Archaeological Landscapes of the Near East

Society for American Archaeology Book Award Winner Many fundamental studies of the origins of states have built upon landscape data, but an overall study of the Near Eastern landscape itself has never been attempted. Spanning thousands of years of history, the ancient Near East presents a bewildering range of landscapes, the understanding of which can greatly enhance our ability to infer past political and social systems.Tony Wilkinson now shows that throughout the Holocene humans altered the Near Eastern environment so thoroughly that the land has become a human artifact, albeit one that retains the power to shape human societies. In this trailblazing book—the first to describe and explain the development of the Near Eastern landscape using archaeological data—Wilkinson identifies specific landscape signatures for various regions and periods, from the early stages of complex societies in the fifth to sixth millennium B.C. to the close of the Early Islamic period around the tenth century A.D. From Bronze Age city-states to colonized steppes, these signature landscapes of irrigation systems, tells, and other features changed through time along with changes in social, economic, political, and environmental conditions. By weaving together the record of the human landscape with evidence of settlement, the environment, and social and economic conditions, Wilkinson provides a holistic view of the ancient Near East that complements archaeological excavations, cuneiform texts, and other conventional sources. Through this overview, culled from thirty years' research, Wilkinson establishes a new framework for understanding the economic and physical infrastructure of the region. By describing the basic attributes of the ancient cultural landscape and placing their development within the context of a dynamic environment, he breaks new ground in landscape archaeology and offers a new context for understanding the ancient Near East. Binder1 1 0001 1 0002 2 0003 3 0005VII 4 0006VIII 5 0007IX 6 0008XI 7 0009XIII 8 0010XIV 9 0011XV 10 0012XVIII 11 0013XIX 12 Binder2 13 P-3 13 P-4 14 P-5 15 P-6 16 P-7 17 P-8 18 P-9 19 P-10 20 P-11 21 P-12 22 P-13 23 P-14 24 Binder3 25 P-15 25 P-16 26 P-17 27 P-18 28 P-19 29 P-20 30 P-21 31 P-22 32 P-23 33 P-24 34 P-25 35 P-26 36 P-27 37 P-28 38 P-29 39 P-30 40 P-31 41 P-32 42 Binder4 43 P-33 43 P-34 44 P-35 45 P-36 46 P-37 47 P-38 48 P-39 49 P-40 50 P-41 51 P-42 52 P-43 53 Binder5 54 P-44 54 P-45 55 P-46 56 P-47 57 P-48 58 P-49 59 P-50 60 P-51 61 P-52 62 P-53 63 P-54 64 P-55 65 P-56 66 P-57 67 P-58 68 P-59 69 P-60 70 P-61 71 P-62 72 P-63 73 P-64 74 P-65 75 P-66 76 P-67 77 P-68 78 P-69 79 P-70 80 P-71 81 P-72 82 P-73 83 P-74 84 P-75 85 P-76 86 P-77 87 P-78 88 P-79 89 P-80 90 P-81 91 P-82 92 P-83 93 P-84 94 P-85 95 P-86 96 P-87 97 P-88 98 P-89 99 P-90 100 P-91 101 P-92 102 P-93 103 P-94 104 P-95 105 P-96 106 P-97 107 P-98 108 P-99 109 P-100 110 P-101 111 P-102 112 P-103 113 P-104 114 P-105 115 P-106 116 P-107 117 P-108 118 P-109 119 P-110 120 P-111 121 P-112 122 P-113 123 P-114 124 P-115 125 P-116 126 P-117 127 P-118 128 P-119 129 P-120 130 P-121 131 P-122 132 P-123 133 P-124 134 P-125 135 P-126 136 P-127 137 Binder6 138 P-128 138 P-129 139 P-130 140 P-131 141 P-132 142 P-133 143 P-134 144 P-135 145 P-136 146 P-137 147 P-138 148 P-139 149 P-140 150 P-141 151 P-142 152 P-143 153 P-144 154 P-145 155 P-146 156 P-147 157 P-148 158 P-149 159 P-150 160 P-151 161 P-152 162 P-153 163 P-154 164 P-155 165 P-156 166 P-157 167 P-158 168 P-159 169 P-160 170 P-161 171 P-162 172 P-163 173 P-164 174 P-165 175 P-166 176 P-167 177 P-168 178 P-169 179 P-170 180 P-171 181 P-172 182 P-173 183 P-174 184 P-175 185 P-176 186 P-177 187 P-178 188 P-179 189 P-180 190 P-181 191 P-182 192 P-183 193 P-184 194 P-185 195 P-186 196 P-187 197 P-188 198 P-189 199 P-190 200 P-191 201 P-192 202 P-193 203 P-194 204 P-195 205 P-196 206 P-197 207 P-198 208 P-199 209 P-200 210 P-201 211 P-202 212 P-203 213 P-204 214 P-205 215 P-206 216 P-207 217 P-208 218 P-209 219 Binder7 220 P-210 220 P-211 221 P-212 222 P-213 223 P-214 224 P-215 225 P-216 226 P-217 227 P-218 228 P-219 229 P-220 230 P-221 231 P-222 232 P-223 233 P-224 234 P-225 235 P-226 236 P-227 237 P-229 238 P-230 239 P-231 240 P-232 241 P-233 242 P-234 243 P-235 244 P-236 245 P-237 246 P-238 247 P-239 248 P-240 249 P-241 250 P-242 251 P-243 252 P-244 253 P-245 254 P-246 255 P-247 256 P-248 257 P-249 258 P-250 259 P-251 260 P-252 261 P-253 262 P-254 263 P-255 264 P-256 265 P-257 266 P-258 267 P-259 268 P-260 269 P-261 270 0002Cover-b 271 Approaches To Landscape Archaeology -- Environmental Context -- Recording The Ancient Near Eastern Landscape : Techniques And Analysis -- Elements Of Landscape -- Landscapes Of Irrigation -- Landscapes Of Tells : The Fragile Crescent In The Bronze Age -- The Great Dispersal : Post-bronze Age Landscapes Of The Fertile Crescent -- Sustenance From A Reluctant Desert -- Landscapes Of The Highlands -- Landscape Trajectories In Time And Space. T.j. Wilkinson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [229]-252) And Index.