration of short-term developments along with a region’s geocultural history revealed through archaeological evidence offers a more balanced perspective on cultural change. Next, Cyprus’ geocultural aspects are discerned via Braudel’s concept of the longue-durée whereby the island’s “permanent” spatial (e.g., natural resources) and temporal values (e.g., religion) are revealed.
Two archaeological case studies show how both empire-influenced conjonctures and Braudelian “permanent values” altered Cypriot culture. Ptolemaic military goals combined with Cyprus’ strategic geopolitical position to result in a strict administrative climate that marked Cypriot coinage, sculpture, and architecture. Conversely, the Roman conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean robbed Cyprus of its geopolitical importance and transformed it into a province whose location made it prosperous and whose cultural history the Romans admired. Roman Cyprus’ archaeology thus exhibits a distinct negotiation of new identities mediated by imperial and microregional factors. Overall, this chapter’s comparative archaeological overview of six centuries of imperial rule on a Mediterranean island contributes to post-Braudelian discourse by demonstrating how societies are affected via the ways that imperial peoples interact with geohistorical realities.
https://www.routledge.com/Across-the-Corrupting-Sea-Post-Braudelian-Approaches-to-the-Ancient-Eastern/Concannon-Mazurek/p/book/9781472458261
Research Interests:
A critical Introduction to Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future: The Potential of Digital Archaeology. The full volume is set to drop in one week! Mark your calendars and visit here:... more
A critical Introduction to Mobilizing the Past for a Digital Future: The Potential of Digital Archaeology. The full volume is set to drop in one week! Mark your calendars and visit here: https://thedigitalpress.org/mobilizing-the-past-for-a-digital-future/
Research Interests: Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, and 41 moreHumanities Computing (Digital Humanities), Classics, Digital Humanities, Photogrammetry, Andean Archaeology, Aerial Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Open Access, Digital Archaeology, Cypriot Archaeology, Mobile Technology, Open Source Software, Digital Culture, 3D visualisation, Greek Archaeology, Digital Archives, Cultural Resource Management (Archaeology), Digital Photogrammetry applied to Archaeology, Mobile application development, Mobile Computing, History of Archaeology, UAV and Aircraft control, Mobile apps, Cypriote Archaeology, Inkas, Ipad in the classroom, 3D GIS, 3D Visualization, 3D modeling, Caesarea Maritima, 3D Visualization, Maritime and Underwater Archaeology, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Inka Archaeology, Inka roads, Archaeology/Digital Humanities, iPads in education, Digital Learning with Tablet Computers, Tablets, Peruvian Archaeology, Roman Archaeology, Paperless Archaeology, and Born-Digital Data
The archaeology of Early Christian Cyprus represents one of the most significant case studies of how early Christianity developed because of the island’s unique geohistorical background and the diverse nature of its material remains. When... more
The archaeology of Early Christian Cyprus represents one of the most significant case studies of how early Christianity developed because of the island’s unique geohistorical background and the diverse nature of its material remains. When combined with local hagiographical resources, Cyprus’ material culture illustrates the gradual development of a unique form of Early Christian society between the fourth and seventh centuries CE that drew on both local and imperial influences. This chapter contributes to such perspectives by offering an introduction to Early Christian Cyprus’ archaeological corpus vis-à-vis the island’s unique Late Antique eastern Mediterranean context. It examines basilicas, baptisteries, mosaics and church décor, funerary structures, coins and seals, metalwork, epigraphy, and ceramics to reveal the discipline’s main research foci and suggests topics for future investigation.
Research Interests:
This 2-day workshop focuses on the emergence of digital archaeology – fully digital recording systems to create born-digital data in the field. The purpose of this intensive workshop is to bring together the leading figures in the field... more
This 2-day workshop focuses on the emergence of digital archaeology – fully digital recording systems to create born-digital data in the field. The purpose of this intensive workshop is to bring together the leading figures in the field to discuss the use, creation, and implementation of mobile tablet technology in advancing digital archaeology. Session themes are aimed to facilitate presentation and discussion on how archaeologists around the world from different disciplines are using tablets or similar digital tools in the field and in the lab, and how best practices are emerging and might be implemented across projects. The workshop will highlight the advantages and future of mobile computing as well as its challenges and limitations.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Digital Humanities, and 16 moreDigital Archaeology, Cypriot Archaeology, Mobile Technology, Digital Culture, Cultural Heritage Recording, Documentation and Information Systems, Greek Archaeology, Mobile Communication, Archaeological Fieldwork, Mobile Computing, iPad, Mobile Communications, Mobile technologies, Archaeology/Digital Humanities, iPads in education, iPads, and Roman Archaeology
Recently, complex interpretations of socio-cultural change in the ancient Mediterranean world have emerged that challenge earlier models. Influenced by today's hyper-connected age, scholars no longer perceive the Mediterranean as a static... more
Recently, complex interpretations of socio-cultural change in the ancient Mediterranean world have emerged that challenge earlier models. Influenced by today's hyper-connected age, scholars no longer perceive the Mediterranean as a static place where " Greco-Roman " culture was dominant, but rather see it as a dynamic and connected sea where fragmentation and uncertainty, along with mobility and networking, were the norm. Hence, a current theoretical approach to studying ancient culture has been that of globalization, which Pitts and Versluys (Globalisation in the Roman World [Oxford, 2014] 11) have defined as " processes by which localities and people become increasingly interconnected and interdependent. " Globalization approaches redefine " global " as any place and time where interregional interaction and connectivity intensified, and " globalization " as a process of change that accrued via increased social interactions. Certain eras of Mediterranean history (e.g., the Roman empire) known for their increased connectivity have thus been analyzed from a globalized perspective that examines rhizomal networking, cultural diversity, and multiple processes of social change. Archaeology has proven a useful discipline for investigating ancient " globalization " because of its recent focus on how identity—or one's sense of belonging based on socially recognized differences (e.g., language, religion, or ethnicity)—is expressed through material culture negotiated between both local and global influences when levels of connectivity are altered. One form of identity that has been inadequately explored in relation to globalization theory is insularity. Insularity, or the socially recognized differences expressed by people living on islands, is a form of self-identification created within a particular space and time. The omission of insularity from many globalization studies is problematic since islands are often some of the most hyper-connected places. Moreover, islanders often produce archaeologically legible material culture(s) that express identities affected by levels of connectivity. Insularity then, as a social identity affected by " global " forces, should be viewed as an important research paradigm for archaeologies concerned with reexamining cultural change. This colloquium's purpose is to explore how comparative archaeologies of insularity can contribute to discourse on ancient Mediterranean " globalization. " It brings together archaeologists working on different islands and a range of material culture types to examine how Mediterranean insularities changed during eras when connectivity increased. Through a diachronic analysis of how insular identities were constructed, the colloquium provides insights on how levels of connectivity change, the nature of " glocal " (i.e., hybrid global and local) identities, and the social ruptures fostered by increased cross-cultural interaction.