Routledge Handbook of the Ancient Near East and the Social Sciences

Inbunden, Engelska, 2026

4 699 kr

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This volume provides a collection of papers that explore thirteen theoretical approaches taken from the social sciences, applying them to the study of the Ancient Near East.Rather than attempting to cover all theories that have been used for studying the Ancient Near East, this volume selects emerging ones or ones that have gained prominence within the field and which hold potential for further fruitful historical and theoretical work. The Handbook is structured in six parts. Part I provides a historiographical and methodological introduction to the use of social scientific theories in the historiography of the Ancient Near East. Parts II to V comprise theory chapters with theoretical introductions, case studies, and responses, covering social structure, identity, approaches to practice, and power respectively. Part VI completes the volume with two synthetic discussions on historiography and theory, meant to encourage debate towards future work on the social history of the Ancient Near East and invite historians to reflect on their own methods.This volume is suitable for students and scholars of the Ancient Near East working on social history and social scientists interested in ancient history. It also provides stimulating reading for sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and economic researchers with an interest in expanding their work into pre-modern periods.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2026-12-28
Mått174 x 246 x undefined mm
Vikt453 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor1 018
FörlagTaylor & Francis Ltd
ISBN9781032232119

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Jason M. Silverman is Professor of Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture at the University of Helsinki, Team Leader in the Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires, Finland, and PI of ERC AdvG WORK-IT.Emanuel Pfoh is Docent of Old Testament Studies at the University of Helsinki, Docent of Cultural History of the Levant at the University of Turku, University Researcher in the Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires, Finland, and Researcher at the National Research Council (CONICET), Argentina.

Introduction - Emanuel Pfoh and Jason M. Silverman; Part I: Overviews; 1. History of the use of Social Scientific Theories in Ancient Near Eastern historiography - Marc Van De Mieroop; 2. A Historiographical Survey of the Use of the Ancient Near East in Social Scientific Theories - Emanuel Pfoh; 3. “The Diabolical Carousel”: Interdisciplinary Meta-Methodology - Caroline Wallis; 4. “Antiquity” and “Modernity” - Neville Morleu; Part II: Theories of Social Structure; 5. Field Theory; 5a. Field Theory and its Relevance to Research on Ancient Societies - George Steinmetz; 5b. Nehemiah the Governor: An Elite Case Study Using Bourdieu’s Field Theory - Donna Laird; 5c. Homo Academicus interdisciplinarius: Reflexive analysis of Ancient Near Eastern studies in Finland - Joanna Töyräänvuori, Jason M. Silverman and Caroline Wallis; 5d. Who Shall Build it, and Why? Field Theory at Rural Çadır Höyük, Central Türkiye - Jennifer C. Ross and Sharon R. Steadman; 6. Social Network Theory; 6a. Introduction to Social Network Analysis - Miller C. Prosser; 6b. Kidin-Adad’s World: A Middle Assyrian Mogul’s Network of Privation and Profit - Jonathan Valk; 6c. Network Analysis Application in Light of Historical Knowledge: the Case of Adab - Émilie Pagé Perron; 6d. Networks Methods and the Archaeology of Exchange - Christine L. Johnston; 7. Environmentality; 7a. Environmentality in the Levant in the Bronze and Iron Ages: Definitions, Approaches, and Conceptual Backdrops - Marta D’Andrea; 7b. Human-Environment Interactions and Theories of Polity and Elite Formation in the Arid Southern Levant and North-western Arabia during the Bronze and Iron Ages - Juan Manuel Tebes; 7c. On Marginality: Climate versus Land Use in the Late Assyrian Period - Silvana Di Paolo; 7d. Environmentality: Rural case studies at Zincirli Höyük and Tell Ya’moun - Marta Lorenzon and Doga Karakaya; 8. Response to Part II: Social Structure - Gad Barnea; Part III: Theories of Identity; 9. Gender & Sexuality; 9a. Introduction - Saana Svärd; 9b. Elite Gender: Neo-Assyrian Queens - Ellie Bennett; 9c. Masculinity and Pathology from the Margin to Center: The Case of the Man who does not Desire a Woman - Gioele Zisa; 9d. Gender and Iconography from the Viewpoint of a Feminist Biblical Scholar - Silvia Schroer; 10. Minorities and Ethnicity; 10a. Introduction: Minorities and Ethnicities - Angelika Berlejung; 10b. Ethnicity and Identity in the Late Bronze Age Levant: A Framework for definition - Jana Mynářová; 10c. Ethnic and Marginal Groups in the Hebrew Bible: A Case for Exploring Human Connections and Belonging in Esther - Katherine E. Southwood; 10d. In the Footsteps of Bagira: Ethnicity, Archaeology, and Iron Age I “Ethnic Israel” - Raz Kletter; 11. Social Identity Approach; 11a. Introduction: Social Identity Approach - Teemu Pauha; 11b. Reconciling Social Identities: Josephus’s Dual Allegiances in the Jewish War - Marika Rauhala; 11c. The Useful Slave Onesimus as an Identity Tool - Nina Nikki; 11d. The Honor of Serving the Gods: A Social Identity Approach to the Clergy in Old Babylonian Nippur - Anne Goddeeris; 12. Response to Part III: Identities - Philip Esler; Part IV: Theories of Practice; 13. Economics; 13a. Historical Demography and Historical Economics and the Ancient Near East - Julia Jennings; 13b. “Elites” in the Economies of Early State Systems of Mesopotamia - Mitchell S Rothman; 13c. The Book of Ruth as a Case Study of Economies on the Margin - Philippe Guillaume; 13d. The Functioning of the Rural Economy in Pharaonic Egypt - Christopher Eyre; 14. Rituals; 14a. Rituals: An Introduction - Lauren M. Ristvet; 14b. The Akītu Effect: A Social Reading of the Mesopotamian Royal Ritual - Céline Debourse; 14c. Ritual Practice and Ritualization as Anxiety Management: The Hebrew Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls as Case Studies - Jutta Jokiranta; 14d. Anatolian Wastelands: The Hittite dammel pedan and the Construction of Ritual Space - Romina Della Casa; 15. Migration; 15a. Introduction: Migration - Eric M. Trinka; 15b. Emissaries and Envoys: Travel as Political Prestige - Adrianne Spunaugle; 15c. Cross-regional Migration into the Urban Middle Class: the Cases of Seventh-Century Memphis and Assur - Melanie Wasmuth; 15d. Phoenician Immigrants in Egypt and Greek Immigrants in Carthage: States’ Migration Regimes and Migrants’ Repertoires - Denise Demetriou; 16. Communication; 16a. Introduction to Communication and the Ancient Near East: Beyond Orality and Literacy - Jason M. Silverman; 16b. Communication: An Elite Case Study - Christopher W. Jones; 16c. Conversation Analysis as a Lens for Ancient Communication: Storytelling as a Case Study - Raymond F. Person, Jr.; 16d. Material Communication - Izaak J. de Hulster; 17. Response to Part IV: Practice - Tate Paulette; Part V: Theories of Power; 18. Empire; 18a. Empire: An Introduction - Gojko Barjamovic; 18b. The Case of an Empire: The Hittites - Marta Pallavidini; 18c. Caught Between Empires: Ugarit and Marginality - Kevin McGeough; 18d. Living under Empire in Urban Babylonia - Heather D. Baker; 19a. Elite Theory and the Ancient Near East - Bruce Routledge; 19b. Urtēnu among the Elite of Ugarit: An Elite Theory Case Study - František Válek; 19c. Elite Theory and Early Mesopotamia - Lorenzo Verderamme; 19d. Rural Elites in the Ancient Near East - Juan Carlos Moreno García; 20. Conflict Theory; 20a. Introduction: Conflict Theory - Joanna Töyräänvuori; 20b. Conflict and ordeal in letter ARM 26/1, 249 (Mari/ Tell Hariri, Second millennium BCE) - Luciana Urbano; 20c. Conflict Theory and Ancient Galilee: Understanding the Jesus Movement through Class Conflict - Taylor Weaver; 20d. Archaic Greece: rural conditions according to Hesiod and Solon - Mait Kõiv; 21. Response to Part V - Beate Pongratz-Leisten; Part VI: Synthetic Discussions; 22. History and Social Science Theory: Compatibilities and Conflicts - Nancy Partner; 23. Large Scale Approaches to History: Querying the Past Using the Database of Religious History - M. Willis Monroe and Andrew J. Danielson.

"Silverman and Pfoh supply a toolkit for every ANE scholar needing better acquaintance with not only social science theory but models of application. From ethnicity to environment to empire, this collection brings practical approaches and fresh thinking to topics new and old, in dozens of studies both thought-provoking and useful." - Seth Richardson, University of Chicago, USA"This exciting, substantial Handbook collects contributions by scholars from different countries and continents, offering a state-of-the-art presentation of the new perspectives and approaches to the study of the ancient Mediterranean cultures. It is a precious tool for the scholars and a very interesting and enriching reading for the interested public." - Frances Pinnock, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy