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Mesopotamia
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Natufian | complex foraging society that managed to be sedentary due to the Levant’s large carrying capacity at the time. Important to archaeology because the decline of the Natufian culture into the PPNA and PPNB marks the rising prevalence of agriculture in Meso. |
| Catal Hoyuk | Definition: Another large PPNB settlement with its own particular cultural elements such as the religious fixation on cattle that differentiate it from other large PPNB settlements. |
| Mehrgarh | Definition: A PPNB settlement in modern Pakistan. It is important to archaeology as it shows how far east the presence of PPNB cultural elements reached. |
| Younger Dryas definition | A period of cooler/dryer climate that allowed for wild grains to spread. |
| Horizontal Egalitarianism | Definition: Where all members of society are of the same status and have the same decision making powers in conjunction with equal distribution of resources. |
| Younger Dryas Importance to archaeology (edited for space) | The spread of wild grain can explain the proliferation of the Natufian culture, the end of the Younger Dryas and the warmer climatic shift could possibly explain the first turn to accidental domestication and eventual development of agriculture |
| Vertical Egalitarianism | Definition: A society where there are individuals with decision making privileges on top of the equal distribution of resources. |
| Population growth | Definition: An important factor in the political complexity of a society that can be a determinant in how food and resource accumulation impacts a society’s structure. Important as it can explain the reliance on agriculture over foraging. |
| Band | Definition: An egalitarian society that may have some ascribe status but relies on staying small, fissioning when becoming too large, and the equal redistribution of resources among the group. |
| Tribe | Definition: a semi-egalitarian society that may rely on elders with influence or a family spokesperson to serve as a decision maker. |
| Chiefdom | Definition: a very broad and flexible political formation where one person maintains influence over a large group by shearing their wealth, providing the group with parties and feasts and giving presents to stay in the group’s favor. |
| Complex Chiefdom | Definition: The political formation of a society that displays some levels of social stratification and craft specialization, but might lack a monopoly of force, rely on warrior societies. |
| State | Definition: The political formation of a society that displays important markers such as 3 levels of social stratification, craft specialization, and a monopoly of force. |
| Primary State | Definition: The first state to develop in an area. |
| Secondary State | peripheral states after, not out of desire of people to develop a state, but as necessary to maintain standing army and defend the society from the power of the primary state. explain the seemingly drastic number of state formations around the same time. |
| Staple finance | When status is defined not by wealth but by a staple, such as grain.Importance to archaeology: Could explain signs of egalitarian burials in settlements that otherwise suggest social stratification, as staple goods weren’t as appealing visually. |
| Wealth finance | Definition: When status is derived from the accumulation of wealth, such as the export of luxury items like lapis lazuli. Importance to archaeology: Presence of wealth finance can be a marker of social stratification in a society. |
| Hydraulic hypothesis | hypothesis that state formation can come out of society’s need to mobilize labor for the development of irrigation. It is important to archaeology as it can explain the development of states in lower Mesopotamia where irrigation was necessary element agri |
| External Trade hypothesis | hypothesis - formation can come about a society’s need to supplement its lack of resources with those from other locations. important because explains why Mesopotamian societies which only had access to grain and clay, spread out and expanded. |
| Internal Conflict hypothesis | Definition: The hypothesis that state formation comes about out of internal conflict and competition where one person wins and everyone else, due to environmental circumscription, can’t leave. |
| Environmental circumscription | Definition: When environmental constraints make fissioning out of groups more difficult. Important to archaeology as it could explain why people stay when an individual comes to power |
| Ubaid period | increase reliance on irrigation and development of complex chiefdom soc stratif. not as intensive, chiefs likely benefited and mobilized labor by being like everyone else. Important- variation of chiefdoms, is evidence of trade travelling, and settlement. |
| Stamp seals | Seals that were used to demarcate ownership of resources. Important to archaeology because the presence of stamp seals can suggest that a society has shifted from egalitarianism towards individual ownership and possibly social stratification. |
| Cylinder seals | Seals used similarly to stamp seals, to mark ownership of resources. Important to archaeology not only because they can suggest social stratification but also because cylinder seals serve as a precursor to the development of cuneiform. |
| Tell Brak | site of several mass graves, one of which a double layer grave where people who were killed at the same time were buried at different times. first, men of fighting age, which shows signs of feasting following the death. second burial women and children, |
| Uruk | the period where city-states began to form and elements of the Uruk culture began to spread prolifically across the region, or the actual city of Uruk that form from the unification of two sites, Kulla and Eanna, developing the first true city. |
| Uruk Expansion | Definition: the presence of Uruk cultural traits, such as beveled rim bowls, across great distances in different sites in Mesopotamia. |
| Uruk Full Occupation | Definition: When a site becomes wholly engulfed by Uruk culture, such as the building of Uruk houses, a temple. |
| Uruk colony | Definition: Sites with only a fraction of Uruk culture, such as a section of the town with a Uruk temple, likely as a result of expanding trade. |
| Uruk invasion | Definition: Sites with only a few elements of Uruk culture, such as the presence of some beveled rim bowls. |
| Beveled rim bowls | exact use unknown, - large number suggests culture had means of standardization associate with complex chiefdom, widespread presence outside of area suggests importance on trade and colonization consistency suggests standardization, marker of statehood |
| Jemdet Nasr | Definition: Period following the end of the Uruk period that maintain some of Uruk’s cultural elements, such as writing, but marks a decrease in expansion and trade outside of southern Mesopotamia. |
| Ensi | ruler of a city state in Mesopotamia. Important as the Ensi role helps explain the individualism of city states that contributed to resistance to a unified rule under the Lugal and continued civil unrest when there was a turnover in lugalship. |
| Lugal | Definition: The ruler with influence over multiple city-states, primarily Sumer and Akkad. Important to archaeology because the lugalship leads to the eventual development of the Sargonid empire. |
| Ziggurat | Definition: the pyramid-like structure that develops overtime as temples are built on top of in the same spot over and over again. Important to archaeology as they can provide clear layers showing occupation at the site over time. |
| Temple/Palace | location =type of authority . Sumer, -centrally located temple -power in hands of priests who, hired general. Akkad, -located palace/temple on outskirts -one person/ general, with political power. demonstrates bal btwn secular and religious auth |
| Urukagina | Ensi of Lagash consolidated power after Eannatum and reform the government of the former leader’s abuses of power while continuing on the war against Umma and losing against Lugal-zagesi. Important precursor to Sargon’s ultimate acquisition of power. |
| Lugal-zagesi | Defintion: Ensi of Umma who eventually conquers Lagash as well as most of Sumer in attempts to unify the region, much to the anger of the citizens. |
| Sargon | Launched a rebellion against Lugal-zagesi, capitalizing civil resistence to unification under one ruler. ultimately unifies the city-states of Mesopotamia though allowing city-states to largely maintain their independence, and starts the Sargonid empire. |
| En | high-priestess, a position provided women with power. Important because it shows how a ruler like Sargon able to maintain both his secular power as lugal and religious power of temple by having his daughter appointed as En of the Temple of Nanna in Ur. |
| Enheduanna | daughter of sargon, high priestess of the Temple of Nanna. important because her appointment to the role started the system of En of Nanna being a bloodline relative to the Lugal, providing lugal with influence over the temple and more consolidated power |
| Giparu | fortified location where a priestess and her staff lived adjacent to the temple. The women who lived there, called Naditum, were usually high-status individuals, literate, independent from their father, property owning. Important to archaeology as it show |
| Gilgamesh | provides insight into Mesopotamians religious views, showing afterlife bleak and worse than living. explanations of afterlife explain why some societies w neg afterlife view have state like markers of social stratification not reflected in burial goods. |
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