Annotation Filling a gap in classroom texts, more than 60 essays by major scholars in the field have been gathered to create the most up-to-date and complete book available on Levantine and Near Eastern archaeology. The book is divided into two sections: "Theory, Method, and Context," and "Cultural Phases and Topics," which together provide both methodological and areal coverage of the subject. The text is complemented by many line drawings and photographs. Includes a foreword by W.G. Dever.

"This comprehensive five-volume work analyzes the archaeological and linguistic data that pertain to the broad cultural milieu of the ancient Near East, the crossroads of three of the world's most influential religions -- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ranging from prehistoric times up to the early centuries of the rise of Islam, the work covers the civilizations of Syria-Palestine, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran, Arabia, Cyprus, Egypt, and the coastal regions of North and East Africa. It includes 1,125 alphabetically arranged entries on sites, languages, material culture, archaeological methods, organizations and institutions, and major excavators and scholars of the field. This one-of-a-kind, accessibly written reference brings new breadth to the study of archaeology in the biblical world, making it a valuable resource not only to scholars and students of archaeology, but also to those with an interest in ancient art and architecture, languages, history, and religion." -- Alibris.com.

A COMPANION TO THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East is a comprehensive and authoritative overview of ancient material culture from the late Pleistocene to Late Antiquity. This expansive two-volume work includes 58 new essays from an international community of ancient Near East scholars. With coverage extending from Asia Minor, the eastern Mediterranean, and Egypt to the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indo-Iranian borderlands, the book highlights the enormous variation in cultural developments across roughly 11,000 years of human endeavor. In addition to chapters devoted to specific regions and particular periods, many contributors concentrate on individual industries and major themes in ancient Near Eastern archaeology, ranging from metallurgy and agriculture to irrigation and fishing. Controversial issues, including the nature and significance of the antiquities market, ethical considerations in archaeological praxis, the history of the foundation of departments of antiquities, and ancient attitudes towards the past, make this a unique collection of studies that will be of interest to scholars, students, and interested readers alike.

What is sacrifice? How can we identify it in the archaeological record? And what does it tell us about the societies that practice it? Sacred Killing: The Archaeology of Sacrifice in the Ancient Near East investigates these and other questions through the evidence for human and animal sacrifice in the Near East from the Neolithic to the Hellenistic periods. Drawing on sociocultural anthropology and history in addition to archaeology, the book also includes evidence from ancient China and a riveting eyewitness account and analysis of sacrifice in contemporary India, which engage some of the key issues at stake. Sacred Killing vividly presents a variety of methods and theories in the study of one of the most profound and disturbing ritual activities humans have ever practiced.

The conference in Manchester in 1992 which this book came out of was organised to raise the profile of the study of mortuary remains in the Ancient Near East. Thirty papers from the conference are published here, covering a wide variety of regions and periods, from Epipalaeolithic to modern. Many different aspects are examined: physical anthropology, burial goods, social structure, ethoarchaeology, etc. This volume has a wide relevance not only to the areas specifically addressed, but also in the interpretation of burial remains and the evolution of society.

Charles Maisels follows the course of discovery of 'the land between the rivers' over more than a century, to our present conclusions - very different from the first discoveries.

An authoritative guide to the whole of the cradle of civilization.