Side-by-Side Survey: Comparative Regional Studies in the Mediterranean World [Paperback]

Twenty years ago, John Cherry looked forward to the day when archaeological survey projects working around the Mediterranean region (the 'Frogs round the pond') would begin to compare and synthesize the information they had collected. He anticipated researchers tackling big questions of interregional scope in new and interesting ways, working at a geographical scale considerably larger than that of the individual survey. Was his optimism misplaced? Despite the extraordinary growth of interest in field survey projects and regional analysis, and despite the developments in survey methodology that have been discussed and implemented in the past two decades, few scholars have attempted to use survey data in a comparative mode and to answer the broad-scale questions confronting social historians. In this volume, which is the outcome of an advanced Workshop held at the University of Michigan in 2002, a number of prominent archaeologists return to the question of comparability. They discuss the potential benefits of working in a comparative format, with evidence from many different Mediterranean survey projects, and consider the practical problems that present roadblocks to achieving that objective. From mapping and manuring to human settlement and demography, environment and culture, each addresses different questions, often with quite different approaches; together they offer a range of perspectives on how to put surveys "side-by-side". Contributors include Susan E Alcock, John Cherry, Jack L Davis, Peter Attema, Martijn van Leusen, James C Wright, Robin Osborne, David Mattingly, T J Wilkinson, and Richard E Blanton.

Introduction
1. Introduction (Susan E. Alcock and John F. Cherry)

Methodological Issues
2. Mapping and manuring: can we compare sherd density figures? (Michael Given)
3. Are the landscpaes of Greek prehistory hidden? A comparative approach (Jack L. Davis)
4. Sample size matters! The paradox of global trends and local surveys (Nicola Terrenato)
5. Solving the puzzle of the archaeological labyrinth: time perspectivism in Mediterranean surface archaeology (LuAnn Wandsnider)

Comparative studies in the Mediterranean
6. Side-by-side and back-to-front: exploring intra-regional latitudinal and longitudinal comparability in survey data. Three case studies from Metaponto, southern Italy (Stephen Thompson)
7. Intraregional and iterregional comparison of occupation histories in three Italian regions: the RPC project (Peter Attema and Martijn van Leusen)
8. Site by site: combining survey and excavationdata to chart patterns of socio-political change in Bronze Age Crete (Tim Cunnigham and Jan Driessen)
9. Comparative settlement patterns during the Bronze Age int he northeastern Peloponnesos (James C. Wright)
10. Problems and possibilities in comparative survey: a North African perspective (David L. Stone)

Issues and implications
11. Accounting for ARS: fineware and sites in Sicily and Africa (Elizabeth Fentress, Sergio Fontana, Robert Bruce Hitchner and Philip Perkins)
12. Demography and survey (Robin Osborne)
13. Mapping the Roman world: the contribution of field survey data (David Mattingly and Rob Witcher)

Wider Perspectives
14. From nucleation to dispersal: trends in settlement pattern in the northern fertile rescent (T.J.Wilkinson, Jason Ur and Jesse Casana)
15. A comparative perspective on settlement pattern and population change in Mesoamerican and Medierranean civilizations (Richard E. Blanton)

Appendix
16. Internet resources for mediterranean regional survey projects: a preliminary listing (Jennifer Gates, Susan E. Alcock and John F. Cherry)

"a welcome addition to the all too scanty corpus of works dealing directly with survey comparison. The book is handsomely produced,'"
Daniel R Stewart
Bryn Mawr Classical Review (2005)

"The book is well-presented with numerous and relevant figures and tables.'"
Claudia Sagona
Ancient West & East (2007)