During preliminary fieldwork at an endangered site in the Shahroud area in northeast Iran, evidence of two transitional periods in the Neolithic sequence of the region were observed and partially documented. The first transition, around 6700–6200 BCE, corresponds with the temporal gap between the West Mound and the East Mound of Sang-e Chakhmaq sequences, as the type sites of the Aceramic/Proto-Ceramic Neolithic and the Ceramic Neolithic of northeastern Iran, respectively. The second transition demonstrates the contextual relationship between the ceramic of the final phase of Chakhmaq culture and the first manifestation of the distinct ceramic of the succeeding culture of Cheshmeh Ali in the second half of the sixth millennium BCE. This is the first time that evidence of these two transitions, augmented by new 14C dates, has been documented.
{"title":"New Evidence of Two Transitions in the Neolithic Sequence of Northeastern Iran","authors":"K. Roustaei, H. Rezvani","doi":"10.1086/716827","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/716827","url":null,"abstract":"During preliminary fieldwork at an endangered site in the Shahroud area in northeast Iran, evidence of two transitional periods in the Neolithic sequence of the region were observed and partially documented. The first transition, around 6700–6200 BCE, corresponds with the temporal gap between the West Mound and the East Mound of Sang-e Chakhmaq sequences, as the type sites of the Aceramic/Proto-Ceramic Neolithic and the Ceramic Neolithic of northeastern Iran, respectively. The second transition demonstrates the contextual relationship between the ceramic of the final phase of Chakhmaq culture and the first manifestation of the distinct ceramic of the succeeding culture of Cheshmeh Ali in the second half of the sixth millennium BCE. This is the first time that evidence of these two transitions, augmented by new 14C dates, has been documented.","PeriodicalId":51934,"journal":{"name":"NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44818870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sobekneferu ascended the Egyptian throne near the end of the Twelfth Dynasty. She was not only the first female king but also the first royal woman for whom we have evidence of cross-dressing. From the record she has left us it is clear that the gender-incongruent imagery associated with Egyptian warrior goddesses established a foundation for her composite imagery. Sobekne-feru embraced masculine poses in her statues, masculine titles and grammatical endings in her inscriptions, and on her Louvre statue she adopted masculine dress. This paper illustrates how her multiple-gendered works were inspired by well-entrenched ideas organic to Egypt, how her self-styled image was based on historic prototypes, and how her transgression of social gender boundaries was sanctioned by religion.
{"title":"Gender, Deities, and the Public Image of Sobekneferu","authors":"K. Diamond","doi":"10.1086/716826","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/716826","url":null,"abstract":"Sobekneferu ascended the Egyptian throne near the end of the Twelfth Dynasty. She was not only the first female king but also the first royal woman for whom we have evidence of cross-dressing. From the record she has left us it is clear that the gender-incongruent imagery associated with Egyptian warrior goddesses established a foundation for her composite imagery. Sobekne-feru embraced masculine poses in her statues, masculine titles and grammatical endings in her inscriptions, and on her Louvre statue she adopted masculine dress. This paper illustrates how her multiple-gendered works were inspired by well-entrenched ideas organic to Egypt, how her self-styled image was based on historic prototypes, and how her transgression of social gender boundaries was sanctioned by religion.","PeriodicalId":51934,"journal":{"name":"NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45376880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article presents one of the earliest ritual buildings in the Oman Peninsula. This building was excavated at the settlement of Dahwa 1 (DH1) in 2017 and identified as S.20. The site of Dahwa 1 is located in the Batinah plain in the northeastern part of the Sultanate of Oman. It is one of the few relatively well-preserved domestic settlements in southeast Arabia and includes around seventeen differently sized buildings, dating to the Umm an–Nar period (ca. 2700–2000 BCE). Excavations revealed that S.20 differs from the other four excavated buildings at the settlement. Although building S.20 is the smallest one in the settlement, several factors such as the building location, its isolated setting, plan, size, construction, chronology, and finds led us to connect its function more to ritual than any other regular type of building.
{"title":"Umm an-Nar Ritual Building in Dahwa 1 (DH1), Northern Al-Batinah, Oman","authors":"N. al‐Jahwari, K. Douglas","doi":"10.1086/716828","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/716828","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents one of the earliest ritual buildings in the Oman Peninsula. This building was excavated at the settlement of Dahwa 1 (DH1) in 2017 and identified as S.20. The site of Dahwa 1 is located in the Batinah plain in the northeastern part of the Sultanate of Oman. It is one of the few relatively well-preserved domestic settlements in southeast Arabia and includes around seventeen differently sized buildings, dating to the Umm an–Nar period (ca. 2700–2000 BCE). Excavations revealed that S.20 differs from the other four excavated buildings at the settlement. Although building S.20 is the smallest one in the settlement, several factors such as the building location, its isolated setting, plan, size, construction, chronology, and finds led us to connect its function more to ritual than any other regular type of building.","PeriodicalId":51934,"journal":{"name":"NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45489537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bishapur was an early Sasanian city established by Shapur I (240–270 CE), the second king of the dynasty (224–651 CE). Archaeological excavations, begun in the middle of the nineteenth century, revealed numerous structures in the city, but the functions attributed to them are in doubt. Among the Sasanian buildings discovered is an obscure—in terms of form and location—structure usually identified as a gate or summer house. Based on a survey of its construction and analysis of its location and surroundings, this article argues that it is not likely a city gate, fortification gate, or summer house. This research indicates two main Sasanian construction phases. The original structure shows precise axial correspondence with the passage to the palace zone. This fact and analysis of its original architectural form suggests that this building was in fact constructed as a triumphal arch.
{"title":"A Sasanian Triumphal Arch in Bishapur","authors":"Alireza Shahmohammadpour","doi":"10.1086/716831","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/716831","url":null,"abstract":"Bishapur was an early Sasanian city established by Shapur I (240–270 CE), the second king of the dynasty (224–651 CE). Archaeological excavations, begun in the middle of the nineteenth century, revealed numerous structures in the city, but the functions attributed to them are in doubt. Among the Sasanian buildings discovered is an obscure—in terms of form and location—structure usually identified as a gate or summer house. Based on a survey of its construction and analysis of its location and surroundings, this article argues that it is not likely a city gate, fortification gate, or summer house. This research indicates two main Sasanian construction phases. The original structure shows precise axial correspondence with the passage to the palace zone. This fact and analysis of its original architectural form suggests that this building was in fact constructed as a triumphal arch.","PeriodicalId":51934,"journal":{"name":"NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41426346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Scholars of magic in the Iron Age Levant have had to grapple with a dearth of sources between the fall of Late Bronze Age cities (ca. 1200 BCE) and the proliferation of magic bowls over a millennium later (ca. 400 CE). Three recently published early Aramaic inscriptions help fill this lacuna: a recently excavated inscribed cosmetic container from Zincirli, a Lamaštu amulet from the same site held by the Vorderasiatisches Museum (S.3604), and an Aramaic-inscribed statuette of Lamaštu’s nemesis, Pazuzu, currently in the holdings of the Ashmolean Museum (AN1892.43). These texts, dated paleographically to the ninth and eighth centuries BCE, afford a window into local magical traditions in the Levant. They also show how communities on the imperial periphery adopted and adapted elements of Mesopotamian magic. Finally, the inscriptions provide an impetus for a new analysis of the infamous Arslan Tash amulets, offering further context for their texts and iconography.
{"title":"Discovering Early Syrian Magic","authors":"J. DeGrado, M. Richey","doi":"10.1086/716830","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/716830","url":null,"abstract":"Scholars of magic in the Iron Age Levant have had to grapple with a dearth of sources between the fall of Late Bronze Age cities (ca. 1200 BCE) and the proliferation of magic bowls over a millennium later (ca. 400 CE). Three recently published early Aramaic inscriptions help fill this lacuna: a recently excavated inscribed cosmetic container from Zincirli, a Lamaštu amulet from the same site held by the Vorderasiatisches Museum (S.3604), and an Aramaic-inscribed statuette of Lamaštu’s nemesis, Pazuzu, currently in the holdings of the Ashmolean Museum (AN1892.43). These texts, dated paleographically to the ninth and eighth centuries BCE, afford a window into local magical traditions in the Levant. They also show how communities on the imperial periphery adopted and adapted elements of Mesopotamian magic. Finally, the inscriptions provide an impetus for a new analysis of the infamous Arslan Tash amulets, offering further context for their texts and iconography.","PeriodicalId":51934,"journal":{"name":"NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46902544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Corals comprised valuable resources throughout human history and were used as remedies for multiple diseases and as amulets. Despite their traditional, historical uses, corals are not frequently encountered in the archaeological record. Recent archaeological excavations in the Negev Desert have yielded an unprecedented number of Red Sea coral remains, found in the landfills of Byzantine and Early Islamic sites located more than 200 km from the Red Sea. The bulk of the assemblage comprises primarily the tree-like branching Stylophora pistillata. Other species found include the columnar coral Favites abdita. Both are among the most common shallow water corals in the Red Sea. Their remains attest to the importance of corals for Negev society, as well as to the cultural trajectory of goods and their trade and commerce that facilitated the supply of Red Sea products to distant inland locations.
{"title":"Corals in the Desert","authors":"G. Bar-Oz, Y. Tepper, Roee Shafir","doi":"10.1086/715343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/715343","url":null,"abstract":"Corals comprised valuable resources throughout human history and were used as remedies for multiple diseases and as amulets. Despite their traditional, historical uses, corals are not frequently encountered in the archaeological record. Recent archaeological excavations in the Negev Desert have yielded an unprecedented number of Red Sea coral remains, found in the landfills of Byzantine and Early Islamic sites located more than 200 km from the Red Sea. The bulk of the assemblage comprises primarily the tree-like branching Stylophora pistillata. Other species found include the columnar coral Favites abdita. Both are among the most common shallow water corals in the Red Sea. Their remains attest to the importance of corals for Negev society, as well as to the cultural trajectory of goods and their trade and commerce that facilitated the supply of Red Sea products to distant inland locations.","PeriodicalId":51934,"journal":{"name":"NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45284859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Erlich, T. Tsuk, Iosi Bordowicz, Dror Ben-Yosef
The Mashhad Pool is situated east of ancient Sepphoris, receiving its water from an aqueduct that supplied water to the Roman and Byzantine city. During its excavation, a small bronze figurine of a bull was pulled out of the plastered floor of the pool. The bull is dated to the Roman period. This paper deals with the iconography, function, and possible meaning of the bronze figurine, and the circumstances of its deposit in the pool’s floor. We argue that the figurine served as a foundation deposit in order to guarantee abundant water and fecundity, perhaps during a water festival (Maioumas) in the city. The bull image fits such a purpose, as bulls are associated with rain and storm gods.
{"title":"A Roman Bronze Bull from the Floor of the Mashhad Pool in Sepphoris in the Galilee","authors":"A. Erlich, T. Tsuk, Iosi Bordowicz, Dror Ben-Yosef","doi":"10.1086/715347","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/715347","url":null,"abstract":"The Mashhad Pool is situated east of ancient Sepphoris, receiving its water from an aqueduct that supplied water to the Roman and Byzantine city. During its excavation, a small bronze figurine of a bull was pulled out of the plastered floor of the pool. The bull is dated to the Roman period. This paper deals with the iconography, function, and possible meaning of the bronze figurine, and the circumstances of its deposit in the pool’s floor. We argue that the figurine served as a foundation deposit in order to guarantee abundant water and fecundity, perhaps during a water festival (Maioumas) in the city. The bull image fits such a purpose, as bulls are associated with rain and storm gods.","PeriodicalId":51934,"journal":{"name":"NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43480718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The long-debated question of the plant species between the splayed cornucopias on most Hasmonaean coins is revisited. The earliest descriptions in the numismatic literature describe this object as a poppyhead, but more recently opinion has shifted in favor of a pomegranate fruit. The arguments in favor of either identification are examined and the criteria resorted to by their respective proponents explained. At the same time a comparative evaluation is made of these species in Greco-Roman iconography along with their symbolic meaning. It is shown that both alternative identifications—a poppyhead and a pomegranate fruit—sit squarely with the message that the Hasmonaean authors of the composite motif wished to convey.
{"title":"Pomegranate or Poppy","authors":"D. Jacobson, David B. Hendin","doi":"10.1086/715342","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/715342","url":null,"abstract":"The long-debated question of the plant species between the splayed cornucopias on most Hasmonaean coins is revisited. The earliest descriptions in the numismatic literature describe this object as a poppyhead, but more recently opinion has shifted in favor of a pomegranate fruit. The arguments in favor of either identification are examined and the criteria resorted to by their respective proponents explained. At the same time a comparative evaluation is made of these species in Greco-Roman iconography along with their symbolic meaning. It is shown that both alternative identifications—a poppyhead and a pomegranate fruit—sit squarely with the message that the Hasmonaean authors of the composite motif wished to convey.","PeriodicalId":51934,"journal":{"name":"NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48683659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
E. Stone, Adelheid Otto, D. Charpin, Berthold Einwag, P. Zimansky
Two substantial houses dating to the early second millennium BCE have recently been unearthed at separate, previously unexplored locations in Ur. Their respective owners occupied important positions of power in different spheres. One flourished ca 1840 BCE and was the chief administrator of the second most important temple in Ur. His house lay near the southern city wall, well removed from the institution with which he was associated. The second was a general named Abisum, who resided near the center of the city. Abisum was closely tied to the monarchy in Babylon and disappeared when the city was abandoned in 1739 BCE, not long after a rebellion had been put down. Small cuneiform archives were left behind in both of these households, demonstrating that literacy was an important mechanism by which they exercised power. The new excavations indicate that much remains to be explored in the urban landscape of Ur.
{"title":"Two Great Households of Old Babylonian Ur","authors":"E. Stone, Adelheid Otto, D. Charpin, Berthold Einwag, P. Zimansky","doi":"10.1086/715346","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/715346","url":null,"abstract":"Two substantial houses dating to the early second millennium BCE have recently been unearthed at separate, previously unexplored locations in Ur. Their respective owners occupied important positions of power in different spheres. One flourished ca 1840 BCE and was the chief administrator of the second most important temple in Ur. His house lay near the southern city wall, well removed from the institution with which he was associated. The second was a general named Abisum, who resided near the center of the city. Abisum was closely tied to the monarchy in Babylon and disappeared when the city was abandoned in 1739 BCE, not long after a rebellion had been put down. Small cuneiform archives were left behind in both of these households, demonstrating that literacy was an important mechanism by which they exercised power. The new excavations indicate that much remains to be explored in the urban landscape of Ur.","PeriodicalId":51934,"journal":{"name":"NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46380459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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