Models of Mesopotamian Landscapes. How Small-scale Processes Contributed to the Growth of Early Civilizations (British Archaeological Reports International Series, 2552)

edited by T.J. Wilkinson, McGuire Gibson, Magnus Widell.

ISBN 10: 1407311735 / ISBN 13: 9781407311739

Published by Oxford, England : Archaeopress, Publishers of British Archaeological Reports, 2013

About this Item

x, 275 pages : illustrations (black and white), maps (black and white) ; 30 cm. This volume demonstrates how models can contribute to an understanding of the development of ancient Mesopotamian settlement and landscape. The models are intended to show that early settlements co-evolved in an intimate relationshA with their physical and social environments. Local rules that determined the subsistence practices of the householder then developed into more complex social mechanisms which culminated in the emergence of complex systems of settlement. Data for the models is drawn from archaeological surveys, environmental archaeology, anthropology and cuneiform texts. Although initially intended as an investigation of how agent-based models can contribute to understanding urban growth, this volume adopts a more broad-brush approach to include both 'bottom-up' and 'top-down' models as well as mathematical and qualitative methods.

Seller Inventory # BAR2552

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Models of Mesopotamian Landscapes. How Small-scale Processes Contributed to the Growth of Early Civilizations (British Archaeological Reports International Series, 2552)
• Publisher: Oxford, England : Archaeopress, Publishers of British Archaeological Reports
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1407311735
• ISBN 13: 9781407311739
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New
• Seller catalogs:
  • Archaeology

About this title

Synopsis

This volume demonstrates how models can contribute to an understanding of the development of ancient Mesopotamian settlement and landscape. The models are intended to show that early settlements co-evolved in an intimate relationship with their physical and social environments. Local rules that determined the subsistence practices of the householder then developed into more complex social mechanisms which culminated in the emergence of complex systems of settlement. Data for the models is drawn from archaeological surveys, environmental archaeology, anthropology and cuneiform texts. Although initially intended as an investigation of how agent-based models can contribute to understanding urban growth, this volume adopts a more broad-brush approach to include both 'bottom-up' and 'top-down' models as well as mathematical and qualitative methods.

About the Author

Tony Wilkinson (deceased) was Professor of Archaeology in the Archaeology Department at the University of Durham. He was widely recognised as one of the world’s leading experts in landscape archaeology and, amongst other things, specialised in the ancient landscapes of Mesopotamia and the broader Middle East.