Style and Society in the Prehistory of West Asia

Olivier Nieuwenhuyse was a remarkable archaeologist whose work has transformed the study of later Neolithic societies in West Asia. He has inspired many colleagues and students in their own pursuit of archaeology. Through the analysis of material culture his aim was to reconstruct social meanings and practices of societies in the deep past. In this volume a series of colleagues and friends pay tribute to the scholarship of Olivier Nieuwenhuyse, who died much too young, and present a series of studies on the archaeology of Late Neolithic societies in West Asia.The volume includes a reflection on Oliviers career in archaeology (Spoor). There are chapters on the key site of Tell Sabi Abyad, on which Olivier worked for many years, dealing with its buildings (Akkermans and Brüning), its funerary practices (Plug), and the use of bitumen at the site (Connan et al.). The next section on the book focusses on the analysis of tokens (Bennison-Chapman), figurines (Arntz, Düring), and ornaments (Belcher and Croucher), of various sites dating to the Late Neolithic in West Asia. Following this there are studies on the emergence of pottery in West Asia (Bartl, Özbal), the use of ceramic husking trays (Balossi Restelli), and the design rules in various prehistoric pottery traditions (Bernbeck and Pollock). Finally, the last chapter presents new data on prehistoric Palmyra (Maqdissi and Ishaq).Colleagues working on Neolithic West Asia will find much of interest in this volume. We hope they will agree that this is a worthy tribute to the remarkable body of scholarship that Olivier Nieuwenhuyse has created.ContentsList of AuthorsIntroductionPeter M.M.G. Akkermans and Bleda S. DüringA Man Feasting. Oliviers Journey through ArchaeologyRichard H. SpoorDwellings with Three Rooms: A New Type of Architecture at Late Seventh Millennium BCE Tell Sabi Abyad, SyriaPeter M.M.G. Akkermans and Merel H. BrüningGreater than the Sum of Parts: Mortuary Practice and Community Integration at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi AbyadJo-Hannah PlugChemical Study of Bitumens from Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria) from 7000 BCE to 1150 BCEJacques Connan, Bonnie Nilhamn, Michael H. Engel, Alex Zumberge, Peter M.M.G. Akkermans and Rzger A. AbdulaTokens as Indicators of Social Change in the Late NeolithicLucy E. Bennison-ChapmanDaily Negotiations with Materiality: ReAssembling Halaf OrnamentationEllen Belcher and Karina CroucherFigurines to be Felt? A Group of Appliqué Figurines from Tell Sabi Abyad, SyriaMonique ArntzReconsidering Cruciform Figurines of Chalcolithic CyprusBleda S. DüringPottery Development in the 7th millennium BCE in the Northern, Central, and Southern LevantKarin BartlEarly Pottery and Displaced Cooking PotsRana ÖzbalHusking Trays in the Context of Neolithic Socialization: The Sensory Experience of Bread ConsumptionFrancesca Balossi RestelliThe Social Dimension of Regularities and Ambiguation in Neolithic Painted Pottery: A Comparative PerspectiveReinhard Bernbeck and Susan PollockNote dArchéologie Levantine LXVII: les phases anciennes de Palmyre daprès les données des archives de R. du Mesnil du Buisson et de la mission syrienne de 2011Michel Al-Maqdissi and Eva Ishaq