Table of Contents for Near Eastern Archaeology 86.3 (September 2023)
Pp. 176-184: “Domestic Material Culture and Wealth Equality: Bronze Age Houses and Intramural Tombs at Titriş Höyük, Turkey,” by Yoko Nishimura
This article measures differential accumulation of material wealth between houses at the intrasite level. The dwellings measured are located in two separate residential neighborhoods at the urban settlement of Titriş Höyük in southeastern Turkey. As proxies of the measurement, the author employed various architectural spaces, built-in features, and portable artifacts exposed from primary floor contexts, as well as grave inclusions from burials within the houses that were completely or partially excavated. Gini values are calculated for thirteen variables derived from the material culture. The results show that occupants of the houses shared a similar economic status from about 2300 to 2100 BCE. It is thought that a centrally planned construction of this settlement around 2300 BCE played a role in the more or less equal wealth distribution. This type of comparative research necessitates a fine-grained excavation record of domestic floors and intramural tombs, both of which are available at Titriş.
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Pp. 186-195: “Exploring the Biography of Gaming Stones at Aredhiou, Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age,” by Louise Steel
This article explores the social lives of gaming stones, a significant number of which have been found at the Late Bronze Age farming settlement of Aredhiou Vouppes, Cyprus. The number of gaming stones found at the site is unprecedented within a Late Cypriot context. Comparatively few are found in the contemporary urban centers, and in general they appear to be more typical of the Middle Cypriot social world. The purpose of this article is to investigate the agency of these gaming stones, and to consider them as social mediators within the community of Aredhiou. It explores the social and cognitive lives of these objects, examining how they might be transformed and reimagined as they moved through myriad states of existence throughout their object-life, and thus the various ways in which they were entangled in the social life of the settlement.
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Pp. 196-206: “A Triangular Amulet from Zincirli: The Moon God’s Magical Power in Childbirth,” by K. Lawson Younger
In this article, the author interprets a triangular amulet from the original period of Zincirli’s excavations. He argues that the schematic, linear decoration covering the piece related to astral imagery, most likely the lunar deity Su’en with specifically bovine imagery. The pseudo-script “inscription” covering one of the sides of the amulet was understood to be a magical spell. Based on this hypothesis and in combination with comparative figurine iconography, the author further suggests that the amulet was specifically worn by a woman as a protective aid in childbirth.
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Pp. 208-216: “A Survey on the Geological Origin of the Stele of the Assyrian King Sargon II from Quwakh Tapeh, Kermanshah, Western Iran,” by Sajjad Alibaigi,John MacGinnis, and Iraj Rezaei
In the recent excavations of Quwakh Tapeh, located forty-five kilometers west of Kermanshah in the Mahidasht Plain in western Iran, two fragments were discovered of an Assyrian royal stele belonging to the end of the eighth century BCE and erected on the site following the attack of the Assyrian king Sargon II (722–705 BCE). Considering the high quality of the material, a dolostone, as well as the high quality of the carving of both the relief and the cuneiform inscription, an important question arises as to where the stele was manufactured. In this article we present the results of petrographic and ICP analysis carried out in order to identify the origin of the raw material used for the Quwakh Tapeh stele. The results of our investigations indicate that the stone used to make the stele was probably extracted from the Shahbazan Formation, which outcrops across the Chahar Zabar-Hasanabad Pass to the west and southwest of Quwakh Tapeh.
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Pp. 218–229: “Robebus Chapel Crypt Burials: Commingled, Broken, and Processed,” by Margaret Ann Judd
The Robebus Chapel at Mount Nebo was revealed in 1981 and its crypts excavated from 2007 to 2011. The earliest interments were supine and articulated, while the bones of later depositions were disarticulated, commingled, and frequently broken. Postdepositional tool modification occurred on seven crania and on the ribs of one of the estimated seventy-three adult males interred. The accessibility to the crypts provided a means for monastics to view the decomposition sequence and anatomy, which provided useful knowledge in their capacity as physical as well as spiritual healers. Decomposition, reintegration, recombination, removal, and modification with tools were part of the funerary cycle that produced increased fragmentation over time. This fragmentation corresponded to increased competitive relic acquisition, international pilgrimage, and Mount Nebo’s role as a physical and spiritual healing center. N.B.: Images of human bones.
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Pp. 230–239: “Coastal Archaeology and Climate Change in the Middle East and North Africa: Contextualizing Global Projections,” by Kieran Westley and Georgia Andreou
Recent global projections of climate change highlight alarming rates of flooding and erosion on the coastlines of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Though there are indisputable links between climate change and the deterioration of maritime cultural heritage (particularly coastal archaeology), deterioration is often the result of multiple compounding factors, central among which are anthropogenic landscape alterations. In this article the authors attempt to disentangle these factors at a small scale, using the Gaza Strip, Libya, and Oman as case studies. They examine the impact of accelerating coastal erosion, flooding, and increasing frequency of tropical cyclones to question predominant discussions on the impact of climate change on heritage. They emphasize methods and practices for the identification of sites that can expand and refine climate change research (often reliant on data from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries) through the long-term perspective archaeology is uniquely placed to offer.
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Pp. 240–249: “Immersing in Mesopotamia: Virtual Reality Site Tours in the Remote Classroom,” by Peter J. Cobb and Juuso H. Nieminen
Immersive technologies and 3D modeling hold the potential for improving how we teach students about archaeological topics, especially the spatial and visual aspects of the past. This article presents a rapid exploratory pilot experiment that deployed virtual reality (VR) devices for remote group tours of sites within an introductory Mesopotamian archaeology university course. Creating the 3D models of the sites took the most time, so it is hoped that future publication norms will encourage the direct sharing of models for reuse. Through student interviews, the authors found that students could remember and explain the spatial layouts of the sites presented in VR better than those presented by traditional means. Students also informed about challenges with using the technology and their enjoyment of interacting with the sites and other students in this new way. Future archaeological teaching with VR will build upon the practical knowledge gained from this initial pilot.
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