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The Social Context of Technological Change in Egypt and the Near East, 1650-1550 BC

edited by Andrew Shortland

The technological capabilities of the ancient world have long fascinated scholars and the general public alike, though scholarly debate has often seen material culture not as the development of technology, but as a tool for defining chronology and delineating the level of interactions of neighbouring societies. These fourteen papers, arising from a conference held in Oxford in September 2000, take the approach that technology plays a vital role in past socio-economic systems. They cover the Near East and associated areas, including Greece, Crete, Cyprus, Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia and Egypt from the end of the Middle Bronze Age to the Late Bronze Age (1650-1150 BC), a period when many technological innovations appear for the first time. Contents: The Mobility of Artisans and Opportunities for Technology Transfer between Western Asia and Egypt in the Late Bronze Age (P R S Moorey); Technological Change in the East Mediterranean Bronze Age: Capital, resources and marketing (Andrew and Susan Sherratt); Society and Technology in the Late Bronze Age: A guided tour of the cuneiform sources (Eleanor Robson); Egyptians, Hyksos and Military Hardware: Causes, effects or catalysts? (Ian Shaw); Stone Vessel Production: New beginnings and new visions in New-Palace Crete (Jacke Phillips); Stone Vessel Workshops in the Levant: Luxury products of a cosmopolitan age (Rachael Sparks); The Provenance of Canaanite Amphorae found at Memphis and Amarna in the New Kingdom (Janine Bourriau, Laurence Smith and Margaret Serpico); Glass and Faience at Amarna: Different methods of both supply for production, and subsequent distribution (Andrew Shortland, Paul Nicholson and Caroline Jackson); Gold and Granulation: Exploring the social implications of a prestige technology in the Bronze Age Mediterranean (Thea Politis); Minoan Foreign Relations and Copper Metallurgy in MMIII-LMIII Crete (Zophia Stos-Gale); Social Influences on the Development and Spread of Glass (Andrew Shortland); Problems and Possibilities in Workshop Reconstruction: Qantir and the organisation of LBA glass working sites (Thilo Rehren, Edgar Pusch and Anja Herold); The Evolution of Glazing Technologies in the Ancient Near East and Egypt (Sarah Paynter and Mike Tite); Problematising the Transition from Bronze to Iron (Peter Haarer). 288p, b/w illus, 4 colour pls (Oxbow Books 2001)

Review Quote

'A very good read and a welcome contribution to the study of ancient technology. The book contains a number of excellent and engaging articles directed at a specialist audience. The authors draw upon anthropology, archaeology, philology and materials science to formulate an exciting interdisciplinary approach to studying ancient technology.'

Near Eastern Archaeology

Table of Contents

The Mobility of Artisans and Opportunities for Technology Transfer between Western Asia and Egypt in the Late Bronze Age (P R S Moorey)
Technological Change in the East Mediterranean Bronze Age: Capital, resources and marketing (Andrew and Susan Sherratt)
Society and Technology in the Late Bronze Age: A guided tour of the cuneiform sources (Eleanor Robson)
Egyptians, Hyksos and Military Hardware: Causes, effects or catalysts? (Ian Shaw)
Stone Vessel Production: New beginnings and new visions in New-Palace Crete (Jacke Phillips)
Stone Vessel Workshops in the Levant: Luxury products of a cosmopolitan age (Rachael Sparks)
The Provenance of Canaanite Amphorae found at Memphis and Amarna in the New Kingdom (Janine Bourriau, Laurence Smith and Margaret Serpico)
Glass and Faience at Amarna: Different methods of both supply for production, and subsequent distribution (Andrew Shortland, Paul Nicholson and Caroline Jackson)
Gold and Granulation: Exploring the social implications of a prestige technology in the Bronze Age Mediterranean (Thea Politis)
Minoan Foreign Relations and Copper Metallurgy in MMIII-LMIII Crete (Zophia Stos-Gale)
Social Influences on the Development and Spread of Glass (Andrew Shortland)
Problems and Possibilities in Workshop Reconstruction: Qantir and the organisation of LBA glass working sites (Thilo Rehren, Edgar Pusch and Anja Herold)
The Evolution of Glazing Technologies in the Ancient Near East and Egypt (Sarah Paynter and Mike Tite)
Problematising the Transition from Bronze to Iron (Peter Haarer)

Related Titles

• Invention and Innovation: The Social Context of Technological Change II, Egypt, the Aegean and the Near East, 1650-1150 B.C
  edited by Janine Bourriau and Jacke Phillips

• From Mine to Microscope: Advances in the Study of Ancient Technology
  edited by Andrew Shortland, Ian C Freestone and Thilo Rehren

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