The Archaeology of Syria From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (c.16,000–300 BC)

This book is the first comprehensive presentation of the archaeology of Syria from the end of the Paleolithic period to 300 BC. Although Syria has been the focus of intensive excavations for decades, no large-scale review of the results of these excavations has ever appeared until now. Syria is one of the prime areas of excavation and archaeological field work in the Middle East, and Peter Akkermans and Glenn Schwartz outline the many important finds yielded by Syria, before providing their own perspectives and conclusions.

This was the first book to present a comprehensive review of the archaeology of Syria from the end of the Paleolithic period to 300 BC. Syria has become a prime focus of field archaeology in the Middle East in the past thirty years, and Peter Akkermans and Glenn Schwartz discuss the results of this intensive fieldwork, integrating them with earlier research. Alongside the major material culture types of each period, they examine important contributions of Syrian archaeology to issues like the onset of agriculture, the emergence of private property and social inequality, the rise and collapse of urban life, and the archaeology of early empires. All competing interpretations are set out and considered, alongside the authors' own perspectives and conclusions.

1. Introduction; 2. Hunter-gatherers at the end of the Ice Age; 3. A changing perspective: neolithic beginnings; 4. The exploration of new horizons; 5. Continuity and change in the late sixth and fifth millenium BC; 6. The fourth millenium BC and the Uruk intrusion; 7. Regionalization and local trajectories; 8. The 'second urban revolution' and its aftermath; 9. The regeneration of complex societies; 10. Empires and internationalism; 11. Iron age Syria; 12. Conclusions.

This was the first comprehensive presentation of the archaeology of Syria from the end of the Paleolithic period to 300 BC. Peter Akkermans and Glenn Schwartz outline the many important results Syria has yielded up from decades of excavations and field work, before providing their own perspectives and conclusions.

GLENN M. SCHWARTZ is Whiting Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
PETER M. M. G. AKKERMANS is Curator of the Department of Ancient Near East at the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, The Netherlands.

This is the first book to present a comprehensive review of the archaeology of Syria from the end of the Paleolithic period to 300 BC. Syria has become a prime focus of field archaeology in the Middle East in the past thirty years, and Peter Akkermans and Glenn Schwartz discuss the results of this intensive fieldwork, integrating them with earlier research. Alongside the major material culture types of each period, they examine important contributions of Syrian archaeology to issues like the onset of agriculture, the emergence of private property and social inequality, the rise and collapse of urban life, and the archaeology of early empires. All competing interpretations are set out and considered, alongside the authors’ own perspectives and conclusions.