BAF-Online: Proceedings of the Berner Altorientalisches Forum
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Mysterious Uškiani - Armenian Gold: The Driving Force for Development in the Bronze Age Caucasus Region?
Full text linkThe Gegharkunik region on the south eastern edge of Lake Sevan (Armenia) is a part of southern Caucasia uniquely suited to demonstrate the intensive interchange between pre-Christian settlement and gold mining. The enclosed landscape can be seen in this regard as a prehistoric terra incognita due to the wholesale lack of archaeological and archaeometallurgical investigations to date. It has been proven that there was major exploitation of gold from the defined geographical area in antiquity. One of the largest gold mines in Near East is still located there today. The mines position on the Sotk pass, which is the direct connection between southern and eastern Caucasia and thus has a strategic importance for the entire region, is also of significance. Initial approaches revealed outlines of the prehistoric settlement patterns which could be placed in relation to contemporary gold mining in a clearly delineated natural corridor along this superregional communication and trade route. The intention is to implement an intensive holistic-archaeological and archaeometallurgical investigation of the settlement network in the surroundings of the gold mine and an interdisciplinary attempt to imbed these structures in the larger ecological and anthropogenic environment. The existence of placer gold in several local rivers as well as ancient mining traces has already been demonstrated. The findings of placer gold, along with the geochemical fingerprinting of primary and secondary gold sources from this region will make it possible to analyze the origins of golden artefacts found in the wider vicinity of the area. The opportunity to study gold items from numerous Age finds from Armenia allow for an extensive reconstruction of the early use of gold and its importance in ancient Near Eastern cultures
On the Aramaic Onomasticon in the Cuneiform Text Corpus
Full text linkMost of the Aramaic onomasticon is not located in extant alphabetic sources, but instead can be found in cuneiform sources. In order to learn more about the reach of Aramaic through the individuals using it as a spoken language during the first half of the first millennium BCE, we must attend to the Aramaic personal names that appear in this much larger corpus of texts and inscriptions. Using a method that considers both linguistic and conceptual criteria, this paper compiles and analyzes possible Aramaic names that appear in the cuneiform text corpus and culminates with an updated list of the genuine Aramaic onomasticon. Ultimately, this paper provides insight that may be used in identifying West Semitic and other foreign onomastica in the cuneiform text corpus. My talk presents the results of this paper, which emerges from a much larger study of Aramaic names in the first millennium BCE
Gone with the wind? Research on abandonment processes as part of Neolithic ways of life in Göbekli Tepe
Full text linkWhile most archaeological research is focused on the reasons for starting cultural activities (such as building a house, setting up a settlement, starting to produce a groundstone), my PhD project “Neolithic ways of life” is concerned with the end of settlements. Within the framework of the study fields Landscape Archaeology and Archaeology of Abandonment, I analyse the processes of abandonment at the PPN A+B hill site Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Anatolia. With the slow advent of agriculture and animal husbandry during the Neolithization, the site was abandoned at the end of the 9th millennium BCE.The site is famous for its large circular structures which are equipped with monolithic T-shaped pillars that were built by groups who lived from foraging. Far less is known about Göbekli Tepe as a settlement, nine hectares densely covered with round and rectangular buildings with sets of domestic activities of daily life.My research focuses on architectural analysis such as re-modelling and re-use of buildings, a detailed study of the room fills in combination with the development of a systematic sampling strategy, to examine continuities and discontinuities of abandonment practices in Göbekli Tepe.In my presentation, I will stress the importance of abandonment studies inarchaeology and give methodological examples for how I identify abandonment in the archaeological record. The importance of small-scale excavations cannot be overestimated in this context. Furthermore, I will provide insights into my dissertation project, my fieldwork at Göbekli Tepe and first preliminary results.The talk has the aim to discuss the potential of small-scale or micro-archaeology and its contribution to questions concerning the end of habitations and whole settlements. By examining these processes in detail, the diversity of and the (in-)stability in settlement practices can be reconstructed, refining our understanding of past societies
Evolution of a social dynamic in a changing landscape: the case of Argos (Argolis, Greece) in the Mycenaean period
Full text linkArgos in the Mycenaean period consists of a real enigma. Compared to its neighbours, amongst others Mycenae, Tiryns and Midea, Argos, after being a flourishing center in the Middle Helladic period, lost of it’s importance until the End of the Mycenaean palatial period, while maintaining a continuous occupation. During the transitional phase (MH III/LH I), and despite the fact that some parts of the argiv settlement continues to grow, as shown in particular by the work undertaken on the fortified acropolis of the Aspis, Argos, will experience a gradual decline as shown in particular through the abandonment of certain residential areas and the relocation of some population groups within and probably beyond its borders. According to one possible scenario, a group of people moved, at the very beginning of MH III, from Argos to Mycenae participating in the spectacular rise of Mycenae from the late MH period and onwards.Through this communication, we will first try to demonstrate, based on the archaeological reality, the status of Argos from the transitional phase (MH III/LH I) and during the LH period within the organization of the Argolis. In a second step, we will try to define the causes that influenced the evolution of this status. We will demonstrate how a series of natural disasters and in particular the eruption of Thera may have influenced the political, economic and social geography of the Argolis to the detriment of Argos. Based on the archaeological discoveries and the Adaptive Cycle (AC) model, we will show how some sites or parts of the Argolis functioned according to a positive/negative system throughout the protohistoric periods
Mirroring the god: topic, images and word-order in the hieroglyphic Luwian inscription ALEPPO 6
Full text linkThe presentation provides a short introduction to the Aleppo Temple and the inscriptions discovered during its excavations -ALEPPO 4, 5, 6, 7- (or that are supposed to have come from the Storm-God Temple -BABYLON 1, 2, 3-).
Then an analysis of BABYLON 1 and ALEPPO 6 is provided. Both the inscriptions deal with the topic of reciprocity and mutual favours between the king (or the ruler) and the god. This topic is well expected in temple inscriptions. However, in ALEPPO 6 inscription this topic seems to have been developed on three different levels:
1) topic of the inscription;
2) iconography of the god’s and king’s images;
3) unusual word-order in the first clause of the text (name and titles).
In my opinion there is a close connection between these three levels: in this case not only texts and images were meant to convey the same message, but even the linguistic level (word-order) is affected by the attempt of creating an integrated way of communication
The Babylonian Extispicy Rituals: Theory and Practice
Full text linkThis presentation will focus on a series of manuals containing instructions regarding the oracle process. These sources, usually referred to as The Extispicy Rituals, also elaborate about different theoretical and practical aspects of extispicy as a scholarly discipline. But their main objective is to offer descriptions of the sequences of sacrificial offerings and the purification acts performed during the ritual. The first part of the presentation will be dedicated to the content of this group of documents and discuss their structure, based on the recent study of the relevant manuscripts. The second part of the presentation will discuss the questions raised by this collection of instructive texts. It will address the problems that concerns the roles of the seer and his client in the ritual and will clarify its setting, in time and space. The series of offerings that were given and the variety of gestures made by the participants, will also be presented.As it happens, the ritual under discussion was performed for a defined purpose. The objective was allowing the seer to inspect the lamb he slaughter with the aim of obtaining an answer to the oracle question he pre-formulated for his client. Obtaining such an answer required prior training including the knowledge of complex theoretical literature on the subject, a matter on which the Extispicy Rituals elaborate as well. Hence, attention will also be given in this presentation to issues regarding the theoretical aspects of extispicy by contemplating the following questions: What were the relations between the seers’ theoretical literature and the act of extispicy? Did astrology play a role in this practice? And, finally: to what extent was this type of knowledge considered esoteric?
Key Facts
Divination ManualsThe Oracle Procedure and ParticipantsExtispicy EncyclopaediaAstrological Aspects of OracleBabylonian Scholastics in the Neo-Assyrian Perio
Purity without Borders: Material Culture and Jewish Diaspora in the Late Second Temple Period
Full text linkChalkstone vessels, interpreted as objects for certain Jewish purity concerns, found on Tall Zira’a, near Gadara (Northern Jordan), bring up the question how purity obligations were practiced in the early Jewish Diaspora during the Roman Period. In Israel they are mostly known in the region of Galilee and Iudaea, in Jewish religiously observant environments.Growing numbers of those finds in Jordan – also in small scale settlements - in general show a larger distribution of these objects than originally thought. I would like to discuss if we see here a religious concern, a certain ‘aesthetical’ trend or a matter of identity.How have they been relevant to the community that lived outside the borders of ‘Biblical Israel’ and had no frequent access to the Temple or Jerusalem as a holy centre? Could the indication of the objects change in a more Gentile environment like Jordan?These material finds could be an opportunity to approach a wider understanding of the daily life of the early Diaspora
Clay Figurines from Sirkeli Höyük
Full text linkSirkeli Höyük is a settlement mound in the cilician plain near Adana, Turkey. It was first excavated in the 1930s by John Garstang. Work there was resumed in the 1990s by Barthel Hrouda and Horst Ehringhaus, and then again from 2006 until the present day; initially by the Universities of Tübingen and Çanakkale and subsequently (2011 onwards) by the Universities of Bern and Çanakkale. My Master’s thesis focused on the terracotta figurines unearthed during the excavations from 1992 onwards. Its aim was to construct a classification for the material from Sirkeli Höyük, which I documented, classified and catalogued according to their shape. I did not create a completely new classification, but rather tried to build on work form A. Pruss and H. Goldmann, who’s approaches I adapted to suit the material from Sirkeli Höyük. The terracotta figurines found to date span the following epochs: the Hellenistic period, the Iron Age, the Late Bronze Age, and the Middle Bronze Age. The first aim of my PhD is to construct a working typology for these terracotta figurines by clearly defining the criteria of each of the different types. In a second phase I intend to elaborate my existing comparison of the material from Sirkeli Höyük and figurines from other excavations in the cicilian plain, to document their geographical distribution and diversity. The final phase will be an evaluation of the temporal dispersion of differing styles with a view to determining the extent of any extra-regional influences
Tiny House, Big Labor: Estimating the labor investment in Iron Age mobile dwellings
Full text linkTents have an iconic place in anthropologists’ vision of Southwest Asia, largely through ethnographic analogy to the Bedouin black tent. Yet, tent nomadism and tent caravans emerged relatively recently during the Iron Age (c. 1200-568 BCE). Iconography, texts, and archaeology suggest that increased exploitation of tents as temporary or mobile housing would have required the use of large quantities of woven fabric. Yet, archaeologists have not considered the labor that members of the Iron Age population invested first in spinning fibers into yarn and then weaving these threads into cloth. This paper draws on published methods to estimate the labor investments required to produce the fabric structures from Iron Age Southwest Asia. The results demonstrate that although tents were well suited to mobility strategies, they were not inexpensive or disposable. Comparison to ethnographic examples from historic Southwest Asia supports the conclusion that tents were the result of large amounts of raw material and countless hours of work and coordination
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BAF-Online: Proceedings of the Berner Al...HASBonline – Hefte zur Archäologie des M...Informationswissenschaft: Theorie, Metho...Jahrbuch Diakonie SchweizJournal of Eye Movement ResearchJournal of Radiation Oncology Informatic...BOP SerialsVersants. Revista suiza de literaturas r...BORIS Theses
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