Stone Vessels in the Levant

RachaelThyrza Sparks, Rachael Thyrza Sparks

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781351547772
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Archaeology
• Index: Social Sciences

Examining stone vessels in the Levant during the 2nd millennium BC, the author explores the links between material culture and society through a comprehensive study of production and distribution. Extensively illustrated with 100 drawings, maps and charts, this volume includes a full object catalogue.This study represents the first comprehensive overview of the stone vessel assemblagesof the Levant in this period, a time which, fed by an increase of wealth and interregional trade, saw a growth in the popularity and variety of such vessels.Previously, our understanding of the varied functions and forms of these diverse vessels has been relatively underdeveloped. In this volume the author attempts to address this problem by creating a typological framework though which we can analyse variability and define essential characteristics of local stone vessel workshops. Only once this has been achieved is it possible to look at stone vessel production in its wider cultural context. Subsequent chapters explore broader themes, beginning within the workshops themselves, examining the links between craftsmen, their sources of raw materials, and the authorities that controlled and distributed their output. Considerations of the geographical and chronological distribution of such goods are then used to provide a regional perspective for the operation of these workshops, connections between them, and further insights into the nature of local and international trade. Finally, the objects themselves can be used to assess the impact of trends such as the growing Egyptianization of the ruling classes of the Levant at this time.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of Illustrations
• List of Tables
• CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER TWO IMPORTED STONE VESSELS
• CHAPTER THREE LOCAL STONE VESSELS
• CHAPTER FOUR MATERIALS AND SOURCES
• CHAPTER FIVE STONE VESSEL WORKPLACES
• CHAPTER SIX THE TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY BEHIND STONE VESSEL MANUFACTURE
• CHAPTER SEVEN DISTRIBUTION
• CHAPTER EIGHT SETTING THE INDUSTRY IN CONTEXT
• Introduction to the Catalogue
• Object Catalogue
• Appendix A Site concordance
• Appendix Β Materials concordance
• Appendix C Museum concordance
• Abbreviations
• References
• Index