Table of Contents for Near Eastern Archaeology 85.1 (March 2022)

Pp. 4-11: “Flowing Rock, Dancing around Trees: Conviviality and the Landscape of Cyprus,” by Michael Given

Rocks and trees are often central to the lives of human communities: their role is far more complex and meaningful than supplying resources, status, or symbolism. In a convivial landscape, rocks, trees, and people are deeply connected, showing elaborate and powerful interdependencies. In this article I explore the idea of conviviality through a series of examples from Archaic to early twentieth-century Cyprus. The Acropolis cliffs of Kourion show the fluidity of rock, constantly changing because of the effects of water, weather, and humanity. In the northern Troodos Mountains, trees and people have been highly interconnected: when human activities are relatively diverse and small-scale, the ensuing relationships are resilient and healthy for the whole socioecological community. Human societies can recognize and celebrate this conviviality through stories that grow up around particular rocks and trees, or through rituals focused on sacred stones or enacted by dancing around trees.

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Pp. 12-22: “Çemka Höyük, Late Epipaleolithic and PPNA Phase Housing Architecture: Chronological and Typological Change,” by Yunus Çiftçi

In recent studies carried out at the Çemka Höyük settlement on the western flank of the Tigris River in Upper Mesopotamia (Mardin province, Turkey), new information has been obtained on the Late Epipaleolithic and Early Neolithic periods, defined as the Proto-Neolithic. Despite the short-term nature of the excavations, the settlement provides new data about these eras in the region; in particular, the settlement is significant in terms of the Late Epipaleolithic–Neolithic transition as well as of architectural finds belonging to both periods. The rise of permanent settlements and domestic architecture is a focus of examination.

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Pp. 24-32: “Through the Eye of a Needle: A Textile Perspective on the Chalcolithic–Bronze Age Transition in Cyprus,” by Giulia Muti

This article argues that a renewed analysis of textile manufacture can bring a fresh perspective to approach the cultural transformations occurring in Cyprus during the mid-third millennium BCE and to investigate their significance. I present the main interpretations on the transition from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age as indicated by current archaeological research and explain the value of textile tools as archaeological indicators. Following this, the available data for selected textile activities (fiber exploitation and thread making) are analyzed and discussed. The final aim is to demonstrate how current narratives can be challenged when technology is not the only aspect considered, and productive purposes and raw materials are also included.

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Pp. 34-43: “Nude Awakenings: Early Dynastic Nude Female Iconography,” by Stephanie Lynn Budin

This article considers the earliest examples of so-called Nude Female iconography that emerged in Mesopotamia in the Early Dynastic period, with a particular focus on the aspects of nudity and gesture. Rather than concluding that these images represent goddesses or concepts such as fertility, the data reveal that in the Early Dynastic period female nudity was no different than male nudity.

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Pp. 44-53: “From Excavation to Vitrine: The Afterlife of Late Hellenistic Bovine Terracottas from Niğde Kınık Höyük,” by Roberta Casagrande-Kim, Deniz Üçer Erduran, Emily Frank, and Izel Güngör

In this article the authors present the preliminary results of the study, conservation, and display of a corpus of Hellenistic terracottas from Niğde Kınık Höyük consisting of bovine figures ranging from small protomes to medium-sized bull statues, and to close-to-life-size hoofs and chests. Images of Greek divinities attached to the bulls’ necks suggest that the corpus was pertinent to a cultic tradition related to the Olympic pantheon. The ongoing work combines data collected through excavation, scientific analysis, conservation, and museum practices to understand this unique body of material and effectively present it to academic and museum audiences.

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Pp. 54-65: “Progress, Design, and Hyperreal Spectacle: The Ancient Near East in Nineteenth-Century Expos, Fairs, and Geographical Amusements,” by Kevin McGeough

As Near Eastern archaeology developed into an academic discipline throughout the nineteenth century, it led to serious considerations on the relationships between those ancient civilizations and contemporary cultures. Issues of progress and decline were particularly paramount as citizens of the European and North American powers considered what the collapse of ancient civilizations implied about the present. Related to these concerns were interests in material and technological progress, and thus the materiality of the ancient Near East became a subject of debate in regard to contemporary design. Here are explored some of the ways that ancient Egypt and the Near East were presented in these hyperreal spectacles, why the past was so fundamental to discussions of the present and future in the nineteenth century, and why comparative geographical approaches to the topic have been so compelling for nonacademic audiences.

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Pp. 66-73: “Archaeology in a Pandemic,” by Claire Balandier, Ian Cipin, Britt Hartenberger, and Moni Islam

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020–2021 has disrupted life in just about every way imaginable. Many in the ASOR community have been hindered by the lack of access to collections, publications, and colleagues. For most archaeologists, fieldwork plans came to a screeching halt in spring 2020. While some were able to resume fieldwork in summer 2020 or summer 2021 with smaller teams and new precautions, many have not traveled overseas in nearly two years. While the long-term impact of the pandemic on the discipline in general and ASOR in particular will not be known for years, it is important to share our individual stories and document how our research lives continue to be affected now. In this essay, four archaeologists—two who were able to participate in archaeological fieldwork in 2020–2021 and two who were not—write about their experiences of archaeology in a pandemic.

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Pp. 74-77: “The Case for Digital Site Reports,” by Jennie Ebeling and William Caraher

As ASOR looks ahead to another century of publishing booklength site reports and continues vigorously to support the thorough publication of archaeological sites, the authors, both editors of long-standing ASOR book series, recognize that a period of significant change is upon us. This change is more than simply making conventional paper books available in digital forms and extends to a fundamental rethinking of the publishing process, new ways of thinking about what constitutes a final publication, and new expectations for professional organizations, institutions, and individuals.

ASOR Members with online access: navigate to the token link email sent to you (search for “token link” in inbox) before attempting to read this article. Once you have activated your member token, click here to access the above article on The University of Chicago Press Journals’ website.