Ancient West Asian Civilization: Geoenvironment and Society in the Pre-Islamic Middle East PDF
Preview Ancient West Asian Civilization: Geoenvironment and Society in the Pre-Islamic Middle East
Akira Tsuneki · Shigeo Yamada Ken-ichiro Hisada E ditors Ancient West Asian Civilization Geoenvironment and Society in the Pre-Islamic Middle East Ancient West Asian Civilization Akira Tsuneki (cid:129) Shigeo Yamada Ken-ichiro Hisada Editors Ancient West Asian Civilization Geoenvironment and Society in the Pre- Islamic Middle East Editors Akira Tsuneki Shigeo Yamada Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Tsukuba University of Tsukuba Tsukuba , Ibaraki , Japan Tsukuba , Ibaraki , Japan Ken-ichiro Hisada Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Tsukuba Tsukuba , Ibaraki , Japan ISBN 978-981-10-0553-4 ISBN 978-981-10-0554-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0554-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016949386 © Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2017 T his work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. T he use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. T he publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer Science+Business Media Singapore Pte Ltd. Pref ace The publication of this book is closely related to the symposium “Facilitating the Study of West Asian Civilization: What Does Ancient West Asia Tell Us?” held in Tokyo June 28–29, 2014. The symposium aimed to achieve a wide perspective on West Asian environments and civilizations while gathering the collective knowl- edge of geologists, archaeologists, philologists, and historians. All of the chapters in the present volume were written by symposium participants. The authors reviewed their work after discussion and exchange of information. Consequently, their contri- butions refl ect the central theme of this book: understanding the essence of West Asian civilization, its geological and geographical foundation, and its signifi cant infl uence on the modern world. The editors wish to thank all the authors, as well as other colleagues who gave presentations at the symposium and supported the contents and structure of this book. Publication was carried out as part of an ongoing research project of the Research Center for West Asian Civilization, University of Tsukuba (Ibaraki, Japan), which is fi nancially supported by grants from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Sciences and Technology (MEXT). We are grateful to the staff of the Research Center, which unfailingly assisted us in countless ways. I n today’s immense political turmoil, the Middle East often tends to be talked about for its negative aspects via negative images. However, this region has contrib- uted to the foundation of elements necessary in all modern human societies. Therefore, we hope that the importance of Ancient West Asia is realized again, and if this book contributes to this purpose, we are content. Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan Akira Tsuneki Shigeo Yamada Ken-ichiro Hisada v Contents 1 Introduction: The Aim of Study of Ancient West Asian Civilization ............................................................................. 1 Akira Tsuneki Part I Environment and People of Ancient West Asia 2 Geology Based Culture? ......................................................................... 15 Ken-ichiro Hisada 3 A Brief Review of the Geology of West Asia ......................................... 39 Seyed A. Aghanabati 4 Paleoclimatic Changes and Human Cultural Evolution in West Asia ............................................................................ 51 Ryo Anma and Teruyuki Maruoka 5 Earthquake Activity in West Asia: Seismicity in the Mediterranean Sea and Evaluation of the Strong Motion for the AD 365 Crete Earthquake Using the Stochastic Green’s Function ..................................................................................... 65 Tsuneo Ohsumi and Yuji Yagi Part II Great Transformations in Prehistory 6 The Origins of Agriculture ..................................................................... 87 Ken-ichi Tanno and Osamu Maeda 7 The “Commodification” of Animals ...................................................... 99 Hans-Peter Uerpmann and Margarethe Uerpmann 8 The Beginnings of Metal Use in West Asia ........................................... 115 Ünsal Yalçın vii viii Contents Part III Urbanization and Change in Human Societies 9 The Birth of Cities in Ancient West Asia ............................................... 133 Jason Ur 10 The Invention of Cuneiform and the Dawn of the Modern World .............................................................................. 149 Jonathan Taylor 11 The World’s Oldest Writing in Mesopotamia and the Japanese Writing System .......................................................... 157 Jun Ikeda and Shigeo Yamada 12 Ancient Mesopotamian Gods: Mythology, Cult, and Scripture ........................................................................................... 165 Uri Gabbay Part IV Importance of Cultural Heritage 13 Do Archaeological and Conservation Sciences Save Cultural Heritage?: Cultural Identity and Reviving Values After Demolishment .................................................... 179 Yoko Taniguchi 14 Conservation and Archaeological Science for the Protection and Understanding of Ancient Craftsmanship in Cultural Heritage ..................................................... 199 Stavroula Golfomitsou , Thilo Rehren , and Christian Eckmann Part V Synthesis 15 Some Observations and Future Directions ........................................... 221 Timothy P. Harrison Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 229 Chapter 1 Introduction: The Aim of Study of Ancient West Asian Civilization Akira Tsuneki 1.1 The Terms W est Asia and Ancient West Asian Civilization This book was planned to facilitate a new discipline, the S tudy of Ancient West Asian Civilization. First of all, we must explain the terms “West Asia” and “ancient West Asian civilization”. The term “West Asia” is used for the study area in this book and indicates the western part of Asia, which has generally been referred to as the Middle East. The term Middle East (Near East was gradually replaced by the term Middle East after World War II) was fi rst used by European and American politi- cians and military personnel in the late nineteenth century (Beaumont et al. 1 976 ; Koppes 1976 ). The designation of the part of Asia west of India, as the “Middle East” was convenient, and this word has been indispensable in discussing political and historical issues, such as “the Middle Eastern question” (Chirol 1 903 ). However, this word is value-laden and represents a substantial eurocentric viewpoint. For example, from the viewpoint of Japan, the Middle East must be termed the Far East as it is the furthermost region in Asia (East). We would like to exclude this eurocen- tric synonym (Middle East) and mitigate potential bias (i.e. historical and Western) by using a purely geographical term. Today, the term West/Western Asia is normally used by non-Western-centralized countries, magazines, and international institutes, such as N ational Geographic ( 2006 ) and the United Nations (2 013 ). West Asia in this book is identical to the narrower Middle East, which encom- passes modern Iran and Turkey from east to west and Turkey and the Arabian Peninsula from north to south. West Asia excludes Egypt, which is traditionally contained in the term Middle East. Ancient Egypt will not be included in the scope of this discussion because we consider the early history of Egypt developed under a different philosophy and entity from those of West Asia though both civilizations developed concurrently. A. Tsuneki (*) Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences , University of Tsukuba , 1-1-1, Tennodai , Tsukuba 305-8571 , Ibaraki , Japan e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2017 1 A. Tsuneki et al. (eds.), Ancient West Asian Civilization, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0554-1_1
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