Archaeologies of the Middle East: Critical Perspectives (Wiley Blackwell Studies in Global Archaeology)

Archaeologies of the Middle East provides an innovative introduction to the archaeology of this fascinating region and a window on both its past and present. Written by some of the top archaeologists of the Middle East: scholars from diverse backgrounds with a wide range of interests and intellectual approaches Coverage spans 100,000 years: from the Paleolithic to Hellenistic times Explores the connections between modern-day politics and the social context of archaeological practice and various underutilized approaches to archaeological interpretation Designed for student use A Cultural-historical Framework / Reinhard Bernbeck And Susan Pollock -- Producing And Disseminating Knowledge About The Ancient Near East / Reinhard Bernbeck And Susan Pollock -- Who Has Not Eaten Cherries With The Devil? Archaeology Under Challenge / Caroline Steele -- Archaeology And Nationalism In The Holy Land / Adel Yahya -- Archaeology Goes To War At The Newstand / Susan Pollock -- The Past As Fact Or Fiction From Historical Novels To Novel Histories / Reinhard Bernbeck -- Reassessing Evolutionary Firsts / Reinhard Bernbeck And Susan Pollock -- Bleeding Or Breeding : Neandertals Vs. Early Modern Humans In The Middle Paleolithic Levant / John Shea -- Lumps Of Clay And Pieces Of Stone : Ambiguity, Bodies, And Identity As Portrayed In Neolithic Figurines / Ian Kuijt And Meredith Chesson -- The State : The Process Of State Formation As Seen From Mesopotamia / Jean-daniel Forest -- Archaeology, Bible, And The History Of The Levant In The Iron Age / Israel Finkelstein -- Imperialism / Mario Liverani -- Constructing Arguments, Understanding Perceptions / Reinhard Bernbeck And Susan Pollock -- Ethnoarchaeology, Analogy, And Ancient Society / Marc Verhoeven -- The Ancient Sumerians In The Tides Of Time / Petr Charvát -- Reliquaries On The Landscape : Mounds As Matrices Of Human Cognition / Sharon Steadman -- Archaeology And Texts In The Ancient Near East / Paul Zimansky -- Representations, Reality, And Ideology / Jennifer Ross. Edited By Susan Pollock And Reinhard Bernbeck. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents 6 Figures 8 Tables 10 List of Contributors 11 Series Editors’ Preface 13 Acknowledgments 14 1 Introduction 16 2 A Cultural-Historical Framework 26 Part I Producing andDisseminating KnowledgeAbout the AncientNear East 56 3 Who Has Not EatenCherries with the Devil?Archaeology underChallenge 60 4 Archaeology andNationalism in theHoly Land 81 5 Archaeology Goes to Warat the Newsstand 93 6 The Past as Fact andFiction: From HistoricalNovels to Novel Histories 112 PART II Reassessing Evolutionary“Firsts” 138 7 Bleeding or Breeding:Neandertals vs. EarlyModern Humans in theMiddle Paleolithic Levant 144 8 Lumps of Clay and Piecesof Stone: Ambiguity, Bodies,and Identity as Portrayedin Neolithic Figurines 167 9 The State:The Process ofState Formation as Seenfrom Mesopotamia 199 10 Archaeology, Bible, and theHistory of the Levant inthe Iron Age 222 11 Imperialism 238 Part III Constructing Arguments,Understanding Perceptions 260 12 Ethnoarchaeology, Analogy,and Ancient Society 266 13 The Ancient Sumerians inthe Tides of Time 286 14 Reliquaries on theLandscape: Mounds asMatrices of HumanCognition 301 15 Archaeology and Texts inthe Ancient Near East 323 16 Representations, Reality,and Ideology 342 Index 366 'Archaeology of the Near East', a collection of newly commissioned chapters written by experts in the field, seeks to provide an overview of this central area of archaeological research and teaching, and to provide a rich treatment of this fascinating subject It is ever more common these days for archaeologists to acknowledge that their profession is a Western product that emerged, like so many other academic disciplines, in the context of the European Enlightenment.