Archaeological Perspectives on Burial Practices and Societal Change examines the relationships between burial practices and societal transformations in the past. This book highlights the centrality of burials as archaeological material for the understanding of societal change. It critically reassesses past approaches, and suggests new ways of understanding the relationship between burial practice and change in archaeology. Particular attention is given to archaeological periods where change was especially intense: so-called transition periods. The volume has a wide chronological and geographical scope, spanning the Early Bronze Age to the present day, and ranging geographically from Cyprus to Scandinavia. Recent developments within archaeological methods and theory have sparked discussions about the mechanisms and reasons behind societal changes in the past. This book aims to revive interest in understanding and explaining these changes, which are fundamental questions to the discipline of archaeology. The volume is organised into three thematic parts. The first, Practices, Communities, and Agents of Change, examines the roles individuals and communities play in transforming burial customs, highlighting the non-linear and often chaotic nature of these changes. The second theme, Migration, Identities, and Narratives of Change, challenges traditional narratives of migration and identity formation, proposing more nuanced understandings of how burial practices encapsulate these complex processes. The final theme, Transitions, Tempos, and Complexities, explores the multifaceted nature of societal transitions, emphasising the importance of diverse tempos and scales in understanding these shifts. Archaeological Perspectives on Burial Practices and Societal Change is for students and researchers in archaeology, primarily mortuary archaeology and archaeological theory.

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Archaeometry is based on the necessary interdisciplinary relationship between diverse branches of the natural and social sciences. This relationship is essential in archaeology, since, from physical materials (objects), scholars have to face questions that go beyond the limits of the tangible and pertain instead to abstract and social concerns. Currently, archaeometric studies are fundamental to the accurate classification and characterization of archaeological materials, providing relevant data, among other aspects, about their production, function and social meaning. In this book, we present a set of papers that show the potential of mineralogical studies (e.g. petrography, mineral geochemistry, X-ray Diffraction) and multiproxy approaches to characterize the composition of a wide diversity of archaeological materials such as ceramics, terracotta, tiles, metals, glazes, glass and mortars related to several periods (Bronze Age, Roman, Middle Age, Modern period). In this sense, this book can be of interest for specialized researchers who seek specific case studies and are mainly concerned with certain kinds of materials, but also for those students, researchers and professionals who look for a practical overview of the chief methods that can be followed in the study of material culture.

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Questions concerning mobility and migration as well as subsistence strategies of past societies have always been of major importance in archaeological research. The West Eurasian steppes in the Eneolithic, the Early Bronze and the Iron Age were largely inhabited by cultural communities believed to show an elevated level of spatial mobility, often linked to their subsistence economy. In this volume, questions concerning the mobility and potential migration as well as the diet and economy of the West Eurasian steppes communities during the 4th, the 3rd and the 1st Millennia BC are approached by applying isotope analysis, specifically 87Sr/86Sr, δ18O, δ15N and δ13C analyses. Adapting a combination of different isotopic systems to a study area of vast spatial and chronological dimension allowed a wide variety of questions to be answered and establishes the beginning of a database of biogeochemical data for the West Eurasian steppes. Besides the characterisation of mobility and subsistence patterns of the archaeological communities under discussion, attempts to identify possible Early Bronze Age migrations from the steppes to the steppe-like plains in parts of Eastern Europe were made, alongside an evaluation of the applicability of isotope analysis to this context.

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Questions concerning mobility and migration as well as subsistence strategies of past societies have always been of major importance in archaeological research. The West Eurasian steppes in the Eneolithic, the Early Bronze and the Iron Age were largely inhabited by cultural communities believed to show an elevated level of spatial mobility, often linked to their subsistence economy. In this volume, questions concerning the mobility and potential migration as well as the diet and economy of the West Eurasian steppes communities during the 4th, the 3rd and the 1st Millennia BC are approached by applying isotope analysis, specifically 87Sr/86Sr, δ18O, δ15N and δ13C analyses. Adapting a combination of different isotopic systems to a study area of vast spatial and chronological dimension allowed a wide variety of questions to be answered and establishes the beginning of a database of biogeochemical data for the West Eurasian steppes. Besides the characterisation of mobility and subsistence patterns of the archaeological communities under discussion, attempts to identify possible Early Bronze Age migrations from the steppes to the steppe-like plains in parts of Eastern Europe were made, alongside an evaluation of the applicability of isotope analysis to this context.

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Der vorliegende Band zu den Forschungen auf dem Çukuriçi Höyük (Westtürkei) widmet sich der Entstehung, Entwicklung und Verbreitung des prähistorischen Textilhandwerks und damit verbundener Technologie in Westanatolien, der Ägäis und Bulgarien. Es werden analytische statistische Verfahren angewandt, um technologischen Wandel und Technologietransfer zu verfolgen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchungen werden mittels unterschiedlicher sozio-ökonomischer Modelle interpretiert.

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The Archaeology of Iran from the Palaeolithic to the Archaemenid Empire is the first modern academic study to provide a synthetic, diachronic analysis of the archaeology and early history of all of Iran from the Palaeolithic period to the end of the Achaemenid Empire at 330 BC. Drawing on the authors’ deep experience and engagement in the world of Iranian archaeology, and in particular on Iran-based academic networks and collaborations, this book situates the archaeological evidence from Iran within a framework of issues and debates of relevance today. Such topics include human–environment interactions, climate change and societal fragility, the challenges of urban living, individual and social identity, gender roles and status, the development of technology and craft specialisation and the significance of early bureaucratic practices such as counting, writing and sealing within the context of evolving societal formations. Richly adorned with more than 500 illustrations, many of them in colour, and accompanied by a bibliography with more than 3000 entries, this book will be appreciated as a major research resource for anyone concerned to learn more about the role of ancient Iran in shaping the modern world.

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