Description
Book SynopsisFeatures essays on different types of archaeology that intends to define the field and describes what it means to be an archaeologist. This title shows that contemporary archaeology is a broad activity, with many contrasting specializations and ways of approaching the material record of past societies.
Trade Review"What distinguishes [this book] is its structure: instead of hundreds of entries discussing individual sites, a limited number of well-known authors take a thematic approach to presenting the subject.... The book will be read with pleasure by general readers and academic alike." (
Ancient East and West, 2008)
"A stimulating source of ideas, and a conspectus of how broadly and deeply many archaeologists are thinking about the way their discipline relates to the modern world." (Times Higher Education Supplement)
"The perspectives represented are broad and refreshing, accessible to a non-specialist, but authoritative ... This volume is very well suited as a teaching text for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students. However, I recommend it for any practioner having an interest in the recent trends and advances that are affecting what archaeology is and will be." (Historical Archaeology)
"For those in search of a single volume that provides a series of state of the art portrayals of the diverse approaches dopted by archeologists in their endeavour to explore and understand the past, look no further." (Post-Medieval Archaeology)
"One of the best introductions to modern archaeology in all her guises that I have ever read" (H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences)
"This is a large book, and as promised in the introduction it delivers in a sophisticated way emerging insights on a broad range of key archaeological themes ... I can strongly recommend this volume to the professional and student alike." (Australian Archaeology)
"This book is clearly organized and the material presented in a fair and often innovative manner." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review)
"This important book offers a thought-provoking analysis of many of archaeology’s most pressing controversies. Both students and interested laypeople will find this a satisfying journey though the complexities of a rapidly changing, increasingly multidisciplinary archaeological world." (Brian Fagan, University of California Santa Barbara)
"A refreshingly wide set of topics, covered by an impressive and authoritative array of authors." (Ian Hodder, Stanford University)
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations viii
Notes on Contributors xii
Preface xx
List of Abbreviations xxiii
Maps xxiv
Part I Introduction 1
1 The Historiography of Archaic Greece 3
John K. Davies
2 The Mediterranean World in the Early Iron Age 22
Carol G. Thomas
Part II Histories 41
3 The Early Iron Age 43
Catherine Morgan
4 The Eighth-century Revolution 64
Ian Morris
5 The World of Homer and Hesiod 81
Christoph Ulf
6 The Tyrants 100
Elke Stein-Hölkeskamp
7 Sparta 117
Massimo Nafissi
8 Athens 138
Michael Stahl and Uwe Walter
9 Greeks and Persians 162
Josef Wiesehöfer
Part III Regions 187
10 Attica: A View from the Sea 189
Sanne Houby-Nielsen
11 The Aegean 212
Alexander Mazarakis Ainian and Iphigenia Leventi
12 Laconia and Messenia 239
Nigel Kennell and Nino Luraghi
13 The Peloponnese 255
Thomas Heine Nielsen and James Roy
14 Crete 273
James Whitley
15 Northern Greece 294
Zosia Halina Archibald
16 The Western Mediterranean 314
Carla M. Antonaccio
17 The Black Sea 330
Gocha R. Tsetskhladze
Part IV Themes 347
18 Cities 349
Jan Paul Crielaard
19 Foundations 373
Irad Malkin
20 States 395
Hans-Joachim Gehrke
21 Charismatic Leaders 411
Robert W. Wallace
22 Sanctuaries and Festivals 427
François de Polignac
23 The Economy 444
Hans van Wees
24 Class 468
Peter W. Rose
25 Gender 483
Lin Foxhall
26 The Culture of the Symposion 508
Oswyn Murray
27 The Culture of Competition 524
Nick Fisher
28 Literacy 542
John-Paul Wilson
29 Intellectual Achievements 564
Kurt A. Raaflaub
30 War and International Relations 585
Henk Singor
31 Ethnicity and Cultural Exchange 604
Jonathan M. Hall
Bibliography 618
Indices 713
