The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion (Oxford Handbooks)

The __Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion__ provides a comprehensive overview by period and region of the relevant archaeological material in relation to theory, methodology, definition, and practice. Although, as the title indicates, the focus is upon archaeological investigations of ritual and religion, by necessity ideas and evidence from other disciplines are also included, among them anthropology, ethnography, religious studies, and history. The __Handbook__ covers a global span - Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and the Americas - and reaches from the earliest prehistory (the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic) to modern times. In addition, chapters focus upon relevant themes, ranging from landscape to death, from taboo to water, from gender to rites of passage, from ritual to fasting and feasting. Written by over sixty specialists, renowned in their respective fields, the __Handbook__ presents the very best in current scholarship, and will serve both as a comprehensive introduction to its subject and as a stimulus to further research. This Is A Comprehensive Overview, By Period And Region, Of The Archaeology Of Ritual And Religion. The Coverage Is Global, And Extends From The Earliest Prehistory To Modern Times. Written By Over 60 Renowned Specialists, The Handbook Presents The Very Best In Current Scholarship, And Will Also Stimulate Further Research. Monumentality / Chris Scarre -- Landscape / Randi Haaland, Gunnar Haaland -- Water / Terje Oestigaard -- Fire / Anders Kaliff -- Myth And Folklore / Amy Gazin-schwartz -- Cosmogony / Terje Oestigaard -- Death / Timothy Taylor -- Taboo / Nicky Milner -- The Many Dimensions Of Ritual / Marc Verhoeven -- Personhood And The Body / Chris Fowler -- Sacrifice / Timothy Insoll -- Ideology / Randall Mcguire And Reinhard Bernbeck -- Feasting And Fasting / Michael Dietler -- Gender And Religion In Archaeology / Sarah Milledge Nelson -- Archaeologies Of The Senses / Yannis Hamilakis -- Syncretism And Religious Fusion / Timothy Clack -- Technology / Olivier P. Gosselain -- Rites Of Passage / Paul Garwood --the Archaeology Of Contemporary Conflict / Zoe Crossland -- Rock Art, Religion, And Ritual / David S. Whitley -- Religion And Ritual In The Lower And Middle Palaeolithic / Paul Pettitt -- Religion And Ritual In The Upper Palaeolithic / Paul G. Bahn -- The Mesolithic / Chantal Conneller --^ Ritual And Religion In The Neolithic / Julian Thomas -- Fire, Earth, Water : An Elemental Cosmography Of The European Bronze Age / Joanna Brück -- The Iron Age / Jody Joy -- Sub-saharan Africa / Timothy Insoll -- The Prehistory Of Religion In China / Lukas Nickel -- The Archaeology Of Religion And Ritual In The Prehistoric Japanese Archipelago / Simon Kaner -- Ritual And Religion In South-east Asia / Charles Higham -- Historicizing Cosmologies In Australia And Papua New Guinea / Bruno David -- Pacific And New Zealand / Paul Rainbird -- Walking Upside-down And Backwards : Art And Religion In The Ancient Caribbean / Peter G. Roe -- Recognizing Religion In Mesoamerican Archaeology : Maya / Rosemary A. Joyce -- Aztecs / Michael E. Smith -- Inca / Kevin Lane -- Moche Religion / Jeffrey Quilter -- North America : Pueblos / Kelley Hays-gilpin -- North America : Eastern Woodlands / Vernon James Knight -- The Religious System Of The Northwest Coast Of North America / Roy L. Carlson --^ Ritual And Archaeological Visibility In The Far Northwest Of North America / Brian S. Robinson -- Prehistoric Religions In The Aegean / Colin Renfrew -- Ancient Greece / Julia Kindt -- Etruscan Ritual And Religion / Tom Rasmussen -- Egypt / Anna Stevens -- Rome : Imperial And Local Religions / Richard Hingley -- Maltese Prehistoric Religion / Caroline Malone And Simon Stoddart -- Meopotamia / Michael Seymour -- Retrieving The Supernatural : Ritual And Religion In The Prehistoric Levant / Marc Verhoeven -- Iran / Daniel Potts -- Anatolia / Karina Croucher -- Old Norse And Germanic Religion / Anders Andrén -- Pre-christian Practices In The Anglo-saxon World / Martin Welch -- The Archaeology Of Baltic Religions / Tõnno Jonuks -- The Archaeology Of Ritual And Religion In Ancient Israel And The Levant, And The Origins Of Judaism / Aaron A. Burke -- The Archaeology Of Judaism From The Persian Period To The Sixth Century Ad / James F. Strange --^ Archaeology Of Hinduism / Namita Sugandhi And Kathleen Morrison --buddhism / Robin Coningham -- Christianity / Sam Turner -- Islam / Andrew Petersen -- Shamanism / Neil Price -- Animism And Totemism / Timothy Insoll -- Neo-shamanism : Pagan And 'neo-shamanic' Interactions With Archaeology / Jenny Blain -- Druidism And Neo-paganism / Aleks Pluskowski -- Ancestor Cults / Timothy Insoll --divine Kings / Pierre De Maret. Edited By Timothy Insoll. Includes Bibliographic References And Index. Cover 1 Contents 7 List of Figures 13 List of Tables 23 List of Contributors 25 Introduction: Ritual and Religion in Archaeological Perspective 29 PART I: ELEMENTS AND EXPRESSION 35 1 Monumentality 37 2 Landscape 52 3 Water 66 4 Fire 79 5 Myth and Folklore 91 6 Cosmogony 104 7 Death 117 8 Taboo 133 9 The Many Dimensions of Ritual 143 10 Personhood and the Body 161 11 Sacrifice 179 12 Ideology 194 13 Feasting and Fasting 207 14 Gender and Religion in Archaeology 223 15 Archaeologies of the Senses 236 16 Syncretism and Religious Fusion 254 17 Technology 271 18 Rites of Passage 289 19 The Archaeology of Contemporary Confiict 313 20 Rock Art, Religion, and Ritual 335 PART II: PREHISTORIC EUROPEAN RITUAL AND RELIGION 355 21 Religion and Ritual in the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic 357 22 Religion and Ritual in the Upper Palaeolithic 372 23 The Mesolithic 386 24 Ritual and Religion in the Neolithic 399 25 Fire, Earth, Water: An Elemental Cosmography of the European Bronze Age 415 26 The Iron Age 433 PART III: RELIGION AND RITUAL IN WORLD PREHISTORY 451 27 Sub-Saharan Africa 453 28 The Prehistory of Religion in China 470 29 The Archaeology of Religion and Ritual in the Prehistoric Japanese Archipelago 485 30 Ritual and Religion in South-east Asia 498 31 Historicizing Cosmologies in Australia and Papua New Guinea 510 32 Pacific and New Zealand 533 33 Walking Upside-Down and Backwards: Art and Religion in the Ancient Caribbean 547 34 Recognizing Religion in Mesoamerican Archaeology: Maya 569 35 Aztecs 584 36 Inca 599 37 Moche Religion 613 38 North America: Pueblos 628 39 North America: Eastern Woodlands 651 40 The Religious System of the Northwest Coast of North America 667 41 Ritual and Archaeological Visibility in the Far Northeast of North America 684 PART IV: RELIGION AND CULT OF THE OLD WORLD 707 42 Prehistoric Religions in the Aegean 709 43 Ancient Greece 724 44 Etruscan Ritual and Religion 738 45 Egypt 750 46 Rome: Imperial and Local Religions 773 47 Maltese Prehistoric Religion 786 48 Mesopotamia 803 49 Retrieving the Supernatural: Ritual and Religion in the Prehistoric Levant 823 50 Iran 839 51 Anatolia 854 52 Old Norse and Germanic Religion 874 53 Pre-Christian Practices in the Anglo-Saxon World 891 54 The Archaeology of Baltic Religions 905 PART V: ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORLD RELIGIONS 921 55 The Archaeology of Ritual and Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, and the Origins of Judaism 923 56 The Archaeology of Judaism from the Persian Period to the Sixth Century AD 936 57 Archaeology of Hinduism 949 58 Buddhism 962 59 Christianity 976 60 Islam 995 PART VI: ARCHAEOLOGY OF INDIGENOUS AND NEW RELIGIONS 1009 61 Shamanism 1011 62 Animism and Totemism 1032 63 Neo-Shamanism: Pagan and ‘Neo-Shamanic’ Interactions with Archaeology 1045 64 Druidism and Neo-Paganism 1060 65 Ancestor Cults 1071 66 Divine Kings 1087 Index 1097 A 1097 B 1100 C 1102 D 1105 E 1106 F 1108 G 1110 H 1111 I 1113 J 1115 K 1116 L 1117 M 1118 N 1121 O 1123 P 1123 Q 1126 R 1126 S 1128 T 1132 U 1133 V 1134 W 1134 X 1135 Y 1135 Z 1136 "The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion provides a comprehensive overview by period and region of the relevant archaeological material in relation to theory, methodology, definition, and practice. Although, as the title indicates, the focus is upon archaeological investigations of ritual and religion, by necessity ideas and evidence from other disciplines are also included, among them anthropology, ethnography, religious studies, and history. The Handbook covers a global span - Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and the Americas - and reaches from the earliest prehistory (the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic) to modern times. In addition, chapters focus upon relevant themes, ranging from landscape to death, from taboo to water, from gender to rites of passage, from ritual to fasting and feasting. Written by over sixty specialists, renowned in their respective fields, the Handbook presents the very best in current scholarship, and will serve both as a comprehensive introduction to its subject and as a stimulus to further research"--Publisher's website "The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion provides a comprehensive overview by period and region of the relevant archaeological material in relation to theory, methodology, definition, and practice. Although, as the title indicates, the focus is upon archaeological investigations of ritual and religion, by necessity ideas and evidence from other disciplines are also included, among them anthropology, ethnography, religious studies, and history. The Handbook covers a global span-Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and the Americas-and reaches from the earliest prehistory (the Lower and Middle Paeleolithic) to modern times. In addition, chapters focus upon relevant themes, ranging from landscape to death, from taboo to water, from gender to rites of passage, from ritual to fasting and feasting. Written by over sixty specialists, renowned in their respective fields, the Handbook presents the very best in current scholarship, and will serve both as a comprehensive introduction to its subject and as a stimulus to further research"-- Provided by publisher