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Archaeology, Anthropology and Cult

The Sanctuary at Gilat,Israel

Thomas Evan Levy

$273

Hardback

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English
Equinox Publishing Ltd
01 July 2005
This book provides an in-depth study of the role of religion in the evolution of societies. It melds anthropological theory and archaeological data to present one of the most comprehensive archaeological studies of the role of ritual as a vital force for promoting and consolidating social change. It is based on seven seasons of archaeological excavation at the Chalcolithic site of Gilat, a low mound, located in the fields of the Moshav Gilat, a semi-communal farming settlement in Israel's northern Negev desert. The Chalcolithic period represents the first time that well-documented chiefdom organizations can be recognized in the archaeological record of the Holy Land when institutionalized social hierarchies, craft specialization, horticulture, temple life and other fundamental social changes occurred in this part of the ancient Near East. As one of the few Chalcolithic (ca. 4500 - 3600 BC) sanctuary sites in the southern Levant, the Gilat provides a wonderful opportunity to explore the role of religion and ideology as a social force for influencing social relations and social evolution through one of the formative periods in the prehistory of the eastern Mediterranean. The collection of studies presented in this book aim at examining the material evidence for the ideological sub-system of Chalcolithic culture by through careful analyses of relatively large sets of archaeological data.

By:  
Imprint:   Equinox Publishing Ltd
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 246mm,  Width: 189mm,  Spine: 51mm
Weight:   2.063kg
ISBN:   9781904768586
ISBN 10:   190476858X
Pages:   886
Publication Date:  
Audience:   College/higher education ,  General/trade ,  Primary ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Thomas E. Levy is Professor of Anthropology and Judaic Studies at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Formerly, the Assistant Director of the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research (one of the American Schools of Oriental Research) and the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology of the Hebrew Union College, Jerusalem, he joined the UCSD faculty in 1992.

Reviews for Archaeology, Anthropology and Cult: The Sanctuary at Gilat,Israel

'The six-thousand-year old complex of buildings at Gilat, on the desert edge of the Fertile Crescent, raises important questions of how human societies were organized on the eve of urban life. The elaboration of material culture at this and related sites can only be understood in the dual context of environmental constraints and equally strong systems of belief. Tom Levy has brought together not just a highly professional scientific report but also a sustained anthropological investigation. This is both a report to refer to and a volume to read for its ideas.' Andrew Sherratt, Professor of Archaeology, University of Oxford


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