The Archaeology of Political Spaces : The Upper Mesopotamian Piedmont in the Second Millennium BCE

This book, consisting of 12 contributions, unites the most recent results from archaeological research in the Upper Mesopotamian piedmont. Under the growing influence of expanding territorial states, which were established during the 2nd millennium BCE, this region experienced a substantial change in social and political life during that time. The discussion is centered on settlement shapes, developments in material culture, as well as written documents that attest to this change. In summary, this book emphasizes the significant role of archaeological research in the reconstruction of models concerning the formation and transformation of political spaces in the ancient world. This book, consisting of 12 contributions, amalgamates the most recent results from archaeological research in the Upper Mesopotamian piedmont. Under the growing influence of expanding territorial states which had become established during the 2nd millennium BC, this region experienced a substantial change in social and political life during that time. The discussion is centered around settlement shapes, developments in the material culture, as well as written documents that attest to this change. In summary, this book emphasizes the significant roll of archaeological research in the reconstruction of models concerning the formation and transformation of political space in the ancient world. This volume presents the proceedings of an international workshop entitled The Archaeology of the Upper Mesopotamian Piedmont in the Second Millennium BC, which was held from 21 to 22 January 2010 within the framework of the Topoi Excellence Cluster at the Freie Universität Berlin. One of the main goals in organizing this workshop was to privilege discussions in which scholars could exchange and confront results of recent archaeological research in the upper Mesopotamian piedmont regions. When the outcomes of the discussion were summarized, the question of political space(s) arose as a central topic for almost all of the papers collected here.